YOUR BEST ADVERTISING MEDIA IN THE LUCRATIVE BLACK MARKET CALL 376-04% THE CHARLOTTE POST "Charlotte's Fastest Growing Community Weekly" BLACK NEWSPAPERS EFFECTIVELY REACH BY FAR. MORE ' BLACK CONSUMERS Price 30c NAACPTo Support ttluàlto(teft) and Ma. Glenda Wtaite W^UJ^Ediaon Se.r^ 400,070 households will be scotched from the food stamp rolls dufeing the first four months of next year as new regulations take effect, the Agriculture Department said Tuesday. But slightly higher benefits are in store for most of the 4.38 million families remaining and for the more than thou» sands of elderly poor couples and other families expected to be attracted to the streamlin ed program. Agricultural Secretary Bob Bergland revealed the new rules, which were ordered by Congress in a massive rewrit ing of the Food Stamp Act. Most of the changes take effect Jan 1 The major change in the new rules is an end to the requirement that poor famil ies buy their food stamps.. There also are tighter eligibi lity standards and a require ment that many adult recipi ents look for work The law also requires incre ases :r. Deneuis twice a grocery prices Preliminary calculations indic^d a S per cêat hike is comiqghn Jan. 1. Berg land told a news confe rence that the theme of the new law and the regulations "is to eliminate those who should not be receiving food stamps, while assuring that we do get food stamps to those who are truly in need." Under the present rules, a four-person family with monthly income of $250 after a series of deductions must come up with $71 in cash to get an allotment of $182 in coupons that can be redeemed for groceries. Under the new rules, the same family would get $111 in coupons but not have to pay anything, assuming its adjust -ing income were the same. That adjusted income may change, though The new rules give stateE and countries four months to go through their files and determine whether a household can continue recei ving food stamp benefits, which now average $28.37 per person each month, and to re-calculate the amount. When that person is comp lete. an estimated 980.156 households will find their monthly benefits cut by at least $5. but 1 16 million famil ies should have more to spend on food, officials said. Most of those cut from the food stamp rolls under the new regulations will have incomes that are too high, Hergland said Others will be barred because they have assets of more that $1,750 or an auto mobile worth more than (4500, both disqualifying factors the new law says no orte can County-Operated Ambulance Service Rolling The Mecklenburg County Ambulance Service will begin operations at 12:01 a m , Wed nesday. November 1 As of that date, the tele pbone number to call for County operated ambulance service in Charlotte-Mecklen burg is 527-5750 This number will put you in contact with the County's central dispatching See County on page 6B family income after deduction is higher than the federal poverty line for that sized nousetafld - or for example. >541 month for a family of four. In some instance, the deduction system could mean that a family could have as much as $852 and still qualify "These changes are extre mely important because they will make it impossible for middle-income persons to claim enough deductions to qualify for food stamps, as they could under the more complicated old rules," Berg land said. Those still certified by next May could lose their stamps if they don't meet new rules on searching for work Unless there are children under 12, both parents in a family must seek jobs and, in some states, will be forced to take jobs with local governments. Water, Sewer Rate Increase (iiiwim lYuhlemK Due to the recent utility rate increase, the City's Water and Sewer Accounts Division is receiving many telephone in quirers Bills mailed from October tt to mid-November reflect the full impact of the new water and sewer rates authorized by the Charlotte City Council for customers of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg U tility Department Customers calling the Accounts Division may re ceive a busy signal Due to the number of inquiries, citizens are advised to follow these suggestions for better service: There are only five incoming telephone lines for customer calls If you do not have an unusually large bill, please delay calling at this time. An explanation of the new rates may be obtained later l>eave your name and tele phone number if all clerks are busy A call back will be made Please limit your discussion to questimi· about your b»W The new rates have been implemented by the Charlotte City Council Clerks are not prepared to discuss the philo See Water on page 15 Blacks To Vote Largely For Democrats by Susan Ellsworth "Less than half of all regist ered voters in MwklenHurg County will vote on election day," assertaincd William Culp Jr , Board of Elections Supervisor. Culp estimated that Hl.OOu voters will turnout foi the election-that's 43 percent of thœe registered to vote In Mecklenburg bounty 240,000 citizens over 18 are eligible to vote; 156.036 regis tered voters are white and 28,257 are black "The percent age of black and while voters will be cloee," staled Culp. Ten percent Cewer people will be casting ballots in this election than in the liquor by uie αηΐΗ reierenaum A voter turnout rate ot 6 to a percent will be influenced by . the weather, according te ί Λ» rtierty «ni pf τ*· with small children are less likeJy to vote during inclement weather. Although most Charlotteuns favor the Democratic Party "there is much split ticket voting. " Culp continued, "Pat terns can and do break down." Among registered voters, 122,806 are Democrats. 30,148 are Republicans, 11,323 are unaffiliated and 16 voters sup port the Libertarian party The ratio of Democrats to Republicans is about 2'a to 1 "Affiliation is based on a class system," Culp asst-rted. The affluent white people in southeast Charlotte are more likely to vote Republican, whereas, the low and middle income people and blacks vote mostly for the Democratic party, according to Culp The highest percentage of voter turnout is in the south west quadrant of the city fol lowed by the black precincts In black neighborhoods, mem bers of the community make an extra effort to encourage fellow black citizens to vote The northeast has middle in come families that are third in voter turnout, rural voters are fourth And the blue collar, white, middle income families from the weetside are the least likely to vote. After getting the people to the polls, there are certain factors that influence their voting. "People tend to ope rate on name recognition" affirmed Culp. "A candidate lui» ιυ run ai ivasi iwice 10 gei known." How does a candi date go about becoming known-through either politi cal or civic involvements Media endorsement can be beneficial. "The candidate who can be best helped by media endorsement is the un known candidate, Culp said Since the media gives expos ure to the candidates plat form, the public can become better acquainted with the candidate An atlas of Mecklenburg County is available for $4 05 at the Elections Office The book provides information on vot ing patterns and voter turnout in 75 precincts It was design ed for candidates seeking off ice and those people involved in the candidate campaigns Precinct mapa and voting pfore I»at· are available at the Elections Office All voting places in Mecklcnburg County arc open from β 30 a m until 7: *>p m nn election day by Susan Ellsworth Poet Staff Writer Appropriating budget funds and setting the tax rate are the main responsibilities of a county commissioner, accord ing to Democrat Robert (Bob) Walton, a current county commissioner who is seeking re-election. Walton supported funding for an emergency medical center. Instead of Just one downtown location, there are now three satellite staUorw which have ambulances avai lable to reach the injured. "City fire departments will act aa first rssponders; they will give an even greater response timeJfJWslton slated. The decentralisation of health care facilities was also important to Walton. Two health care facilities have been built on Beat ties Ford and Hoskins Roads, and on Billingsly Road in east Char lotte ■ . County Commiaeioner Taxas were cut during Wal ton'» term. "I feel proud that the commiaaion has cut taxes from 80 cent* to 79V* cent· " In contrast, in many areaa of the country taxe* are increaaii* ■+ · · ·!·_ The country aiso haa the function of appointing head of Walton Supports Allocation Of t ^ Funds To Improve JSehool System departments. Walton favored the appointment of people re presenting all sectors of the community. "We should have an increase of minorities and women in government,'' Wal ton said, he continued, "there to room for improvement in the affirmative action pro gram." Walton also supported a greater allocation funds to be •pent improving the school system, the continuation of a hot meals program for the elderly, appropriating money to build a senior citizens cent er, and having the county's wed for goods and services fulfilled more often by minori ty businessmen. Rev Bob Walton has been the recipient of the Heart Association Founders Award, president of the Charlotte, Jaycees. and vice Chairman of the Mecklenburg County Commission He has served as pastor of St Paul's Presbyter ian Church in Charlotte for seven years Walton is a grad uate of Johnson C Smith University Business Activity Moved Upwards TM level οι nusiness aciivi ty in North Carolina moved upward during September, ac cording to the Wachovia In dex. The Inde* registered 153 2 for the month, a gain of 0.4 percent above the revised August level. Non-farm employment was up 1.1 percent from August, primarily due to substantial gains in non-manufacturing employment Manufacturing employment increased only ■lightly ; however, manufact uring man-hours rose 0 9 per cent Average hourly earnings in the manufacturing sector were down marginally