bltJi Qorto&wi PRESS NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION ASSOCIATION PaMbteed Every Tharaday at Km ford. N.C. 2*37* 119 W. EJwood Avenue Sebtcripdoi Rale* la Advance Per Year ? St. 00 6 Moatks- S4.25 3 Months? $2.25 LOUIS H. FOGLEMAN, JR PAUL DICKSON HENRY L. BLUE Pabtisker Editor Prod act koa Supervisor Associate Editor Society Editor . . . Contribatiag Edhor ?ILL LINDA t MRS. PAUL DICKSON SAM C.MORRIS Second Clams Postage al Raeford, N.C. (USPS 38S-260) THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 1982 Fund lower education With the Reagan government cutting federal funds for elementary and secondary education, among other things, the General Assembly should take up at least some of the slack. We suggest it use some of the funds which it usually provides for the state-supported colleges, universities and even community colleges for the purpose. As one citizen suggested, this makes sense in at least two ways: ?The state's colleges and universities, generously supported by the Legislature, thanks to the state's taxpayers, are equal by and large to the nation's best. -Most of the students who benefit from these colleges and universities come from the state's public schools, starting with kindergarten (for many) and going through high school. These students, however, find the doors of education beyond high school closed to them if they are not prepared by their early schooling for them. Not only does defective early education close the college doors but also the doors to opportunity to get the better jobs. Federal cuts in the name of reducing government spending are coming to one of the essentials of proper learning, the remedial reading program of Title I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Many children learn to read well - well enough to make it through college if they are otherwise qualified -- without the Title I help. Many others, however, would have to forget about education beyond high school without that help. And in either case, defective ability to read makes other qualities necessary for college or for higher-grade employment practically useless. If it does nothing else to make up the federal loss in primary and secondary education money, the Legislature should put up enough to guarantee continuation of the programs helping students in the essentials. Of these essentials, the Legislature should guarantee continuation of help in the ancient fundamentals -? readin', writin' and 'rithmetic, since without a good quality of skills in these the students not only can forget about college but about advancing to the higher-paying jobs. From the practical standpoint, the state legislators should consider this; a well-educated primary and high school student becomes a higher-paid taxpayer, whose income provides the state with more money for higher education, among other services. -BL El Salvador parallels People in and out of Congress opposed to U.S. involvement in El Salvador have been drawing a parallel between any troop commitment in the Central American internal conflict and the American experience in Vietnam. In view of allegations that Soviet and Cuban elements have been directing operations of the guerrillas in El Salvador, a more accurate parallel of U.S. involvement would be the Spanish civil war of the latter part of the 1930s. That war aside from the motives of Spaniards of both sides doing the fighting was a test of weapons and techniques of Nazi and Fascist against Communist. One authority in the United States called it years later a rehearsal for World War II. In El Salvador, American interveners would be opposing Communist interveners. Both sides have been supplying weapons to their allies, but so far, apart from a small force of U.S. military advisers, no foreign troops have been committed to the internal struggle. On the other hand, Americans can see in the matter of bare manpower assignments a parallel in El Salvador with Vietnam. American military advisers were sent into the South Vietnam conflict in the early 1960s. But in 1965, conventional American military forces (the 173rd Brigade's, based on Okinawa) were sent into the fighting. As everyone of high school age in those years knows, the 173rd was followed by huge forces from the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. (This doesn't mean that U.S. military advisers are followed inevitably by conventional American military forces when matters aren't proceeding satisfactorily in the presidential administrator's view. American advisers worked in Laos in the late 1950s, and also have worked in India, Pakistan and other nations throughout the world, but weren't followed by regular Army or Marines.) On the other hand, however, the difference in geography, . the nature of El Salvador and its neighboring Central American nations, and distance from the United States weakens, at the very least, the validity of the comparison of El Salvador with Vietnam. On the other hand, once again, we hope both Communist and American leaders are considering the longrange effects of even this limited (so far) confrontation in El Salvador between Communist and American. Such consideration should have both sides persuading their El Salvadoran friends to go to the peace table. -BL VITA? Volunteer Income Tax Assistance? can help you complete your tax return. Call your local IR8 office for details. A pwfettc ? rv00 miles a year to keep up with it. Thanks to legislative approval of the "Governor's Good Roads Pro gram". we'll have S80 million to resurface about 2.900 miles this current fiscal year. By the end of this month, our Department will have let to contract approximately 2.875 miles of resurfacing at an estimated cost of $78.3 million. That resurfacing, over and above the 2.600 miles, will help us cut into the existing backlog of re- J surfacing needs and subsequently reduce future winter damage. Right now our patch crews are making repairs to the roads as fast as possible. Because of the cold weather, some of these repairs are temporary and permanent repairs will be made as soon as the weather warms up. Hot asphalt, required for making permanent repairs, is not available | during the cold winter months. The permanent repair process also re quires that damaged road surfaces be prepared by some excavation prior to the use of the hot asphalt. The temporary "cold patch" tech nique is being used now so we can quickly insure the safety of motorists. Resurfacing work to protect our roads in the future will begin again in the spring as the temperatures^ permit this work to be done. ? We in the Department of Trans portation appreciate the concern, interest and patience by the motoring public regarding their highway system as we work to take care of existing damage as well as protect the system from future damage with our resurfacing pro gram. Regards. W.R. "Bill" Roberson. Jr. I Flippy Creek Philosopher Dear editor: According to an article I read in a newspaper last night, lawyers getting ready to handle the trial of a mass murderer estimated the trial f) would last about eight months. They said it as though it's routine procedure. I guess it is. It's nothing these days for a trial to last six weeks, two months, six months or whatever. One civil suit ran thirteen years before everybody got tired and called the thing off. I got to thinking about (his. If it's taking longer and longer to try a? criminal and at the same time more and more criminals are being produced, won't that result in longer and longer waits for a man to get tried? Say an 18-year-old is charged with stealing a car. He might be middle aged or older before he's tried and found guilty or innocent, depending on what price range lawyer he can hire. A man shouldn't have to go_ through life with a thing like that? hanging over him. so I've figured out a solution. Some men, say an alumnus of Harvard, when ihey have a son born, immediately apply for his entrance to that school 18 years hence. This assures that the boy, when he finishes high school . can go right into the college of his lather's choice without waiting. Shouldn't a father be equall\JD concerned about getting his son a speedy trial it he runs afoul of the law? Shouldn't he apply for a time slot on the court docket as soon as the boy is born, to be utilized if the necessity arises? Forethoughted ness is what gives some people an edge over others. Getting a son a speedy trial ought to be as im portant as getting him into Har vard. It's something that's worthf| thinking about, but not for long. Yours faithfully, J. A. Read Romans 14: 7-9 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. ? Romans 14:8 (RSV) I received word that a very dear friend of mine had just died. Many thoughts came to me. I wondered whether her daugther, who was about to graduate from high school, should participate in the senior class festivities. 1 answered/ my own question: Of course she should. Her mother would have wanted it that way. Suddenly came the overwhelm ing thought: "Would have want ed?" Why the past tense? She does want! Her disease-ridden body is dead, but all that made her the dear person she was. is alive forever! I realized then, like never before that our loved ones in Christ are not" dead; they are trulv alive and eagerly wait for us to know the eter nal joy which they now experience. PRAYER: O God, make us exper ience the comfort that comet from knowing that those whom wc mourn now enjoy being In Your presence. Give us courage to C never* so that we may someday with them and You. Amen. < ,