Raeford tax increase
not helping industry
There was a certain amount of irony in the discussion by
members of the Raeford City Council last week on the need to
recruit industry.
A large portion of the council's monthly meeting was devoted to
voicing the need for seeking new firms and for developing an in
dustrial park; however, when the city officials had an opportunity
to make Raeford a more attractive location for businesses by rescin
ding a one-cent tax rate hike, the councilmen failed to act,
The penny rate increase, which raises only about SI 2,000 in
municipal revenue, was passed by the council last month. At the
time, administrators and councilmen were unaware that state
revenue rebates from the one-half cent sales tax had been under
budgeted. The difference meant a windfall to the city of between
$32,000 and $40,000.
Just when things were looking brighter for Raeford taxpayers,
and there seemed to be no good excuse for raising municipal ad
Editorial
valorem taxes, the state legislature started talking about eliminating
the Intangibles Tax. The move would have cut the city income by
$20,000 each year.
Although the revenue would have probably been replaced by
another state source, the talk of the elimination of the intangibles
tax gave council members the apparent excuse needed for not
rescinding the ad valorem rate hike.
The excuse was weak, especially since the intangibles tax was not
eliminated by the legislature. Even if the state solons had taken ac
tion on intangibles, the justification for a city ad valorem tax rate
increase was at best questionable.
Without funds from the intangibles tax, the city would still have
at least $12,000 more income than has been expected when the
budget was originally passed. By raising the taxes, the council
members did little more than fatten the city's surplus savings ac
count.
Granted, there may be some fiscal wisdom in adding to a large
municipal savings fund, but we believe using an ad valorem tax in
crease to build such an account in Raeford, does more harm than
. good, and it does nothing for industrial recruitment.
'Perhaps a more efficient method of building the city's capital
reserve account, would be to streamline the municipal government
or to pare down duplicated services.
With the tax increase, over $12,000 will be added to Raeford's
cofers, but nothing will be done to make this city more attractive for
the existing industries, which will be carrying the brunt of the hike,
or for the prospective firms, which might consider locating here.
As a result of Raeford's action, which will be coupled with a tax
rate hike proposed by the county, ad valorem taxes for major in*
dustries inside municipal limits will increase by almost $75,000. The
penny from the city will mean another: $3,000 for Burlington In
dustries, $3,100 for Faberge, $330 for JRA Industries and $880 for
the House of Raeford.
As much as some city council members might like to think dif
ferently, the increase in Raeford taxes this year will be noticed by
existing industries and will be considered by future prospects.
If members of the city council and administration are serious
about landing new industries in Raeford and Hoke County, then we
suggest that the officials turn their attention to cutting municipal
government costs rather than raising taxes.
Mr Home, hou does
one go about measuring
(a CubiC yards of trash ?
Madilyn
Congress completing tasks
By Bill Hefner
Congress is now in its seventh in
ning stretch for this session. Here
are some of the highlights of what
we've done so far.
Of course, the big news is the
work to reduce the deficit. Con
gress has passed a $63 billion
deficit reduction package. 50
billion of that total will come from
changes in the tax laws.
These changes are intended to
come out of the pockets of the
rich, who already have too many
tax loopholes. The remaining $13
billion will come from cuts in
domestic spending. This $63
billion deficit cutting plan is only
part of what we hope to slice
before the session ends. When it's
all over we should have cut
somewhere from $140 billion to
$182 billion over the next three
years. I favor the larger cut.
Both houses of Congress... the
House and Senate have voted to
prevent the White House from tak
ing people with a real need off the
Social Security disability roles.
They've also voted to help Viet
Nam vets exposed to Agent
Orange. For the youth, Congress
has passed programs for better
math and science instruction. On
the other hand, it has voted to raise
the drinking age to 21. Along that
line, Congress has passed and sent
to the President a bill aimed at cur
bing drunk driving.
An overhaul of the federal farm
programs is slowly working its way
through Congress. In fact, I'll be
bringing the U.S. House
Agriculture Committee to Stanly
County later this month so
Washington, D.C. will get some
input from North Carolina's
Eighth Congressional District on
how to write the new farm bill.
Of course, the House has passed
a military construction bill which
has $152 million for North
Carolina military bases.
There is a lot yet to do before
Congress adjourns this fall, but I
think our biggest challenge is to get
the deficit cut as much as possible
before we go home.
WE WILL SELL WO
WIKJE BEFORE rPSTi ME
? AND "WIS JUST MISKT
BE ITS TiME
Letters To The Editor
Veterans keep
freedom alive
To The Editor:
Indepen dance Day is more than
a holiday, as it is the day that sym
bolically is the birthday of the
great event that occurred 208 years
ago, that gives us the right to
celebrate all our other holidays. It
is more than a day of celebration,
but rather a day of remem be ranee.
Unlike Canada, whom
celebrates Rememberance Day,
Nov. 11, the date of cessation of
fighting in World War 1, our In
dependence Day, July 4th,
celebrates the cessation of our bat
tle from despotic oppression,
monarchial or otherwise.
Yes! America still remembers
why we have evolved historically as
a free republic.
"Let Freedom Ring From Every
Mountain Side" are more than just
words.
It seems that many are content
to rely upon an obscure name in
history as the Savior, but as an
agnostic, I must say my Saviors,
millions of them, are those whose
bodies lie beneath the ground of
every major battlefield in the
world, and to them, I owe my ser
vitude, for they died so that
"Freedom can still ring from every
mountain side."
Yes! Let precious freedom ring,
but as a reminder, that liberty is a
precious commodity purchased
through blood. We owe our
Veterans more than we can ever
give.
Thank you sincerely
Daniel Edwards
Pine Ridge, Box 301
Bladenboro, NC 28320
Teacher should
be kept leaching
To The Editor:
Last year, I was a student of
Mrs. Noami Johnsons'. She was
recently fired from teaching
seventh graders at Upchurch
Junior High School.
I feel that she was treated unfair
ly at teaching seventh graders at
the Junior High School. I think she
should be kept on teaching seventh
graders in the future. She was a
respectable and honest person, as
well as a teacher.
It is my understanding that Mrs.
Johnson was Hf*d~Xor put ac
tivities, as well as future activities,
for students.
Sincerely,
Shirley Ivey
Woman eyed for VP
Dear editor:
A hot topic under discussion to
day - I guess to get everybody's
Farm exports important
to entire US economy
By John Sledge
N.C. Farm Bureau Federation
The farm economy of America
has become geared to the export
market for agricultural com
modities. At the same time, these
exports have played a major role in
reducing the annual balance of
trade deficit.
Studies indicate that each Si
billion worth of farm products ex
ported generates 30,000 jobs in the
U.S. economy. If that be the case,
last year's agricultural exports,
worth $35 billion, provided over
one million jobs in this country.
So, farm exports are not only im
portant to agriculture, but also to
the total economy.
Farm product exports reached a
high level of $43.8 billion in 1981,
but unfortunately have fallen for
the past two years.
Agricultural trade is influenced
by a variety of economic, political
and social factors. Among these
are government actions to protect
its domesic agriculture and to im
prove its balance of payments
situation.
Government restrictions fall into
the categories of tariff and non
tariff measures. Tariff measures
are established as a specific
monetary charge per unit of pro
duct, as a percentage of the import
value or a combination of the two.
A non-tariff measure is any re
quirement other than a tariff
which would influence the quanti
ty, cost or origin of an import
entering a country. This could take
the form of limitations such as im
port quotas, import licensing
regulations and labeling re
quirements.
mind of the Iran-Iraq war, which
has gotten everybody's mind off El
Salvador, which has gotten
everybody's mind off the Middle
East ? is: should the Democrats
nominate a woman as their can
didate for Vice President?
A man asked me what I thought
about this and 1 came out flat
footedly with my shoulders
squared and said I don't know. I
wasn't born yesterday.
The Republicans don't have to
face this problem this year because
they already have a Vice President,
finishing one term and his sleeves
rolled up for a run at a second.
'The Democratic candidates are
saying they'll certainly consider a
woman for the job, without going
so far as to name one. They
weren't born yesterday.
When a candidate gets his
party's nomination for President,
he always says he'U pick a running
mate who is best qualified to take
over if something happens to him,
provided he comes from aiection
of the country needed lo tar ry the
election.
The question some raise is: How
many women are qualified to be
President?
The next question is: How many
men are?
The best qualified man for the
office seldom seeks it and if he
does he's rarely elected.
And the next question is: What's
qualification got to do with it?
How many Presidents have been
qualified to be President? Don't
answer that.
Yours faithfully,
J. A.
The News-Journal
hiMbM F.rrry Tkanday by
DM? Pres. lac., M DMfcaoa, Pro.
1 19 W. U?ood Aitwt, P.O. In 95*
Rarford, N.C. 2*37*
SakKrifdM Rata la Mract
la ( Mil) Pit Year-Slt.M
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Oal of Cm at; Ptr Year? S12.M
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LOUIS H. FOGLEMAN, JR PaMUcr
WARREN N. JOHNSTON Editor
HENRY L. RLUE Prodactioa 'Japtnlror
MRS. PAUL DICKSON Society Editor
SAM C.MORRIS Coatribattag Editor
ANN WEBB AtvmWag R tpmtmtlirt
lad dan Podacr at Rarford, N.C.
(USPS 3W-M4)
Star viewing through ceiling can dampen spirits
By Warren Johnston
I have always been a big fan of rain. I like to see it falling, par
ticularly in the summer. I enjoy hearing the torrents gush over clog
ged gutters and slap the ground underneath.
Rain makes me feel cleansed, especially when I'm standing in a
downpour, although, as a rule, I try to take my showers indoors.
When we took the roof off our house a couple of years ago, my
attitude about precipitation changed. I developed some well entren
ched phobias about rain. Many of those fears came flooding back
recently when we removed the shingles from our present home.
Roofs are nice things, and should not be taken off casually. I
would never recommend ripping one down to the rafters just to give
a house a spring airing, for example. In fact, 1 had told my wife ex
actly t U, the first time we remodeled a house.
"A ood roof is important to peace and tranquility," I said, as
we lay in bed looking at the stars through the gaps in our wooden
ceOfaig.
"You know there are not many houses where you can see the
stan through your bedroom ceiling," I had said, as she quietly
mnmmd questions like: "What if it rains?"
Wetad romoved the roof the day before to add a second floor to
the house. AM of our belongings were exposed to the elements, but
The Puppy Papers
we had watched the weather carefully for several weeks. I wasn't
worried. There had been a 0% chance of rain.
I was optimistic and enthusiastic about getting on with the
remodeling. a.
"Well, there's a 0% chance of rain," I had told Vie contractor,
who immediately ripped our roof off and down to the ceiling joist.
"Hey, it won't rain. We have nothing to worry about," 1 told my
wife as we looked at the star*.
That was before the dap of thunder and before the wind picked
up to near hurricane force. The water poured in through the gaps in
the ceiling, much like it does over a clogged gutter and slapped
down on our bed, which we rapidly vacated.
Over the wind which was blowing the large sheets of polyethylene
that we were trying to stretch over the top of the house, and over the
lightning bolts which were cracking nearby, I could hear my wife
swearing.
"If you ever talk ae into remodeling another house, it's going to
be divorce city," I remember her yiDtag.
However, that was just the excitement of the moment and several
years ago and another house. She didn't really mean it.
This time when we took the roof off our present house a couple
of weeks ago, she wasn't even nervous, but I was a wreck.
"There's a drought going on. Don't worry," she said.
When I came home from work, the rafters were exposed. Our
pink insulation that I had installed in the 120* attic the summer
before was showing.
I stayed up the first night, sat in the yard and watched the sky.
There was no rain. The drought continued.
The second night, when only some of the new decking was down
and the interior of the house was still vulnerable, I spied a cloud
about 4 a.m. It looked suspicious. I woke my wife, who was sleep
ing comfortably inside.
"There's a cloud. It looks suspicious," I said, rousing her from a
sound sleep.
"Well, if he looks suspicious, call a policeman, and then go to
bed," she said, dropping off again.
On the evening of the third day, just as the roofers hit the last nail
to secure the first covering, and just as I was considering sedatives,
it started to rain. Then were no leaks.
"See, there was nothing to it. I don't know why you were so ner
vous," my wife said.
It has rained almost daily since our new roof went on. It is nice to
hear it falling and splashing on the ground, instead of our bed.