Hoke needs leaders,
not more politicians
Now that the elections are over, Hoke County needs to get to
work.
For too many months Americans have been bombarded with
campaign slogans and had their senses abused by politicians. We
have had our fill of the rhetoric. We have wallowed long enough in
the carnival atmosphere.
In Hoke County, we have had all the politicians we can stand.
What we need now is leadership.
Decisions, which are governing the lives of every resident here,
can no longer be delayed as they have been in the past.
Hoke County has a bright future, but local officials cannot make
it a reality by being affable and avoiding issues.
We need better schools, a community college, direct telephone
service with Fayetteville, a widened U.S. Highway 401, a revitalized
downtown, a revamped sewer system, an efficient airport, coun
tywide zoning, rural water systems, an improved courthouse, more
residents, motels, restaurants, housing and jobs.
There is a lot to be done and time is running out. We need
leaders, not politicians.
SC has better plan
for energy assistance
On Halloween, President Ronald Reagan signed legislation which
will pump more than $4 billion in the energy assistance program
over the next two years to help low income persons meet the cost of
staying warm in the winter.
For most North Carolinians, who are qualified for the program,
the money will arrive just in time for spring, and too late to be sure
that it will be used for fuel.
As a result the late payments in this state and 48 others, much of
the money may not be used as the Congress intended when the pro
gram was funded.
In Hoke County, almost $190,000 was given away last year to
hflp 3,145 residents with heating bills, but local suppliers noted that
few of those dollars were \ised to pay for fuel. ?
Some of the recipients went to suppliers and cashed the checks,
which averaged $208, buying nothing. Other* purchased $5 or $10
worth of fuel and pocketed the change.
The law governing the distribution of the funds requires only that
recipients need assistance with purchasing fuel for heat, not that
they use the money for that purpose.
If the funds are not going for fuel, one has to wonder whether
dependent children are going cold, while the money is being ?
diverted for other unintended purposes.
Because the checks do not arrive until February, North Carolina
program administrator Kay Fields feels the recipients probably have
previously spent other money on fuel and are using the assistance
funds to reimburse earlier purchases. But Fields also admits under
the present system, social workers would have to make extra visits
to the recipients' homes to be sure.
If Congress appropriated the energy funds earlier in the year,
then there would be a better chance of distributing them before
winter, and odds would be improved on the money being used for
fuel, Fields says.
Currently Congress is waiting until there is a nip of winter in the
air to make up their minds about helping the poor with heating. The
program should be funded in July.
However, even with the earlier funding, we still believe there is a
better way to insure that the funds are used for the intended pur
pose.
In South Carolina, a unique system is being used successfully.
The program is holding administrative costs down, limiting fraud
and is getting the aid out in early winter when it is needed.
According to the program Director John Rumford, energy cer
tificates, instead of money, will be mailed to 86,000 recipients by
Christmas of this year. The certificates, which specify the type of
fuel used in the client's home, can be exchanged at any dealer the
recipient choses.
The program is administered through the office of the Governor
for a cost well below the 10ft required by law. In addition, with the
use of computers, every certificate can be tracked. State ad
ministrators feel confident that the intent of Congress is being met
in South Carolina, Rumford says. '
Four years ago, North Carolina looked at the South Carolina
system when it was new, and the bugs were being worked out. The
program was rejected.
Since then, federal administrative guidelines have improved. The
program is now working smoothly in South Carolina. Tax dollars
are being saved and poverty level children and elderly are warmer.
We believe it is time for the North Carolina Legislature to look
again at the South Carolina certificate system.
We also believe it is time for Congress to start looking at the
energy program in July rather than in October.
Rally was good idea
Spirits were high among those attending the old fashioned
chicken bog and rally sponsored by the Hoke County Democratic
Party on Thursday night.
The Armory floor was filled with residents, politicians and blue
grass musk. Everyone appeared to be having a good time.
Hoke County needs the enthusiasm and the hard work of all
residents to survive, and the gathering Thursday filled the prescrip
tion for uplifting the state of mind of those who attended.
Local residents need to remind theimihw on a regular basis that
Hoke County is one of the finest places in the nation to live.
An animal event on a broader scale than the one Thursday night
would serve it anitfar rrsnimVi that we like living, working, shop
ping and paying taxes in Hoke County.
It would be a alee way to git to know neighbors and say thanks
to make life here better.
Government taking half of dollar
When the government first
started taxing personal income, the
maximum was 11*. Today, the
Federal Government can take as
much as fifty cents of each dollar
earned.
The system has become so com
plex that the Internal Revenue
Code is now more than
10,000-pages long. And, even
though more than half of all 1040
- federal income tax forms are pro-*^
fessionally prcpared-at a cost of
more than $60 billion a year
millions of taxpayef*^ still are
under-or over estimating what they
have to dish out to uncle Sam.
Every time Congress passes a new
tax bill, as it did in June, the tax
code becomes curiouser and
curiouser.
We read that studies indicate
that "underground economy" -
people who trade goods and ser
vices or deal only in cash-may ap
proach one-trillion dollars per
year.
On the other hand, a low rate,
such as 10%, would put the needed
pressure on Congress to curb its
careless spending and assist the
federal government in balancing
the budget, suggests the Heritage
Features Syndicate authored by
Edwin Feulner.
SENATOR ERVIN.. .Former
North Carolina Democratic
Senator Sam Ervin, famous as the
senate chairman who presided over
the demise of former president
Richard Nixon during Watergate
scandals, has spoken out on the
People and Issues
separation of church and state.
tyvSiilS ttliiitiowlcdged to be one
oT authority in lht ..
Ration on the Constitution; his
views thus merit consideration. Er
vin says politicians shouldn't try to
exploit for political purposes.
Says Senator Ervin: "I was a
southern senator from the so
called Bible Belt. Faith in God is
the most potent force in the '
universe. But it's man's individual
faith and not something prescribed
by government. The government
and politicians, he says, should
stay out of religion and not involve
government officially with any
religious movement."
TV STATIONS... We read in the
Wall Street Journal with a
Roscburg, Ore. dateline. "Chan
nel 31's live afternoon talk show
was interrupted one day by a car
crashing into the studio-a con
verted garage."
"The television station's evening
news show, however, didn't let
itself be interrupted when a
frolicking butterfly intruded. "I
just kept going," says Clay Camp
bell, who was the show's anchor
man. I couldn't kill a butterfly in
front of all of Douglas County;
they'd never forgive me."
The Journal devoted a full col
-umn on the front page of the
nation-wide Journal and a half col
umn on page 20.
KITTY HAWK HOTEL...We
read in the Costland Times that a
new 250 room hotel will be built at
Kitty Hawk with facilities for up to
1 ,000 people. It will be a five story.
"SUICIDE CANDIDATE?.. .We ~
read-that the-tAance^ tf 'deeply
?depressed person committing
suicide is smaller than most people
think, says the American Council
of Life Insurance. According to
Prof. Ronald Maris, chairman of
the department of sociology at the
University of South Carolina such
a person lacks the will to carry out
the act. Rather, it is the less
depressed person who is the more
likely suicide candidate. Conse
quently, Prof. Maris told the
Council, "often a person will try
suicide just when people think he is
getting better."
CP&L TO DELAY. ..The
Carolina Power & Light Co., says
it has pushed back by six months
the date it plans to startup com
mercially its one-unit Harris
nuclear power project. The utility
said it expects the 900,000-kilowatt
Harris plant to begin operations in
September 1986 instead of March
1986 as it originally planned.
Carolina P&L blamed "additional
regulatory requirements," among
other things, for the delay.
A farmer
is a pro
By John Sledge
N.C. Farm Bureau Federation
The farmer deserves the image
of a professional, college
educated, business person with
high dollar value assets and capital
needs.
The saying "If you can't find
work, you can always be a fanner"
doesn't apply; in fact, it never did.
To operate complicated
machinery, use agricultural
chemicals properly, use the Board
of Trade effectively, and introduce
computer technology into animal
nutrition, marketing and genetics
requires a broad range of skills and
background.
At one time or another many
people have probably day-dreamed
about becoming a farmer - the
good country life with no time
clocks to indicate the hours of
work, no boss or supervisor to
order them around. Open fields
unobstructed by tall buildings
means freedom to roam, and no
bumper to bumper traffic. There is
a certain romanticizing about far
ming. But how many people in our
urban-oriented civilization know
the small return a small farmer gets
on his large investment of capital
and labor?
A young person who wants to be
a farmer or rancher today must
have a family operation to join or
a relative with land to rent. The
dollar needs for equipment and
animals plus inputs to plant a crop
demand the initial investment of
several hundred thousand dollars.
It is not unusual to find a young
family that will be paying a
lifetime for the initial investment
needed to farm.
rj The families living on the na-_
JtionY farms and ranches are there
today because they want the type
of lifestyle and independence that
living in the country offers.
The News-Jdurnal
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LOUIS H. FOCLEMAN, JR PaMMter
WARREN N. JOHNSTON Editor
HENRY L. BLUE.... Prodacttoa SapervUor
MRS. PAUL DICKSON SoctrD Editor
SAMC. MORRIS Coalrtbaliat Editor
ANN WEBB AdverlMag Kcpmtatattve
2ad Cta* Portage al Raefard. N.C.
(USPS 3M-2M)
Execution leaves lingering question
When Governor Jim Hunt refused to commute the death
sentence of Velma Bar field, I cheered the decision.
"Why should the taxpayers have to keep someone like Velma in
jail for the rest of her life?" I had asked. "After all, it cost $30,000
a year to keep a prisoner in the style we have grown accustomed to
providing."
By the time the lethal injection hit Barfield's brain last Friday
morning, I was sick of seeing the story on television and reading
about it in the newspapers. I was ready for it to be over.
I was also changing my thinking about our system of exacting
"justice."
Barfield's death gave me no sweet taste of revenge, only a numb
ness like I used to feel as a boy when I shot a rabbit or cut the head
off of a chicken. It was a deed that had to be done, and I took no
pleasure in it.
Now, Velma is gone, along with two other killers who were ex
ecuted last week in other states. There are two more on tap for the
chair this week in Florida.
All of them ended lives of their victims, and left scars which will
hang over the emotions of families and friends of the murdered, as
well as their own relatives. All of them deserved to pay for their
sins.
However, if we do not learn from their deaths and improve the
judicial system, then little has been accomplished, other than get
ting their names and faces out of the news.
Some might say vengeance was served by the death of Bar field,
and her execution helped ease the pain of the victims, but I disagree.
The public's thirst for vengeance would have ben better slaked
six years ago when North Carolinians were incensed by the cruelty
of her crimes. A swift execution on the town square would have
come closer to meeting the need for revenge.
Justice was too slow for restitution. Velma became a household
word, and her grandmotherly demeanor made her a television
regular. She said she was sorry. She said she had made her peace
with God. We knew her too well to take much comfort in her death.
Others might say that Barfield's demise will deter another killer
from dropping arsenic in a future victim's coffee. Statisics have pro
Warren Johnston
he Puppy Papers
ven they are wrong. Execution is no deterrent to murder, except for
the one who is being put to death.
Velma's death did save the taxpayers the future costs of providing
food, clothing, lodging and supervision. For that reason it was ex
pedient, although we are probably still paying the bloated expenses
of her appeals, which lasted until the 11th hour.
Attorneys' fees would have been less, if Barfield had been
sentenced to "life without hope" of parole.
Under the present North Carolina corrections system, a life
sentence is rightfully viewed by the public, and by juries, as letting a
defendant lounge around in the comfortable confinement of an $80
a day accommodation.
Life without hope might be different, if the prisons were less
plush and if the inmates, charged with capital crimes, were not
allowed to communicate with the outside world, except through
their lawyer*.
Juries might see confinement as serving the cause of justice and
vengeance, if capital prisoners were not permitted to appear on
television or to lunch on the jailhouae green with their families and
friends.
If the word got out that capital crimes brought life without hope
sentences to a prison where inmates could not watch television,
sleep in air conditioning or play pool, perhaps some would-be
murderers might think twice before polling the trigger.
Unfortunately, no low<oat prisons exist, and juries are not given
the option of sentencing a defendant In a capital crime to life
without hope in such an institution.
Until we have an alternative, we will continue to be outraged by
senseless murders and ruined Uvea. We wiH house the criminals in
luxury. We watch them on television before we put them to death,
and we will question if we have done the right thing.