Newspapers / The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.) / April 4, 2012, edition 1 / Page 2
Part of The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
2A THE NEWS-JOURNAL Raeford, N.C. April 4,2012 Viewpoints Hard to get money from churchgoers I have found out over the years that there are many things you get blamed for without even knowing how you got in trouble. A lady who is a good friend of mine and one with whom I have enjoyed many good moments in our Sunday School class stood up in church in front of all the congregation and said, “I blame Raz Autry for me now tithing.” The preacher replied, “I would suspect that is one of the better things he has been blamed for.” Amen, preacher. This came about because I was asked by a friend to speak in her place during Stewardship Week. She wasn’t feeling well and I agreed to fill her spot. All churches in one form or another have to address the budget topic during the year and see if they can get the congrega tion to loosen the purse strings. A View from the Country Raz Autry It is hard to get money out of those Methodists. I haven’t helped much over the years because I am convinced, and have said so, that people know what they are going to give to the church, and regardless of what the speakers say on this subject, the talk will not bring in any more money. Let me hasten to say that I have been proven wrong on more than one occasion. If you only reach one person, that is more than you had. I am a believer in tithing, and Ireni and I have done it for years; therefore, in my talk before the congregation, I spoke on tith ing. That person apparently was my friend. I thank her for her devotion. It is a known fact you can’t outgive the Lord. The end of my sermon for today. My parting thought: Since I have been with preachers all day, it is only fitting that I end with this tale. Mr. Johnson sent his wife an email; the trouble was he forgot his wife’s correct e-mail address. Instead of going to his Mrs. Johnson, it went to another Mrs. Johnson, who happened to be the wife of a deceased preacher. When she got the email and read it, she fainted. Her daughter came to her rescue and revived her mother. With tears in her eyes, she pointed to the message on the email. It said, “Arrived safely but it sure is hot down here.” We Get Letters Interrogation of teacher was ‘pamfuF To the Editor: It was painful to read the interrogation of 23-year veteran teacher Mrs. Margaret Maynor by Cheryl Benson, a “human resources” manager for Hoke County Schools. I suspect Mrs. Maynor was having the usual school day where some activities are rote, such as lunch. She followed through as usual. It was a non-eventful day for her. Little did she know the firestorm that the “usual” day would bring. Because it was a “usual” day, she did not remem ber the dates or what happened. She did not have evil intent as suggested by Cheryl Benson. I too would have cried, and due to stress from Ms. Benson, would not have remembered anything with her insulting me. This entire episode came about due to excessive governmental regulations, i.e. telling parents how and what to feed their chil dren, causing yet more interfer ence for teachers as well. I encourage Mrs. Maynor to remember that God is in control of all events and He can restore her confidence. I encourage Ms. Benson to remember a “soft answer turns away wrath.” She would do well to read her interrogation technique, place herself in Mrs. Maynor’s shoes, and become a kinder personality. A. Catharin Brown Raeford Hoke needs a homeless shelter To the Editor: I am concerned about the homelessness social issue that has plagued students who are enrolled in the Hoke County Schools system. In the Hoke County Schools Board of Education policy manual, a homeless student is defined as a child(ren) and/or youth(s) who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. The term does also include any unaccompanied youth who may not be in the custody of a par ent or guardian. In accordance with the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and the North Carolina State Plan for Educating Homeless Chil dren, Hoke County Schools are assisting homeless students with the opportunity to receive a sound education along with other available resources that are based on an individual need. The National Alliance to End Homelessness is the largest advocate for homelessness in the United States. The policy has four key areas of focus consisting of and including the family, youth, veterans, and the chronic homelessness. This policy suggests that there are solutions to the homeless social issue. The National Al liance to End Homelessness advocates that changes in the federal policies and resources along with outcome focused and researched based will end the homeless issue. There are several non-profit organizations that are in support of the homeless in Hoke County. The Hoke County Coalition to End Homelessness, spear headed by Ms. Martha Beatty, is a strong advocate for Hoke County. Ms. Beatty is aware that homelessness is on the rise and that other services that could provide assistance are lacking and are few in numbers. In my writing, I would like to en courage other citizens of Hoke County to become involved and to become an advocate for homelessness in Hoke County. During the Homeless Aware ness month adopted by Hoke County, I solicit others to play a role, donate, and assist. I do believe that property for a homeless shelter could be another great asset to assist the homeless in Hoke County. Stephanie Campbell I don’t care where we vote To the Editor: It gave me a good chuckle to read Mr. Shelnutt’s letter. In the big scheme of the universe, how important is it where we vote? As long as we can vote, I would not care where we vote, except in an outhouse or a bathroom, private site or not. And if The N.C. State Board of Election approved an other site—so be it. It’d be worse if they told us we couldn’t vote. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. And if the Fire Station is open on Sundays, then maybe you can request it be moved back there. I also did not think it was important to request a Sunday opening forelection. Anyone who really wants to vote will get there at the many available hours. But since that was done—let it be. There are so many more matters of great importance, work on solu We need to educate about buUying To the Editor: More awareness concerning anti-bullying and harassment in schools needs to be heard. Bullying and harassment in North Carolina schools are in creasing. As aresult, youth suicide and suicide attempts are growing rapidly. How much awareness is being implemented in the schools and community? In Hoke County Public Schools, the Student Support Teams within every school provide training, which defines bullying and how to recognize it if a student is being bullied. In addition, the training includes the importance of a student making an adult or authority figure aware they are being bullied. Educating students on bullying and harassment is vital. I hope outside agencies and institutions that offer services to children will get involved with alerting the community on how serious the issue of bullying has become. Lashonda Bostic Raeford Letters poMcy The News-Journal welcomes letters to the editor and encourages readers to express their opinions. Letters must be signed and include an address and phone number. The street address and phone number will not be pub lished, but are required so we may verify authenticity. The name of the writer and, in some cases, the town the writer is from will be published at the end of the letter. We are not able to publish letters that are essentially thank-you cards. We reserve the right to edit letters for grammar, as well as those that exceed 300 words. We will not publish letters that we Submit letters to the editor online: Look for heading “Send Us Stuff’ at www.thenews-journal.com Media made Trayvon Martin case racial The Trayvon Martin case is an example of why we have racial problems in this country. In movies, on TV, in books, and also on news programs, the media portray young black men as “thugs” and troublemakers. They’re always described as young men who are looking for trouble. Any young black man who wears baggy pants and a hooded sweatshirt is considered a threat to anyone on the street. This is an image that has been promoted by the media, but when there are racial problems, such as with the Trayvon Martin case, the media are the first to ask, “Why are these people so upset?” This is a trend that was es tablished before blacks began to earn decent salaries in the early ‘60s. Before that time, no blacks were seen in TV ads or on street billboards or advertising prod ucts. Then someone realized that there was an enormous amount of money spent by blacks and showcasing them on TV and in advertisements would generate millions. The image that has been pro jected by the media, in movies, TV and other methods of young black men for the most part has been negative. But in many ways, they glamorize this lifestyle. Young people of all races are very impressionable, and it’s as though this was the way ALL young black males should act. These actions are profitable to those who prey on youth look ing to be accepted by their peers, who seem to have a much better life with more material things. In many cases, the ones looked up to in the neighborhood were the dmg dealers, pimps and others who seem to be living a better life because of their crime-filled lives. This image of young black men projected by the media has brought millions to those who have profited from the sale of videos, clothing, performances by rap artists, and other en tertainment activities directed toward young blacks. Years ago there were movies depicting young white men in gangs—movies such as “The Dead End Kids”— but they did not brand ALL young white men as thugs or gangsters. To day, there are Latino gangs as well as Asian gangs operating in this country, but they are not publicized by the media. Those who have not and do not come in contact with young black men assume that ALL young black men are thugs or gangsters and are always out to cause trouble, because this is what the media has fed the public. The media have caused many of these problems by N OT showing examples of the prog ress that has been made by some black youth but only showing an image that shows young black men in the worst light. When incidents such as the Trayvon Martin case occur, we wonder why there are so many protests and racial demonstra tions around the country. The insinuations by the media have been the cause, and only the media will be able to correct this problem. This is not to say that the actions by the neighborhood watch person in this case was right or wrong; this is for a court to decide. But here again, the media are making an effort to control opinion. The media have caused many of these problems by their bias coverage of events. If stories about the clothing, such as baggy pants and hooded sweatshirts, had not been asso ciated with young black men, maybe this incident would not have occurred. Paul Burnley can be reached by emailatplburnley@aol.com. tions for them. Decay in our morals, raunchy language, equally raunchy film and TV media, etc. Of course, all these things would be solved, in fact any problem would be solved, even the lady’s problem with her rented property and damages, if every human being had the Lord in their soul. Oh—how about working on that, one-on-one? Renate Dahlin Days Since Candidates can’t ignore good in public school By Scott Mooneyham Capitol Press Association Youwon’tfind many people who would argue that the most important thing that state government does is education. This year, 56 percent of North Carolina’s general operating budget will go to pay for public schools. community colleges and public universities. So, no issue should be more important in determining who vot ers choose as the state’s top political leader. As the May primary nears, those vying for thej ob to replace Gov. Bev erly Perdue have been letting loose with their own ideas on education. The Republican front-runner, former Charlotte Mayor Pat Mc- Crory, recently rolled out a public school reform plan that offers plenty of contrasts with Democrats’ ideas on the subject. The top-tier Democrats—Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, former Con gressman Bob Etheridge and state (See MOONEYHAM, page 3A) consider to be in poor taste or libelous. In some cases we may add an editor’s note as a postscript when we believe a correction, explanation or amplification is warranted. We may also, at our discretion, limit the number of times an individual writer may submit a letter for publication. The News-Journal Published every Wednesday by Dickson Press, Inc. Robert A. Dickson, President • Anne Dickson Fogleman, Secretary/Treasurer 119 W. Elwood Avenue, Raeford, NC 28376 • (910) 875-2121 Home Page: www.thenews-journal.com Ken MacDonald (ken§lhenews-joumal.coni) Publisher Catharin Shepard (cshepar(l§lhenews-journal.coiii) Reporter Hal Nunn (lial@llienews-journal.com) Sports Writer Hal Nunn (hal@thenews-journal.com) Sales Representative Wendy Tredway (wendy@thenews-journal.com) Sales Representative Sheila Black (sheila@thenews-journal.com) Office Manager Robin Huffman (robin@thenews-journal.com) Composition Design/ Legal Advertising email ads to: ads@thenews-journal.com email classifieds to: classifieds@thenews-journal.com email legals to: robin@thenews-journal.com Periodical Class Postage at Raeford, N.C. (USPS 388-260) Postmaster: Send address changes to: P.O. Box 550 Raeford, N.C. 28376
The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 4, 2012, edition 1
2
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75