Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Feb. 25, 1993, edition 1 / Page 5
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FORMER SECRETARY SAYS: State Should Build On Transportation Gains Of Past 8 Years (The authn served as Secrehuy of Transportation in the Martin ad ministration. This article is reprint ed with permission of The Jolvx Locke Fourulation, which originally published it in the February-March 199J issue of Carolina Journal. Mr. Itarrelson is a Southport resident for whom sections of U.S. 17 Bypass in Brunswick County were recently mimed Editor's note.) BY THOMAS J. HARRKLSON During the past eight years, trans portation has had a real friend in the Governor's Mansion. Major ad vances have been made in state and federal funding for North Carolina's highway system, and important ini tiatives have been made in aviation, rail, public transportation, ferries and bicycling. In addition, vehicle registration has been streamlined and lines at \ urivcr s nccnsc oil ices have been shortened. Driver and worker safety has been given a high piioiiiy, and the environ ment has been safeguarded and even enhanced. Funding Issues In the all-im portanl funding area. Gov. Jiin Martin and for mer Transporta- HARRKLSON lion Secretary Jim Harrington had excellent cooperation from the Gen eral Assembly in the adoption of the 1989 Highway Trust Fund, and in 1992 we had equally good team work from our congressional dele gation in starling to climb out of last place in highway funding. With these drastic improvements. k North Carolina has embarked on the planning, design and construction of a truly first-class transportation sys tem that includes all modes of trans portation and will serve the needs of all our citizens across the state. Transportation funding deficien cies have been a challenge to North Carolina in recent history. For decades, our citizens were grossly shortchanged in federal transporta tion dollars, despite rapidly escalat ing federal taxes. Because of outdat ed and unfair congressional funding formulas, our state has been dead last over the past 30 years in the per centage return of federal highway and transit tax dollars. In real terms, this has meant that our factory workers, truck drivers, farmers, salesmen, and other citizens have been subsidizing residents of the Northeast and of sparsely popu T /J k PHOTO BY BILL FAVtt THE TOWU EE gets Us name from its sharp, clear call notes, "Tow-he" or "Jo-ree" RUFOUS-SIDED TOWHEE No Sound Cheerier Than Their Call BY BILL FAVF.R Some of the small birds frequenting the roadsides and edges of woods and fields also move into our yards to take advan tage of the cover and protection given by shrubs and trees around our houses. One such bird is the Rufous-Sided Towhee, a bird about the size of a robin often found scratching in the leaves and humus under hedges and plants. The male towhee is black on the head and back, white on the kavkr underparts, and has bright robin red patches on the flanks. The female is similar in col oration, except that she is brown where the male is black. The rounded tail of both birds flashes white patches in the corners. The birds usually fly close to the ground, pumping their tails as they fly. The name was given them in 1731 by naturalist Mark Catesby who first discovered the birds in the Carol inas. The name comes from the call note, which sounds like "towhee" or "jo-ree." These birds have been known as Jorees or Ground Robins in many areas of their range. They are found from southern Canada to Florida and spend the entire year with us here in the Carol inas. Towhces scratch for their food like chickens, ex ccpi lhat they move both feet at the same time, jump ing up as they do. Their noisy scratchings in dry leaves help them expose the insects and seeds which make up their diet. They will come to feeders for small seed and cracked corn. One source suggests that 6X% of their food is vegetable such is seeds, wild fruits, and berries. The remainder is made up of caterpillars, bugs, weevils, beetles, flies, and grasshoppers. Nests may be placed directly on the ground or in low shrubs no more than five feet above ground Two broods are raised each year, beginning in late April or early May. The first brood may be placed in a nest di rectly on the ground and the second above ground. The nest itself is a loosely constructed cup made from stems, leaves, twigs and bark, and lined with grasses, roots, and hair. The female constructs the nest and lays 4-6 white eggs, lightly spotted with reddish-brown. Incubation takes 12-13 days and is performed by the female, al though tiie male bird will bring her food during this time. Young birds leave the nest about the seventh day. Towhees should be very familiar birds to most of us because of their lack of fear in coming into our yards. Their song of "drink your tca-eeecc" is a wel comed sound. As one faithful bird watcher wrote a few years ago, "Few birds are prettier than the Towhees, and no sound cheerier than their call." Imagine No Bird Island Reading Lynn's column last week and looking over the pictures for her Under the Sun story reminded mc of our recent boat trip through the Mad Inlei marshes and alonp ihe wimt swept bcachcs of Bird Island. At the risk of seeming repetitious, I'd like to add my two-cents worth about the urgent need to preserve this last tiny morsel of unspoiled Brunswick County coastline. Because that's what it is, folks. Our final opportunity to set aside one small piccc of home so our children and their children's children can see what a barrier island looks like with out roads and houses and fishing piers anil real estate offices on it. Not many of you have ever been to Bird Island. And most of you probably never will. So why should you care if the owner goes ahead with her plan to build a mile-long bridge and causcway system to al low the construction of a 15-lot sub division there? Because if Bird Island is devel oped, future generations of Bruns wick County residents will never get the chance to experience what their home coastline looked like in its nat ural state. 'Iliey will have to go somewhere else. When I first moved to the Outer Banks in the mid 1970s, the main mad was a bcc-line of two-lane pavement that you could shoot a bullet down in wintertime without hitting anything. There wasn't a sin gle fast-food restaurant and only one traffic light in the 75 miles between Kilty Hawk and Hatteras. Back then, the natives still har bored a major grudge against the National Park Service for strong arming their ancestors into selling Eric ( Carlson ^ f MP > most of the land between Oregon Inlet and Ocracoke for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. They resented losing the opportunity to profit from the tidal wave of devel opment that everyone saw on the hori/.on. Most of them don't feel that way anymore. Today the main road is five lanes wide with stoplights every half mile. All the national restaurant franchises arc represented in what the locals call "burger alley." There arc department stores and car dealer ships and every major motel chain has an ocean front location. The summer traffic jams are horrendous. But those natives can still take their grandchildren over the Oregon Inlet Bridge and show them how things were when they were young. They can sull walk miles along an empty beach, eat an oyster pulled fresh from Pamlico Sound and see a thousand snow geese explode into the air. Bird Island is all we have left to show our grandchildren when they ask how things used to be. It's not enough for a national seashore. But future generations deserve a chance to walk that mile of unspoiled beach and gaze out across those acrcs of licit maisliiaiiu The best way to save Bird Island is noi to put stumbling blocks in the path of the owner's plan to use land that she has every right to develop. That can only lead to conflict and What's needed is a commitment to the idea of preserving the island from every government official, civic group, environmental organi zation and business leader in our re gion. We need to demonstrate to the owner that there is a good-faith ef fort under way to purchase the land for a fair price, not just a campaign to sabotage and delay development. Our state representatives need to take the lead in the preservation ef fort. A state lottery referendum can wail until next year or next decade. The folks in Calabash can tolerate their neighbors a little bit longer without a legislative debate about splitting the town in two. But if we lose the chance to pre serve Bird Island, we can never gel it back. Those of you who think merely in terms of dollars should remember that wild and scenic areas attract as many rent-paying, restaurant-eating, job-creating visitors as any golf course or fishing pier. Those of you who live inland ami feci no attachment to Bird Island should trailer your boat to Calabash, head out Little River Inlet and an chor off the eastern shore. Then take a walk along the beach (below the tide line) and let your mind wander back to a time when all the Bruns wick Islands looked like this. Then imagine describing what you feel to a young child who has never seen an undeveloped coast line. if you can do thai, you're a bet ter wordsmith than I. latcd Western states?during which lime, ironically, we have had an av erage income lower than the nation al average. At the same time, how ever, our state has become one of the fastest-growing states in the country, bringing new transportation challenges to both urban and rural areas. When Congress again passed a bill in 1987 that was unfair to North Carolinians, it was apparent to the governor, Harrington and legislative leaders that we would have to ad dress our own needs. After a lengthy process of study and considerable public debate, the General Assembly passed the most visionary trans portation legislation in the history of the state, the 19X9 Highway Trust Fund Act. The main elements of this landmark legislation tire: ?Constructing loops around sev en of our major urban centers. ?Doubling the funding for city streets. ?Paving nearly all dirt roads in airal areas. This bold initiative is supported by a menu of revenues that includes driver's license and registration fees, a highway-use tax on motor vehicles, and higher gaso line taxes. The vehicle-based rev enues serve to lessen our near-com plcte reliance on fuel-tax revenues, which have not kept pace with our road needs. At the same time, programs sup porting the other modes of trans portation were strengthened through the Highway Trust Fund, which pro vides up to S5 million annually to fund alternatives to highways. This money currently is supporting im proved passenger rail service be tween Charlotte and Rocky Mount, as well as preserving rail corridors for future use. By 1992, when the Congress was due to pass another surface-trans portation act. North Carolina had done its homework. By working closely with our congressional dele gation and being one in a coalition of "donor" states, we were able to move from a 79 percent return on dollars sent to Washington to an 87.5 percent return?a considerable improvement. These new funds will now support not only traditional road projects, but also high-occu pancy vehicle lanes, major improve ments to rail corridors, and renova tion of historic rail stations as inter modal transportation centers. Tackling Other Problems During Martin's tenure, several other transportation initiatives were begun: ?General aviation airports re ceived more reliable and increased funding. ?The administration worked with Triangle-area local government and legislators to organize, nurture, and support the new Triangle Transit Authority. ?The first high-occupancy-vchi clc lanes were placed under con struction on Independence Boule vard in Charlotte and others have been studied. New measures to improve effi ciency and safety are resulting in cost savings. Some of our grass mowing and rest area maintenance is now being privately contracted. Safety of the traveling public and of highway construction has been giv en its rightful prominence. Night time visibility has been enhanced greatly by a program of placing raised rellectors on all major roads. Wider reflective markings arc going on the Interstate system. Many more rail crossings arc being signalized and new "Buckeye Crossbucks" arc being tried in selective locations. Strong support for touch drunk driver legislation and extensive pub lic campaigns for seat-belt usage have resulted in many lives saved. Our overall driver-safety effort re sulted in a 10 percent drop in fatali ties in 1992?twice the national rate of decrease. In addition, transporta tion workplace accidcnts in North Carolina dropped by 30 percent. On the environmental front, at the urging of First Lady Dottie Martin the Department of Transportation in stituted the Adopt-a-Highway and NVildflowcr Planting programs, which have both become nationally recognized models. We have also emphasized the use of recycled ma terials in highway construction. An Unfinished Agenda Although much progress has been made in the last eight years, there is certainly much more to accomplish. First and foremost, the Highway Trust Fund must be protected from raids. The people of the state were promised those improvements out lined above in return for accepting major increases in highway user fees. Promises must be kept. Until we have substantially completed the statewide system of four-lane roads, urban loops, improved city streets and paved secondary roads, the trust fund should not be tinkered with. Maintenance needs might be the only exception. We have identified a multi-mi llion-dollar backlog in highway maintenance needs which is growing every day and putting at risk nearly $70 billion in investment in roads and bridges. A strong case could be made for setting aside a certain amount of Highway Trust Fund money for the preservation and maintenance of existing roads, be they major or secondary. Another source of funding for maintenance could be the sales tax on motor-vehicle parts and acces sories. In any event, something must be done if North Carolina is to maintain its rightful place as die "Good Roads State." We also need to keep up the push to achieve greater equity in federal funding. And continued emphasis on driver and worker safety is vitally needed A champion for driver safety needs to be at the top level of DOT. Historically, there has been a feeling that safety improvements such as raised reflectors, wider lane mark ings and better signs arc somewhat wasteful or superfluous. Certainly concrete, asphalt and steel arc im portant, but well-delineated high ways arc equally important, espe cially for our aging population and increasingly inclement weather. Another new initiative has been to better manage traffic congestion. The effort we started in Winston Salem to intervene with motorist-as sistance patrols, state-of-the-art traf fic management systems, and a co ordinated multi-agency effort to un clog traffic jams must be spread to our other urban areas. This will not only help in accident prevention but also will help commerce by keeping traffic moving more efficiently. Finally, we need to continue im proving our information systems. DOT used to be on the technological cutting edge, but now it is saddled with antiquated systems in our fiscal section and our Division of Motor Vehicles. We will never be able to serve our citizens in the way they deserve until we employ the latest information technology. This too, is an area in which great cost savings can be found. During a time in which the public is demanding more while resources are tight, we need to look to to technology to solve many of our problems. In my opinion, we have had a progressive eight years. But the challenges are far from over. North Carolina continues to be an econom ically vibrant, high-growth Sunbelt state. With that growth comes con tinuing transportation pressures. The slate will need to continue respond ing in creative and innovative ways. Our citizens and our visitors expect and deserve nothing less. MORE LETTERS 'Get Off Superintendent's Back' To ihc editor: Ii seems that lately every time we hear a newscast, Brunswick County schools arc a featured item. Unfor tunately, it seems always to be nega tive publicity. As PTA president at Lincoln Primary School, I am certainly aware that our schools have prob lems. Every school system has its share, and we arc no different. But I would like to speak in sup port of our superintendent, Ralph Johnston. Dr. Johnston did not begin as superintendent until Oct. 1, 1992. He knew he was taking on a difficult job made even harder by coming when the school year was already in nrno re?5?5 He is a good man. He has a vision of what our schools should be. He has a strong moral base, and the mo tivation to accomplish his goals. Parents: It is good that you place a high priority on your children's education. But Dr. Johnston is your ally, not your foe. He wants the same things you do. He need occa sionally to hear words of support in stead of complaint. He needs some times to have a cheering section in stead of a jeering section. County commissioners: 1 know there arc problems between the Board of Education and yourselves. You have some just gripes. But Dr. Johnston is being caught in the polit ical storm between the two boards. He is not the source of the problems. He was not even here when most of them were created. Give him a chance to work with you. And lastly, the press: I know your business is to report the news, to keep the public informed. But don't make Dr. Johnston your whipping boy. There arc plenty of us who can share the blame. Get off his back and give him a chance. Let's not lose a well-qualified, caring individual who is trying to do his job. Tina Child [.eland Energy Tax Unfair To the editor: I would like to point out a few things concerning President Clin ton's broad-based energy tax pack age. This package will lax the hide off people who can't afford it, peo ple who live off Social Security, the very poor who can't pay their bills now, and the great middle class who pay most of the taxes that hold the country together. These arc the peo ple who he promised tax relief. Second, when this bill is passed it will cause everything in the country to increase in price, since everything uses energy. Our light bills, water bills, heat bills, air conditioning, gas for transportation, food and cloth ing?everything from a toothpick to an apple to an automobile. How about the almost S40 billion in for eign aid, the homes we are building or. the West Bunk, lar.d that our own government says is stolen while we are told that millions of Americans arc homeless? This destructive bill reminds me of a song that Phil Harris used to sing called, "The Dark Town Pok er's Club." It went like this: "Keep your bony hands upon the table while you are dealing, please, and don't be slipping any of those aces down between your knees, and slop making all them funny signs like you're trying to tip off your hand. Just keep talking American, Ameri can so that I can understand." Every one of us better contact Charlie Rose and tell him to kill this bill before it kills us. W.H. Stanley Calabash lifting Ban 'Ridiculous' To the ed'tor: With interest 1 read Eric Carlson's column in the Feb. 11 Beacon con cerning President Clinton's plan to lift the official "ban" on gays in the military. I do not agree with him that there is no place in society that should permit unprovoked assaults on individuals such as he described in the incident in Wilmington. Mr. Carlson may have served in the military as he seems to be talk ing with authority and experience; however, he sees the lifting of the "ban" differently than I do. 1 was drafted into the military and, as most everyone that served, I had to sleep in two-man pup tents, cat and show er together and were closely con fined. I then read about the AIDS virus being spread 50 percent by male ho mosexuals. The fact that President Clinton would declare this as an ac ceptable lifestyle is very disturbing to me, especially when we arc trying to cure AIDS. Permitting them to serve openly in the military is ridiculous to me. In my opinion when President Clinton said he would lift the "ban" on homosexuals in the armed ser vices, the news media have taken the 10 percent that agree with hint and have tried to make the other 90 percent think it is a majority. David Combs Spencer, W.Va. Don'f Mess Up News To the editor: This letter is in reference to an ar ticle appearing in the Feb. 18 issue of the Beacon regarding a father pleading guilty to charges that he sexually molested his daughters. In this otherwise valid news story, the reporter chose to incorporate into the article those details as to precise ly how the father violated his daugh ters. Is it necessary or proper to report in graphic detail bedroom and bath room scenes involving the father and his daughters? Is there any re deeming news or social value con tained in those portions of the arti cle? The mere fact that the father ad mits his tfansgressions is sufficient information in this case and the methods he used to saiiate his sexual appetite are superfluous. There is disturbing trend in this direction nationally, and newspa pers' constitutional guarantees to print almost anything they choosc appears to have become accepted le gal tenet. I would hope that the Beacon staff is not following this form of reporting as part of journal istic competition. Two Beacon staff members were recently honored for excellence in their chosen profession, but not for reporting details such as indicated above. You have a very good news paper. Don't mess it up! Francis W. Niland Shallot te
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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Feb. 25, 1993, edition 1
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