THE PENDULUM
NEWS
WEDNESDAY. JULY 28. 2010 // PAGE 5
Alamance County commissioners
race gears up as voting day nears
Jack Dodson
News Editor
In the midst of a mid-term election cycle
that’s producing grassroots movements and
high-profile politicians across the country,
the Alamance County commissioners race
has seen a 21-year-old candidate, a battle for
two seats between three incumbents and the
possibility of a write-in from former state
representative Cciry Allred.
The race, which will elect three members to
the county’s board of commissioners, consists
of one two-year term and two four-year term
seats. With seven official candidates running
for the three seats — three Republiccins, three
Democrats cind a libertarian — the field has
already narrowed from a Icirger group before
the primaries in May.
Jeremy Teetor, a 2010 graduate of Elon
University and student teacher, is rurming
against Tom Manning, cin Alcimance-
Burlington School System Board of Education
member and former chairman at the
Alamance County Chamber of Commerce.
Both cire two-ye£ir term candidates.
Teetor said his age has become less of
cin issue than he thought it might be going
into the race, especially since he graduated.
Now, interviewing for jobs as a teacher and
campaigning tcikes up his time, he said.
“You really discover what it’s like to be
under a magnifying glass,” Teetor said.
“People really pay attention to what you do.
It’s a different realm.”
Teetor said his main concern is reigning
in spending by the county.
“Alcimance County needs to spend a lot of
time reevaluating its spending priorities,” he
Sciid. “We need to restore fiscal responsibility
to county depcirtments.”
He Sciid his other concerns cire attracting
companies to BurUngton, providing more
effective public transportation and reviewing
old policies of the board. Mcinning, on
the other hand, said his biggest priorities
are three items: economic development,
education and public safety.
“The three are inter-related,” Manning
said. “I’ve said that all along. I'm ready to go
into the fall, emphasizing the same things
that I have all cdong.”
The four-yecir term ceoididates, Ann
Vaughan, Tim Sutton and Bill Lashley, are
vying for two seats, but eill three already
serve on the board. Lashley is at the end of his
two-year term replacing Dan Ingle, who went
to the state legislature to take over for Cciry
Allred when he resigned amidst accusations
of inappropriate behavior. Vaughan cind
Sutton are at the end of their current four-
year terms.
“As far as I’m concerned," Vaughan said,
“I’m getting geared up now.”
Sutton, who is on his fourth term with
the board now, said he’s rtmning because he
didn’t want to just give up his seat.
“I just felt like I was going to have to run
again because if they want my seat, they’re
going to have to beat me for it,” Sutton said.
He Sciid there’s always been a challenge for
his seat.
“It's Democrats versus Republicans,” he
said. “I’ve always had to run against somebody
for the seat — even Republicans. I don’t feel
bad about it. Either way, somebody has to go, I
just hope it’s not me.”
Sutton said some his biggest concerns are
in the taxes and the spending in Alamance
County. Both Vaughan cind Lashley said tcixes
were a large part of their platforms, too, and
that they didn’t want to raise taxes in the
county unnecessarily.
Vaughan said her plan with taxes is to
“IT’S DEMOCRATS VERSUS
REPUBLICANS. I’VE ALWAYS HAD
TO RUN AGAINST SOMEBODY FOR
THE SEAT-EVEN REPUBLICANS.
I DON’T FEEL BAD ABOUT IT.
EITHER WAY, SOMEBODY HAS TO
GO, I JUST HOPE IT’S NOT ME.”
-TIM SUTTON
ALAMANCE COUNTY
COMMISSIONER
try to keep from raising them at all, but it's
difficult to anticipate what may influence that
decision.
“It's the unexpected we need to be
concerned about — on the federal level
coming down to the state," she said.
Lashley said while he wouldn’t vote for tax
increases, it’s hcird to avoid during a recession,
and he said it’s this kind of spending that gets
local governments into trouble.
“In recessions, all forms of governments
raise taxes," Lashley said. “When times are
good, economies boom, they’ve got more than
they know what to do with, so they spend it."
Former Rep. Cary Allred, of Burlington,
said he has a petition with 200 signatures that
he is considering submitting so he Ccin be a
write-in candidate. The petition is due August
4.
Allred, who was formerly a Republiccin,
was a county commissioner for 10 years
before he went to the state house. Once
there, the RepubliCcin party accused him of
inappropriate behavior.
“I have been the victim of some unfortunate
harassment by the Burlington Police and my
name has been dragged through the mud
from false allegations in the legislature," he
Sciid.
He said the Republicans in Raleigh
showed him a lack of support and were
even back-stabbing. In 2009, he resigned
amid controversy surrounding what critics
Ccdled an inappropriate and lengthy hug of a
teenage girl. Allred Scdd is was his neighbor’s
daughter, a page at the state house, who he
hugged and kissed on the cheek.
The recent move to consider another
term as county commissioner came out of
frustration with the board’s performance, he
said.
“The reason I wanted to run agciin is
because I don’t think the Alamance County
Commissioners are conservative enough
with the tax payers’ money," he said. “They
cater to special interest groups who cire
constcintly asking for money.”
He said he hasn’t decided whether he’ll
submit the petition yet.
“There’s a good possibility I will,” he Sciid.
“It depends how mad I am on August 4.”
Local private
school sued
LAWSUIT from PAGE 1
between the two teachers
and had “disparaging comments
about the students, faculty and
staff at Elon, including derogatory
comments about Khaki and her
family."
Greene and her mother went
to school officials to discuss the
matter, where they were told the
school would treat the internal
affair as a “learning tool."
In Februciry 2009, another
anonymous package of emails
were delivered to Greene’s
parents’ restaurant.
The lawsuit claims the second
batch of e-mails caused publicity
and “Elon has been content to
let Saxe and McKinney finish
the school year, despite their
clear incompetence." It was the
publicity from the e-mails, the
lawsuit claims, which forced The
Elon School to terminate Saxe and
McKinney’s employment.
The lawsuit states students
have access to teacher’s e-mail
accounts and Greene could have
seen the e-mails and “that this
would cause(d) severe emotional
distress.” The lawsuit does not
say if students delivered the
unmarked packages.
The Elon School has a
policy that states all electronic
communication system are
property of the school and
may be reviewed periodically
“to assure that the use of the
e-mail communication system
is consistent with the school’s
interest.”
The Elon School headmaster
John Silva said he could not
comment on current legal matters.
Frank Johns of Booth Harrington
& Johns is representing Greene
and said they could not speak
to the media about this case.
McKinney, Saxe and Greene could
not be reached for comment.
Company officials, environmentalists speak out at commissioner’s meeting
STERICYCLE from PAGE 1
design, propose and test
for approved and consisted
compliance.”
And the companies would
need time to apply for permits
to build new facilities, she said.
More than adozen supporters
of the resolution were in
attendance at the meeting.
Many stated Stericycle had
the money and resources to
use an alternative method of
disposing medical waste.
Eric Henry, Burlington
resident, congratulated
Stericycle on maintaining a
profitable business but told
commissioners that profits
where the company’s main
objective.
“So first I would like to
request that Stericycle look
beyond their bottom line to meet
these new regulations," he said.
“But I also would request our
county commissioners protect
the citizens of Alamance County
and pass this resolution."
The number one polluter.
Commissioner Linda Massey
said, was diesel. She asked
the audience did that mean the
trucks needed to be taken off
the road.
“I just want to be fair to
everybody," she said. “And
I really am for clean air but
1 just think that we need to
give these people the time
limit that the state and federal
government has given them to
be in compliance with the new
rules."
Boswell said his father-in-
law had a daughter who died
from cancer and he wondered
if what was being released
from the smokestacks at Haw
River where anyway related
to her death. He said he read
on Stericycle’s website that
the company wanted to be
environmentally friendly.
“Be considerate of the people
you live around you too is all 1
want to ask because I think
you mean that,” he said. “And
sometimes money is not an
issue where life is. If there
is something you can spend
money on to improve this why
wouldn't you?"
A state-wide hearing on the
new regulations is tentatively
set for August.
Students blog, record
regional Internet forum
INTERNET from PAGE 1
to not only learn about Internet
governance and document an
historical event," she said, “but
would like to practice real-time
journalism."
Colin Donohue, coordinator
of student media and adviser to
The Pendulum, traveled to D.C. to
oversee the students' work and
help in the documentation of the
conference.
The conference, he said, was
a great place for the students to
learn about Internet governance
from experts in the field,
academia and civil society.
“It was a lot of fun watching
students engage in a multimedia
real time reporting enterprise on
a tight deadline,” Donohue said.
“It was challenging but exciting,
and I think the students gain
some great experience from a
valuable opportunity.”
Throughout the day, the
students were paired together
based on writing and video skills
to capture all sides of sessions,
panels and workshops.
“It was really nonstop action
as soon as we got there,” senior
Camille DeMere said. “Writing,
editing and filming didn't stop
until an hour and half after the
conference was over.”
Representatives from
the U.S. government, major
communication companies,
academia and civil society
debated and engaged in the
different sessions. After the
initial welcome, the attendees
chose between three scenarios,
each with an alternative futuristic
model of the Internet.
After a short break for lunch,
attendees listened and debated
with experts during workshops
that covered privacy, Domain-
Name Systems and child safety.
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