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DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 2015
94-NUMBER 13
NEAL MIDDLE
SCHOOL BRIDGE
COMPETITION
WINNERS - From
left to right are:
Vance Jenkins,
James, McFarland
(Coach-Southern
High School); Odell
Hill, Jr., Zachary
Young, Roderick
Forrest, Jr., David
Williams, Jamuary
Pleasant, Peter
Adetunji, Brandon
Minor, Cameron
Hicks, Paul Adetun
ji, Andre Campbell,
Jr., and Ms. Ursela
Jones (Coach-
STEM Scholars).
(Photo by Billy D.
Barrier, NCDOT)
Bid to redistribute
C sales tax money
praised, panned
By Emery P. Dalesio
RALEIGH (AP) - A legislative proposal for the state
take away the local portion of sales taxes highlighted
o undercurrents in Raleigh - the increased clout of
ral Republicans and their conflicts with Gov. Pat
cCrory, a fellow Republican who was formerly Char
ite’s mayor.
The state Senate is proposing to strip away some of
s revenues of vacation destinations like Dare County
d richer locales like Charlotte. Senators say the intent
to redistribute money from some of the “haves” to
Ip poorer, rural counties. That should attack a problem
at has festered for decades - urban centers growing in
te and wealth while most of the state lags behind, the
Il’s sponsor said.
“These inequities lead to a vicious cycle that forces
ral counties to fund their public schools and basic in-
istructure needs through sky-high property taxes,” said
mate Majority Leader Harry Brown, R-Onslow. “Sky-
gh property taxes in much of rural North Carolina cre-
8 another major obstacle to new industry locating and
eating jobs there.”
McCrory says revamping and redistributing the local
lunkofsalestaxesisabadidea.Hishomecountyof
ecklenburg is forecast as one of the eight counties
sing money while 91 other counties gain, according to
tures provided by Brown’s office and legislative fiscal
searchers. Wake County was to see no change.
Dare County, where beaches draw vacationers from
ong the East Coast, is projected to lose almost 60 per-
nt of the local portion of sales tax revenue collected
ere. The other losers once the plan is phased in by
118 and the money redistributed based on population
e Currituck, Carteret, New Hanover, Watauga, Bun-
mbe and Durham counties.
Currituck County officials say it could lose more than
tercent of its current $48 million operating budget,
rcing a sharp cut in services or a property tax increase,
tunties would share revenues with cities and towns
sed on population, not as some do now based on prop-
ty values.
The Senate plan “will cause great harm to the eco-
>mic engines of this state. It would actually raise taxes
i millions of citizens and job creators throughout this
Ite. We cannot afford to have this bill passed,” Mc-
orysaidoftheproposal.
Brown said McCrory apparently didn’t really under-
ind what the plan would do, and anyhow, it’s likely to
tweaked heavily in the weeks ahead.
(Continued On Page 3)
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated:
April 4,1968, Memphis, Tenn. He was a Nobel Peace
Price winner and was a major leader in the fight for
Civil Rights in America. He was born January 15,
1929 and a national holiday is named for him.
All Eyes Fixed on Ferguson s
April 7 Election
By Freddie Allen
NNPA Senior Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON (NNPA) - If the black residents of
Ferguson, Mo., want to radically reform the political cli
mate that encouraged police to disproportionately ticket,
fine and arrest them to collect revenue for the city coffers,
they’ll have to do more than embrace non-violent acts of
civil disobedience and peaceful protests - they will have
to vote.
In the north St. Louis suburb that is nearly 70 percent
black, five of six city councilmembers are white and the
mayor is a white Republican. The police force is almost
95 percent white.
On April 7, voters in Ferguson will go to the polls in a
round of highly-anticipated elections for three out of the
six of the city council seats.
“We are in the process now of preparing people to go to
polls so that we can turn the tide of the council, where the
real power lies in Ferguson,” said Rev. Traci Blackmon,
(Continued On Page 3)
Regional Winners of the
NCDOT Model Bridge
Competition Advance
To Finals
RALEIGH - The N.C. Department of Transportation
invited all North Carolina middle and high schools to par
ticipate in its 16th annual Model Bridge Building Compe
tition. The contest is designed to give students a hands-on
opportunity to apply their science, technology, engineer
ing and math skills to a real-world scenario.
The event features teams of students designing and
building a model bridge. The bridges are tested by NC
DOT engineers, with the engineers and representatives of
engineering companies serving as the judges.
The regionals were held at four locations across the
state on Friday, March 27, and the winners below have
advanced to the finals on April 17 in Raleigh:
Region One:
Middle School - Beaufort Middle School of Beaufort
High School - CamTech High School of Camden
Region Two:
Middle School - Neal STEM Academy of Engineering
and Design of Durham
High School - Franklin Academy High School of Wake
Forest
Region Three:
Middle School - Westmoore Middle School in Sea
grove
High School - North Moore High School in Robbins
Region Four:
Middle School Winner - Polk County Middle School,
Mill Spring, NC
High School Winner - Polk County High School, Mill
Spring, NC
The first place winners in last year’s competition were
Franklin Academy High School in Wake Forest and Polk
County Middle School in Mills Springs.
This competition is intended to get students excited
about STEM courses (Science, Technology, Engineering
and Math). The objectives of the competition are to en
courage students to pursue engineering careers and ulti
mately lead them to positions with NCDOT.
To learn more about the competition check out the
Model Bridge Building event video on YouTube, or con
tact event organizer Gail Herring via email at gherring@
ncdot.gov or (919) 707-4442.
Register
To Vote