Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Nov. 3, 1983, edition 1 / Page 2
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editorials & comments Vote ror Your Future Once again we are approach ing the time when responsible, concerned citizens should be prepared to cast their votes for the candidates of their choice from mayor to council members at-large, to others at the dis trict level. Once again also, but with considerably more eniplia-— sis from the charisma of Jesse Jackson and the efforts of the Voter Education Task Force, more blacks and more whites —-ha.ve.regi.stered.to.vote.. Taking their cues from the candidates, The Post and the other media have clearly layed out the issues - growth manage ment, transportation, fiscal re sponsibility, taxes, neighborhood development, uptown revitaliz ation, and public-private rela tionships-for your careful study and analysis. Now, it is up to you, the voters, to act with your votes to determine which way and by what method Charlotte will move and lay a foundation for entering the 21st century. Consistent with our policy over the past half dozen years, we offer no candidates for endorse ment. We believe we havo of fered you varied opinions on the issues in a fair, objective, ba lanced and accurate way and we don’t need to clutter your minds with our opinions on specific candidates. As a community newspaper, we have done our part, now it’s your turn to tell us, tell the candidates, what you the citizens, the taxpayers, want and expect through your votes. It’s your home, your neighborhood, your tax dollar, and your city, so you decide by voting your con victions on election day - Novem ber 8. VOTE, VOTE and VOTE. Vote “Yes” On Bonds Along with the election of a new mayor and City Council on November 8, you, the voters, will be asked to support $92.9 million in city and county bonds. The bonds are for water, sewer and street improvements, court fa cilities, library expansions, flood control facilities, sanitary landfill, CPCC, a garbage-to energy incinerator, and county government office space. The $92.2 million bond pack age is a staggering sum of _money, but it’s for vital and important needs. A broad-based citizens’ committee studied the needs for many months and re commended the improvements through bonds. Significantly, while property and intangible taxes, ABC revenues, water and sewer fees and interest income from capital funds will be used to pay off the bonds, there will be no tax increases to pay for the bonds. In specific terms, it has been more than 20 years since the library requested public support in a bond referendum. That fact in itself considering population growth and related matters should clearly show why a li brary expansion is necessary. The $9.3 million bond issue will allow for expansion of the Tryon Street Main Library branch, the construction of a new branch in the Hickory Grove community and expansion of the Matthews library branch. With substantial ly increased use, the LaSalle Street library branch might have been in the bond package. Included in the “street im provements” bond referendum is money to widen Parkwood Ave. partly around Optimist Park. This will help to retain the neighborhood character of Opti mist Park, an issue of great concern to the residents of the area. Included with these “im provements” also will be side walks at a cost of $1.5 million. Significantly, the building of these sidewalks will be at lo cations directly suggested by citizens and organizations. All sites were evaluated and ranked m priority. : The Central Piedmont Com munity College $2 million bond will be used for the purchase of both new and replacement in structional equipment for many of the departments at the insti tution. Considering the quality education that thousands of Charlotteans and others from near-by areas receive at CPCC, including many, many blacks, this bond issue is a worthwhile investment. It is a widely known fact that our county court facilities are in adequate to meet our judicial needs for the timely processing of court cases. Therefore, the $11.1 million court system fa cilities bonds for additions to the Mecklenburg County Court house, the renovation of 70,000 square feet of space in the County Courthouse and Court house Annex, and a new parking facility. These and other bond issues are important and necessary for the orderly growth of our city in ^ahealthy and safe manner. THE CHARLOTTE POST “THE PEOPLE’S NEWSPAPER” Established 1918 Published Every Thursday by The Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc. -Subscription Rate $17.68-PerYear Second Class Postage No. 965500 Postmaster Send 3579s To: 1531 Camden Rd.. Charlotte. N.C. 28203 Telephone: 704-376-0496 Circulation 11,023 106 Years of Continuous Service Bill Johnson Editor. Publisher Bernard Reeves General Manager Fran Farrer Advertising Director Dannette Gaither . Office Manager Second Class Postage No. 965500 Paid at Charlotte, North Carolina Under the Act of March 3, 1878 Member, National Newspaper Publishers* Association 'Nortfi CaroIffia BTack Publishers Association Deadline for all news copy and photos is 5 p.m. Monday. All photos and copy submitted become the property of The Post and will not be returned. National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc. 2400 S. Michigan AN. 45 W. 45th St.. Salt* US9 Chicago, in. 00010 New York, New York I00M Columrt 5-0200 212-400-1220 NOW. IF THE BLACKS g WANTPOWBR-THBY * will have to get rr . THROOOH THE BALLOT* BOX 7 ***** .« ^ -A WEAL. Announces Endorsements To The Editor: The Charlotte National Organization for Women Political Action Commit tee sent questionnaires to all candidates in the ma yoral ' and city • council races. These question naires covered issues of broad concern to women (i.e., ERA, productive choice) as well as local issues (housing, day care, minority and female parti cipation in bidding for city contracts, candidates’ per ception of the major issues facing Charlotte). Based on the responses to our questionnaire and our knowledge of the candi dates' records, the Char lotte NOW PAC makes the following recommenda tions. For mayor, we endorse Harvey Gantt (D). We be lieve that he will be an excellent mayor for the city of Charlotte. In the at-large city coun cil races, we give our full support to Minnette Trosch (R). Ms. Trosch has de monstrated a good grasp of the issues and has worked hard on those of particular importance to women. We consider her to be the best of the candidates running for city council at-large. Our preferences among the other at-large candidates are for Ed Harris (D) and Bob Davis (D). We did not receive a response from Willie Stratford. In District 1, the choice is clear: Pam Patterson (D). She has shown sensitivity in her questionnaire re sponse and in her work on City Council. We recom mend Charlie Dannelly (D) in District 2. In District 3, our choice is Eon Lee per (D) who has been a per ceptive and hardworking ^ Counrilman In rw.-jrt f. we recommend Evan Web ster (D). His position on issues of concern to women is excellent. In District 7, our choice is Nell Fisher (D). Candidates in District 4 (Laura Freeh) and Dis trict 5 (Ann Hammond) are running unopposed. We urge you to vote on Tuesday, November 8th. Sincerely, _ Hick Deltchman for the Charlotte NOW PAC Vote “Yes” For Court Facilities Bonds L»ear r.auor: We strongly urge all citi zens of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to vote yes for Court Facili ties Bonds on November 8. , For the past 12 months, the Citizens Criminal Jus tice Commission has been studying the Mecklenburg County Court System. We were asked to serve on this commission because we had no vested interests. We are not lawyers or judges or employees of the sys tem. We have looked at the problems closely, care fully and objectively. We are unanimous in our con clusion that the system is not working efficiently, and that significant improve ment must be made. Our citizens expect reasonable protection of life and pro perty, and every person is entitled to a fair trial and justice. - A major problem for the luui to is uic uidut^udcy ui their physical facilities. There is simply not enough space, and the arrange ment is not designed for the present complement of people or flow of work. Hie volume of work has in creased dramatically - due to the increase in crime and lawsuits, new laws, and the growth of our popu lation. Our commission be lieves the working condi tions in these facilities are intolerable and there is no way our court personnel can work efficiently under these conditions. Please, vote “Yes” on No vember 8 for all the bonds, and especially for Court System Facilities Bonds. Citizens Criminal Justice Committee J.A. Tate Jr., Chairman Rolfe Neill Harriet A. “Sis” Kaplan The Rev. Leon Riddick Dr. Jay Robinson From Capitol Hitt, Marines Described As “Sitting Ducks” Alfred* L. Madison Special To The Poet The dictionary defines patriotic as love and de fenseof one’s country. Pre sident Reagan has re ferred to the Marines who were placed in Lebanon, in a vulnerable target posi tion, being described by some as “sitting ducks,” as doing their patriotic duty. Americans are not Leban ese, so why risk their lives in a civil war with several Lebanese factions fighting each other? When the Republicans were meeting to effect the 1960 platform, former Sen ator Jacob Javits said, "We and our European allies must control the trade routes to the Per sian Gulf.” The Senator told this reporter that con trol of the trade routes were necessary so we could control the oil there, in stead of the Soviets. Is . putting pur Marines in Le banon part of a sneaky plan to obtain oil in that re gion? Perhaps the labelled terrorists who killed the French soldiers and our Marines had that in mind The French have a vital interest in the region's oil, so the Italian and British forces were not harmed. President Reagan com mitted 1,200 Marines to Lebanon • more than 200 have been killed and around 100 wounded The President says we will not let terrorists run us out Is Alfreds L. Madison it compassion for the Ad ministration and Congress, none of whom have sons among the 1,200, to con sign the Marines to inevit able death to support these American leaders’ bullish ness or to gain oil control for American oil barons9 Mr. Reagan must do some clear, true explaining to the American public. After the first six Marines were killed. Con gress went into action - calling up the 1973 War_ Powers Act, which limits U S. troop involvement in war beyond 60 days with out the consent of Con gress. The Administra tion wanting no limitations put on its actions, so it began to lobby the people of Congress until the majority of both houses agreed to give the President the pri vilege of keeping Ameri can troops there for 18 months. Many Congress persons argued that we were already engaged in war. Senator Hollings stated, "American citizens serv ing in the armed forces of this nation have been in terjected into a hostile and threatening environment. American citizens are in volved in fighting, the wounded, the dying. Ame rican dead are listed as killed in action, wounded in action and the Marines are receiving combat pay.” In commenting on the re cent Marine tragedy, Sen ator Hollings urges the President to ”1. get the U.S. troops out of their present position of vulner ability, 2. replacing the entire peace-keeping force on board ship off shore.” Senator Kennedy, re ferred to the Marines as a “terrorists Pearl Harbor in the Middle East. The Ad ministration must answer whether it has a plan which within a reasonable period, envisions a settle ment in Lebanon or the "withdrawal-of.-our Marines.” Representative William Clay said, "The tragic si tuation of our brave, young men being murdered in their sleep necessitates our withdrawal. The initial purpose for the Marines being in Lebanon was to keep the peace. There was a possibility of a nego tiated peace, but we took sides with the Christians. There are several different factions in Lebanon with several different wars going there.” Representative William Gray, whose resolution to get the Marines out of Lebanon in 60 days was defeated when the War Powers Act was being dis cussed, said, “I was deep ly shocked by the loss of life." He said he realized the Marines could not be protected at the airport, when he was in Lebanon four months before the tra gedy occurred. Gray said, “The U.S. has two options: 1. increase the troops, 2. withdraw the Marines and place them with the U.N. Forces. Representative John Conyers said, “We must withdraw the Marines be cause we are facing a no-win situation.” Congressman Walter Fauntroy said, “I’m deep ly saddened and out raged at the savage act. Ever since this nation, PLO and Begin government re fused to seek, peace through nonviolence, the situation had been disastrous. It is ironic that in the week that the country paid tribute to the Prophet of Nonvio lence, two beastly acts oc curred in Lebanon and Grenada We’ve sown to the wind and we've reaped the whirlwind.” All 21 members of the Congressional Black Cau cus voted against giving the President the privilege of keeping Marines in Lebanon g' WITH SABRINA JOHNSONM^HM A - k ^■■f Sabrina J • I Editor’s Note - Scope will return to this space next week. Symbol Or Substance -By Charles G. Adams In these lean days of economic depriv ation, there is a tendency to deprecate symbols, ridiculing them for their seeming lack of substance or practical gain. How " ever; an important - di mensien - of- being. human is the capacity to create symbols and respond to symbolic words and things. Only a human being knows the different between holy water and drinking water, between a sanctuary and an auditorum, between a rag and a flag. We are pleased that Congress demon strated its knowledge of the difference between just another human being and 0 bonafi.de prophet and martyr, Martin Luther King Jr., by establishing a paid federal holiday to celebrate his birth. The only other American to be so highly honored . • is George Washington. Lincoln’s birthday is not a legal holiday, and Columbus was not an American but an Italian explorer. So many, great Black heroes and heroines - have done their work and laid down their . lives and then passed into obscurity, that it -; gratifies us to know now that Martin Luther ; King Jr. will not be forgotten. Hundreds of : years hence, when We and our children and -: their children shall hatfe marched off the-; map of history, unborn generations of • Americans will ask, “What does this holiday mean? Who was Martin Luther King Jr? What did he do to merit such long • and perpetual commemoration?” -men tne story will De tola of his birth and . parentage in Atlanta in 1929, and the-: strength and love in black family life will be : honored. They will speak of his religious beliefs. They will tell of how King en hanced American law and improved the awareness of the American public at the ■ expense of personal safety with courage and truth. Others will say that his light still shines, that his words still inspire. We must remember that many who deeply abhor the meaning of Martin’s' message and holiday bill are the same ones who also passed a bill for the MX missile and other dreadful instruments of war. That same Congress has curtailed budgetary outlays for health and human services. President Reagan did reluctantly agree to sign the bill with one hand while clinging to# the bill’s conservative opponents with the other hand. His heart is not in it. Some one said, “I only wish he felt in his heart what he will write with his hand.” The political fear of growing black voter regis tration and participation has produced what the love for justice and equality could nob yield.' Who cares whether he means it or not? The very fact that he doesn’t mean it is a clear witness and a tremendous tribute to the political strength and persuasion of the . black voter. It ought to awaken and encourage unregistered blacks to register and vote. The love of politicians is not necessary; but their respect and fear must be won by those who wield the vote. Crime Prevention There was a time when front doors could be left open without fear of rob bery. But Just in the past decade bolt locks, sticks and many other security items are used to keep thieves out. One program initiated in 1979 entitled the Mecklen burg County Crime Pre vention Association, has merged the caring at titudes of neighboring indi viduals to provide safer home environments. The next meeting of the Mecklenburg County Crime Prevention Associa tion, which covers all of Mecklenburg County ex cept the city of Charlotte, will be held Thursday, November 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the United Community Services Auditorium, 301 Brevard St. Meetings are held each quarter accord ing to William M. Sims Jr. Program Chairman. "We are hoping that at least two members from each community crime prevention program will attend,” Sims commented. "Everyone is invited, how ever . the whole neighbor hood is invited.” The idea for the crime prevention association came from the Mecklen burg County Police De partment. "People were seeing that their neigh bors’ homes were being broken into. The police would ask the leader to get at least 75 percent of the neighbors together for a meeting. They tell you how to secure your home, how to mark your property with your driver’s license number with an engraving tool. Then police even lent us the tools for about four weeks until each neighbor had a chance to use it.” If a items are stolen from the home, police have only to contact Raleigh to check driver’s license numbers « for the rightful owners* ^ names. a “Basically the program is the same in each com munity.” Sims lives be tween Cornelius and Hunt ersville. “Watching out for your neighbors. My neigh twrs pick up my mail and newspapers for ms when I am out of town. There are also signs at the entrance and exit of the community with the warning that we have a crime prevention association,” Sims con cluded.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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