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THE PILOT-Southern Pines, North Carolina
Wednesday, May 6, 1981
Capital Comments
BY BILLNOBLITT
Suppose that a lady decides to
have ner spouse killed by a hired
gun, thfe act is done, and she
subsequently stands trial on a
charge of conspiracy to commit a
felony.
Under North Carolina’s Fair
Sentencing Act which takes full
effect July 1 this year, that
defendant could go to prison for
56 days; then freedom.
As always, with new laws and
modified laws which are passed
back and forth from Senate to
House of Representatives;
Conference Set May 12
On Employe Assistance
Sandhills Mental Health
Center is sponsoring a one da’
conference on Employ
Assistance Programs (EAP’*"
Southern Pines on May 12. .
The conference will
together experts on E/
throughout the Care
discuss the Increase
ment of these
programs in southoStern North
CaroUna. ^ organized
services
for “troubled^^P'^y®®’
nirfnrwce deteriorates for
medlcal reasons.
recent innovation Ui
"ro^ve productivity. The
P have been shown to be
P'^^isful investments for large
^''small employers throughout
^’section.
Dr. John McBride, EAP
consultant for the Sandhills
Mental Health Center, stated
“The goals of this program
(EAP) are to identify problems
at the earliest possible stage, to
motivate employes to seek help,
and to refer employes to the most
appropriate service available.”
The May 12 conference, which
is titled “Employe Assistance
Program-Positive Strokes for
Troubled Folks,” will focus upon
the reasons for EAPs and how
employers in southeastern North
Carolina can establish these
programs.
Following introductory
remarks by Dr. Stephen
Dingfelder, area director of the
Sandhills Mental Health (Center,
and A. Richard Rhyne, director
of N.C. Occupational Pro^ams,
there will be a presentation on
the “positive outlook for EAP
programs in North (Carolina” by
Dr. R. J. Blackley, director of the
N.C. Division of Mental Health,
Mental Retardation, and Sub
stance Abuse. Presenting the
view of an ejppljjyer who has
used EAP will l3e:]S)n Cumming,
personnel superintendent of
Universal Polymer Products
Corporation in Fuquay-Varina,
who will discuss “the structure of
an Employe Assistance
Program.” Concluding the
morning session will be Barney
Rickenbacker, Jr., president of
the Metrolina Chapter of the
Association of Labor-
Management Administrators
and consultants on alcoholism,
who will discuss the value of
“EAPs as a vital management
tool.” Following a buffet lun
cheon, there will be presen
tations by Carl Williams, oc
cupational program consultant
for the South Central Region of
N.C. Department of Human
Resources, Bob Sheer of the
South Carolina Council on
Alcohol and Drug Abuse in
Columbia, S.C., and Nelson
Hodgkins, occupational program
consultant of Industrial Coun
seling Service in Greensboro.
Small group discussions will be
held to provide specific he^) in
developing EAPs.
Cardinal Health Agency has
identified Employe Assistance
Program development as a
priority health care need for
southeastern North Carolina in
its 1981-1982 “Annual Im
plementation Plan.” Gary
Jennings, executive director of
Cardinal, explained the regional
health planning agency’s support
for EAPs, “These programs
reduce the cost burdens upon the
health care system and industry
with a proven service. Ap
proximately 25 percent of the
annual wages and salaries paid
to troubled employes, which are
nearly 10 percent of the work
force, are lost due to lower
productivity and increased
absenteeism. “There are 39
Employe Assistance Programs
in Cardinal’s 15 county region
and 425 state-wide.
All interested employers and
supervisors are invited to attend
the conference which will be held
at the Sheraton Inn Conference
Center in Southern Pines. There
istL.chsrgfi of $10 to cover lunch
and program materials.
Registration by May 5 is
required. For further in
formation, contact Dr. John
McBride at (919) 673-9111.
Job Service Is Facing
Hit From Budget Cuts
The North Carolina Em
ployment Security (Commission
may lose more than 400 positions
and be forced to close many of its
offices across the state if
Congress approves budgetary
cuts proposed by the Reagan
Administration for fiscal year
1982.
Else (Chairman J.B. Archer, in
a letter to all commission em
ployes this week, said the U.S.
Senate-approved cuts would
mean a loss of approximately $5
million in federal funding to the
North Carolina agency, which
currently operates 90 Job Service
offices and employs more than
2,600 people. ESC is completely
federally funded and receives no
state monies for its operations.
“If the cuts are sustained by
Congress, it will mean a
reduction of approximately 220
positions in the agency and the
great possibility that we will
have to close most of our Ix'anch
offices and even some of our full
service local offices,” he said in
the letter. “Other budget cut
proposals relating to CETA, if
sustained, could require ESC to
eliminate approximately 200
CETA-funded positions by Sept.
30, 1981.”
Archer said the cuts re^esent
a 17.3 percent reduction in
Employment Service Grants-to-
states funding and a 3 percent
reduction in funding for the
unemployment insurance
program.
Archer’s staff is conducting a
cost-effectiveness study on each
of the 35 branch offices and the 55
local offices that the agency
operates to determine which
ones may need to be closed if the
budget cuts are sustained.
“In some cases, it may cost us
more to close a bran^ office
than to leave it open,” he said.
“A number of factors will be
taken into consideration before
any final decisions are made
about office closings.”
Archer said the employment
service function of ttie com
mission, more popularly known
as Job Service, is not the typical
federally-funded program.
Unlike many other federal
mulled by committees; such
amended and fought over, the
opportunity is great for things to
be done which may or may not
have been the intent of those who
sponsored the law.
Gov. Jim Hunt sponsored the
Fair Sentencing Art. It died in
Ck>nunittee in 1977, was rewritten
and came back from a special
committee of the N.C. Bar
Association in 1978; passed the
General Assembly in 1979, but
was delayed until refinements
could be made.
Legislators who opposed the
measure fell in several camps.
Primarily, though, there were
trial lawyers who didn’t want
things nailed down too tightly nor
with sentences too severe;
friends of judges who wanted to
give those court officials
additional leeway in sentencing;
and, legislators who feared that
guaranteed sentences of
generally longer duration would
cause prison population to swell
at a time when more than 16,000
inmates already overcrowded
the system and construction
dollars are in short supply.
Shorter
(Consider that conviction for
conspiracy to commit a felony.
At this time, the sentence
maximum is 10 years with the
individual eligible for parole
after two and one-half years.
Parole, of course, subject to the
commission finding good
behavior and likelihood the lady
will not commit another crime.
After a number of
amendments, the Fair
Sentencing Art establishes a
three-year maximum sentence,
with one year being the
“presumptive” term. That is, the
judge should give one year unless
he finds, and puts in writing,
reasons such as past criminal
record, an offense against a law
officer, conunitting the offense
for hire, etc., for which is a
longer term can be given; or
reasons like good chararter,
mental condition, age, and so on
to make the court hand down a
lesser sentence.
But presuming all things are
equal (and that is what the law
seeks to do) the defendant will
get one year. The paroles
commission will not enter the
picture until near the end of that
sentence. Automatically, the law
says you get one day off for every
day of “good time” served
without “serious” breaking of
the rules. The term is now down
to 182 days.
Then, to further help relieve
overcrowding, the new law
allows the Secretary of
Ck)rrertion to give six days each
month off for meritorious
conduct and work, including
work release. That’s called gain
time. The term is now down to
146 days.
Freedom
Then, to eliminate the delays
which often accompany action by
the paroles board, and to guard
against politicking on that board,
thp new law says prisoners
except those on life sentences
“must” be given “reentry”
parole 90 days before the term
ends. That is to allow them to
readjust to society.
So, 90 days before the end of
that presumptive one-year term,
minus good time, minus gain
time, and minus any time spent
in jail before the trial-our
convicted felon walks out of
prison free. That would be 56
days behind bars-less, if any
time were spent in jail before the
trial.
As for the fellow hired to do the
deed, if a first degree murder
charge were reduced to second-
a not uncommon happening-and
the presumptive sentence were
applied, he would get 12 years.
Minus good time, gain time and
re-entry (and jail time) he would
be out in about four and one-half
years. The present maximum for
second degree murder is life in
prison.
MANN
DRUG
We’re here to help you save!
MOM’S DAV
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programs which have
significantly expanded over the
past decade, the nationwide
staffing of Job Service during the
past 16 years has remained
constant each year while the
labor force has grown ap-
[xoximately 42 percent.
“The employment service in
many parts of our state is the
only labor market mediator
available to either employers or
workers,” Archer said. “It’s a
free labor exchange where
workers can find jobs and em
ployers can find workers. With
unemployment running about
one percent above last year and
projections that it will become
worse in the months ahead, we
need to be fully staffed to help the
unemployed find jobs.”
The biggest impact of the
proposed cuts to ESC will be felt
in the field where employers, job
seekers and the unemployed are
serviced, he said. He urged
employes to cut comers on
spending, save on energy, reduce
long-dist^ce telephone calls and
travel where possible.
He said he would be meeting
with members of the North
Carolina Congressional
delegation during the next few
weeks to spell out the severity of
the impact of the proposed cuts
on the state.
Correction
In its report on the Moore Coun
ty Board of Education meeting
last week. The Pilot incorrectly
reported that the board would
appointing a member to the San
dhills Community College Board
of Trustees, to fill a slot vacated
by “the late” Dr. Francis Owens,
that William Samuels had taken
over for him.
The slot being vacated by Dr.
Owens will be filled, but he is still
alive. Samuels was appointed to a
position vacated by the death of
Norris Hodgkins, Sr., who died
last year. The Pilot regrets the
error.
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