Newspapers / The news-journal. / Feb. 18, 1982, edition 1 / Page 2
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I * I TUetri ew* - journal ipi r/l/oit/i 0&io?cHa\ R R E S S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER association ASSOCIATION Pabliskfd Every Thursday at Kaeford, N.C, 28376 119 W. EJwood Avenue Subscription Rates la Advance Per Year? S*. 00 6 Months S4.25 3 Months- $2.25 LOt IS H. KOCLEMAN. JR Publisher PAUL DICKSON Editor HENRY L. BLUE Production Supervisor BILL LINDAU Associate Editor MRS. PAUL DICKSON Society Editor SAM C. MORRIS . .Contributing Editor Second Class Postage at Kaeford. N.C. (USPS 3M-260I THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 18. 1982 School injuries The Hoke County Board of Education recently denied payment of the balance of a dental bill for treatment of a student's injury suffered in a play accident at school last year. The school insurance policy provided to cover injuries paid only 5200 of the $790 bill, and the father's personal policy paid $100. leaving $490 left for the parents to pay from the family pocket. Furthermore, the mother informed the board, the parents have $1 .000 more in dental work to look forward to when the boy reaches 15. since a dental adjustment will have to be made for the boy's growth between now and then. In another case last year, the school board also denied a request for payment of the balance due on a medical bill. The bill was for treatment of an injury suffered by a ? child while playing in a supervised game. In this case also, the school insurance paid just part of the bill. As everyone with medical and hospital insurance knows, few if any kinds of policies pay all expenses; consequently, there is practically always a balance to pay. The school system provides a policy to take care of expenses of injuries which children suffer occasionally on school grounds. Consequently, parents expect to pay some part of a bill. The policy takes care of much of the expense caused by injuries to children but apparently is not planned to cover anything as extensive as the $~W cost of the child's dental treatment. On the other hand, the question arises: is the school and the teacher liable for all such expenses while the child is in the care of the teacher? In one state, a teacher was held liable for injuries one of her students suffered in a fight -- in a soda shop on a Sunday afternoon off the school grounds (she walked out of the shop as the fight was starting). This is unreasonable, but should the school and teacher or designated substitute be held responsible for the student's safety at least from the time the student arrives at school for classes till the time the student leaves the grounds to return home? This question is based on the traditional idea that school authorities serve "in loco parentis" (in the place of parents) as long as the child is on the school property. If the child is taken to and from school on a regular school bus. then the school also is responsible for the child's safety on the round trips. It's a tough question to answer. It's not reasonable to expect a teacher to prevent every accident that might conceivably happen to any one of 20 to 30 active children in the course of a six-to seven-hour school day. The only sure way of doing that is to keep the children motionless all day. Parents, however, should be able to feel sure every reasonable caution is being taken at school to prevent injury to their children. In each of the cases of injury the board has considered in the past year, no evidence of negligence on the part of school supervisors was shown. Negligence, of course, would be reason for all the expense being paid by the school. But otherwise, the only protection against high personal expense lies in a policy providing more coverage than the present. Parents wanting this greater protection and willing to pay the higher premium for it could be offered such a policy as an alternative for the one now provided. ??BL Tut a health hazard? Another hazard to our health has been added to tobacco, saccharin, asbestos, alcohol, cholesterol, and the million other things which have joined the list over the years. The newest hazard is the job of guarding King Tut's belongings. A West Coast policeman suffered a stroke. He says it was caused by the curse of King Tut. He picked up the curse he says, because he had the job ot guarding King Tut's stuff. But maybe it's a hazard only if you guard the Tut properly on the West Coast. - BL Reagan and FDR era From The Christian Science Monitor The degree of public attention paid to Franklin D. Roosevelt's centenary has turned out to be more significant than the event itself. The extra surge of interest has risen from a circumstance that no one anticipated as little as two years ago. It is the presence in the White House of a Republican who openly admires the leadership exemplified by the Democratic FDR - but would exercise it to take the country in a different direction. By calling for his "new federalism" in the very week of the Roosevelt anniversary. President Reagan added a nudge to the valuable educational process of considering his proposals in the light of history. To be sure, many Americans remember the Roosevelt years. But 4 there are younger generations who can learn from the centennial evocations of challenge, hope, and controversy in hard times that were so much worse than later experience for most Americans. An Ivy League historian recalls waves of interest in the FDR era by students who "wanted to know what made their fathers so mad." Yet. for all the disagreement over the New Deal measures, recent polls of historians have placed Roosevelt just behind Lincoln and Washington among the nation's three greatest presidents. Whatever the mistakes which FDR was so ready to risk, he provided a model of leadership responding to individual as well as national needs and Hope this compass also gets me out!' Wi TrvOwMH" *rCH ? MonrtC acting vigorously to meet them. This much of the Roosevelt mantle would be claimed by Mr. Reagan. He parts company with certain New Deal federal programs - not with a centerpiece like social security - as being carried on too long for the good of their recipients. One of his fruitful themes in the current Roosevelt- Reagan discussion is that there must be a transition from temporarily needed government aid to the private ability to take care of oneself. FDR. indeed, is said not to have expected emergency measures to continue indefinitely. The present exercise in historical perspective should help the public join Congress, the White House, and the other levels of government in choosing which measures are still worth retaining - and whether they can be most effectively funded and carried out by federal, state or local jurisdictions. There can hardly be argument over the FDR prescription which Mr. Reagan cited so fervently in accepting his party's presidential nomination: "that government of all kinds, big and little, be made solvent and that the example be set by the President of the United States and his Cabinet." Nor should there be disagremeent over the kind of Roosevelt goal that won Mr. Reagan's vote in the past though he has his own ideas on how to achieve it now: "The test of progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who hase much. It is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." A legacy of such aspirations, as the past week's utterances suggest, overshadows the decades of squabbling over what kind of elaborate memorial to construct for Franklin Roosevelt. It was in keeping for him to ask for no more than the plan, unornamented block of stone the size of his desk which stands before the National Archives. His monument exists in the life and history of his nation - the more so at the moment as a new President's program invites debate and evaluation of it all over again. It's a By Bill Lindau Kate Lorber in Pinchurst says she had a neighbor in the F.asl Bronx (N.Y.) named Harold Lip schit/. Harold Lipsehit/ played the clarinet. That was before he went into television and became Hal Linden, playing "Barney Miller." Harold's brother plays the \iola. "He still leaches at Bowling Green tin New York)." says Mrs. Lorber. 1 got all this and more from Mary Kvelyn de Nissoff's Pineburst column in the weekly The Pilot of Southern Pines. Mrs. Lorber went to the City College of New York. "the Harvard of the poor." Mrs. Lorber says " we called it." I remember CCNY for its night college classes, in which, if you could stand the grind, you could get a degree in just about anything. They were tor people who had to work during the day when regular college classes are held. I also remember CCNY for Nat Hotmail's great basketball teams, which used to force the country's best to hustle all the way to the final bu//er. That was in the 1930s. Mrs. Lorber is a former school teacher and is an artist and a poet. She also plays the piano. She attended the High School of Music and Art. in New York. The new weekly television series "Fame" is based on fictionalized versions of the school's life, its students and its teachers. The East Bronx is a large place, but "00 to 800 miles awav front it. anybody who is from there is a neighbor, as far as I'm concerned, even if it is something like saying I'm a neighbor of somebody who lives in McCain. Naomi Johnson, who teaches at Hoke County High School, also is a former "neighbor" of mine. Used to live on Fordham Road, about a mile and a half north of my place (1565 Grand Concourse), except I lived there about 1925 till a year into the 1930s, which was about 13 to 15 years before she was born. Mrs. Dolan of The Wagon Wheel Restaurant staff also used to live near there during some of the 41 years her late husband was a New York policeman. * * * 1 just noticed an announcement that the 503rd Parachute Infantry will hold its 40th anniversary reunion Julv 15-18 in Canaan Valley. W. Va. 1 remember the 503rd as the outfit that made a couple of the most horrendous combat jumps of World War II. from the standpoint of the jump conditions alone, not to mention the battles that followed. The men jumped on Noemfoor Island in the Dutch F.ast Indies, then occupied by Japanese forces. They were 1 ""5 feet above the ground when they got the jump signals in their troop carriers. An altitude of l75 feet leaves no room to correct "malfunctions" or use the reserve 'chute. About all the "reserve" was good for. on a jump that low. was to keep your knees from hitting your chin when you hit the ground. Then at the tail end of the Philippines campaign, the 503rd was chosen to make the jump on Corregidor. the island fortress in Manila Bay that Gen. Jonathan Wainw right had to surrender in the early months of the war after the Pearl Harbor attack. The altitude for the jump was higher than the one for the Noemfoor jump -- about bOO feet. 1 believe. But the only thing resembl ing a decent drop /one was the old golf course. So some of the 'troopers landed on the golf course. The others landed on cliffs, bould ers and roofs of the old barracks, which gave way under many. I remember somewhere that six of every 10 men were injured on the jump itself. That was in a regimen tal combal team of about 2.500 to 3.000. And wasn't it the original 503rd that met with disaster on the flight to a base in North Africa? The transports were attacked by Vicky (pro-Na/i) French fighters. Retired Lt. Gen. William P. Yarborough. now living in Southern Pines, has written the straight story in a military history. Later, a reorganized 503rd made the first combat jump in the Pacific, landing in the Markham Valley of New Guinea, before going north to Noemfoor. Letters To The Editor Editor. Thv NcwyJimriiul Roccut public commentary may be leaving a false impression about the nature and scope of idleness among those in North Carolina s prisons. Any discussion of jobs and pro gram activities for prisioners must begin with the main purpose of any penal system, that is. the protec tion of the public. All that is done with and for prison inmates must be measured against that respon sibility and by the limitations of the resources available to carry out that mission. Basically, there are two ap proaches to combating inmate idleness. We can attempt to pro vide suitable jobs within a prison setting, or we can attempt to pro vide opportunities for inmates to participate in programs such as academic and vocational educa tion, study release, work release and the like. Efforts to improve and expand work and program opportunities have been constant. For example, on July I. 1980. there were 1.021 inmates working on the states highways. Two-thirds of these men were minimum custody inmates working under supervision of the Department of Transportation. The remaining one-third were medium custody inmates directly supervised by armed correctional officers. This program has grown to the extent that in November, 1981, 1,720 inmates were assigned to highway work. By February 15, 1982, an additional 280 inmates will be assigned to take tasks, rais ing the total to 2,000. This is the goal set last year by the Governor. The increase doubles the number of inmates working on our highways in less than two years time. Not all prison inmates are available for jobs or program assignments. Many are prevented by health and age considerations. Others cannot be safely allowed to mingle with fellow inmates, much less participate in community pro grams. For a more detailed picture of prisoners at work or engaged in full time programs consider the statistics for January 25. 1982. On thai date there were It). 123 persons in prison in North Carolina. As previously explained, some were unavailable for work or program assignments. Specifically, I,912 were either new admissions not yet assigned, or were in ad ministrative or disciplinary segregation, or in intensive management, or were in protective custody, or excused from work because of their health. That reduces the total, workable population to 14,211. Of this number 2,470 were not assigned to any work or program activity, thus giving the Department of Correc tion a 17.4?7o "unemployment rate which, considering we're dealing with convicted offenders, is not bad. Looked at another way. II,741 inmates or 82.6^o of the available population were assigned to work or program activities. The 2,470 available but unassigned inmates come from all custody levels. Inmates who have not attained minimum custody are not permitted outside the confines of the prison except for limited purposes, and then only under armed supervision. The approach to providing jobs for these inmates lies with intramural assignments, either with our Enterprises (farm work, metal fabrication, license plate plant, etc.) or in such household and maintenance jobs as cooks, bakers, groundskeepers, and the like. Each expansion of an existing job category, or creation of a new one, carries with it in creased costs for additional staff and equipment. The resources of the state are finite, of course, and Correctional administrators must weigh the benefits of expanded job opportunities against the addi tional expense - a matter of in creasing importance as govern ment attempts to operate within its means in a troubled economy. On January 25, 1982, 5,906 prison inmates were enrolled in program activities with vocational education, the leading program, having 1,546 participants. One thousand ninety-four (1,094) minimum custody inmates were on work release, earning wages in the free community and from their wages helping to offset the expense of their imprisonment. They were also paying for such things as family support and for restitution to the victims of their crimes. There were 1.300 inmates in full time, academic programs, 80 of them on study release. The remain ing 1,886 were engaged in other program activities too numerous to enumerate. These statistics apply to the en tire prison system. To see them in the environment of one institution, consider Odom Prison, a close custody institution. On January 25, 1982, there were 460 inmates at Odom. Of these, 21 were unavailable for assignment because of their health or because they were in administrative or disciplinary segregation. Of the re maining 439, only 54 (12.3Vo) were unassigned. There were 385 (87. 7*7?) assigned to jobs or pro grams. Three hundred twenty (320) of these inmates were working on that date, 208 assigned to Correc tional Enterprises, 46 to kitchen duties, 55 to housekeeping chores J and 1 1 to institutional mainten ance. Sixty-five (65) inmates were engaged in program activities. 27 in academic programs and 38 in vocational training. The Department of Correction has recently re-organized the Cor rectional Enterprise operation, and will continue its efforts to expand Enterprise service thus providing further employment for inmates, || and simultaneously, expand goods and services to tax-supported, public agencies. Of our 16,123 available inmates, 82.6Vo are assigned to work or pro gram activities. Most of the 2.470 or 17.4% unassiened are in more closely restricted custody levels making this assignment more dif ficult and expensive. We in the Department of Cor rection will continue the search for m ways to further decrease idleness in I our prison system while keeping a close eye on what our system and the State of North Carolina can af ford. Sincerely, James C. Woodard Secretary North Carolina Department of Correction Editor, The News-Journal 6 Every generation has a respon sibility to uphold the highest ideals of the past and bequeath higher ones to the generations that follow. We will best serve our pro geny by doing everything possible to provide them with a sound education and remove obstacles that might inhibit this worthy goal. The largest obstacle has been government ineptitude. Federal, j state, and local governments are equally to blame for the decline of our educational system. The federal government has all but abandoned, the jury is still out on the state, and to be frank our local government has been less than a friend to education. I would like to address this issue on the local level, since this is where the citizens can have the ? greatest impact. We as citizens have an excellent opportunity, through the local elections taking place this year, to demand that all candidates take a position on educational funding. Thus far we have nothing more than a popularity contest! Our current county commis sioners have proposed a county wide water system, which, if materialized, will produce a finan cial burden so immense that the more fundamental issue of school improvements must be deferred for twenty years or more. I am sure that good arguments can be put forward in support of water, recreation and other pro jects. The problem is one of priorities. While the aforemen tioned projects serve a relative few, our schools will produce a genera tion that will impact upon the en tire globe! 1 encourage this newspaper and all citizens of Hoke county to ques tion all candidates as to their views as well as order of priority of the issues facing our county. This newspaper can act as a sounding board by polling the can didates, thereby giving their readers more than an aesthetic reason for selecting our leaders. 1 also challenge all of the can- ' didates to educate themselves to' the problems affecting our school system; to talk with school of ficials, and tour all seven of our county schools. By filing for office you have in timated your desire to serve. If you truly wish to serve Hoke county you must first know what Hoke county needs most. Remember this: If elected; your) ] legacy will not be how well the average citizen fares, but how well the least of our citizens fares as a result of your tenure! Brad 1 urley Rt. 2 Box 143-D Raeford, N.C. 28376 >)? Confused? Read the tax instructions ? makes doing your return easier and taster! A pobhc MTVfc* mMng? from ?>? R?vanu? Sarvtcs 31
Feb. 18, 1982, edition 1
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