Opinions
| Recession causes long lines
by Lucien Coleman
When economic recession hits,
some lines are bound to form. The
lines at employment offices grow
longer as people who have lost
their jobs try to find work. Many
of the same people have to queue
up to draw unemployment checks.
Wherever governmental agencies
offer food stamps, surplus cheese,
and other forms of assistance, lines
form and lengthen.
What is not so apparent,
though, is that standing in line has
become a sort of national pastime
for all of us. And this, too, is a
result of the less-than-bright
economic picture.
Let me tell you what I mean.
The other day my wife and 1 took
one of our grandchildren shopping
for a new pair of shoes. We went
to the shoe department of a local
department store, sat down, and
waited. Fifteen minutes we're still
waiting, since a single salesperson
was trying to take care of half-a
dozen customers by herself.
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Things That Matter
A few minutes later, 1
discovered that I had failed to
bring my charge card. So I went to
the "customer service" counter,
where I found very little service. 1
stood in line as the lady behind the
counter wrapped gift packages for
two customers who happened to be
in front of me.
After waiting several minutes, 1
went back to the shoe department
with a temporary credit authoriza
tion in my pocket. And there I
waited again, since the salesperson
was now helping another
customer.
As 1 waited, it dawned on me
that 1 was spending a lot of time
standing in lines nowadays. At the
grocery, at discount stores, in fast
food places (I use the term "fast"
loosely), the story is always the
same.
You wait in line.
Not long ago, I finally realized
why I'm standing in line more and
enjoying it less.
Some of those people in employ
ment lines used to work in shoe
departments, grocery stores, dis
count stores, and fast-food places.
As the recession has worsened,
employers have tried to cope with
some of their economic problems
by letting workers go.
That's why we often find one
salesperson in a shoe department
and one waitress trying to take care
of a dozen tables.
There just aren't enough
employees to go around. So we
wait in line.
We wait in line to buy auto
licenses, buy postage stamps, see
the dentist, have the car services or
washed, get on airplanes, get off
airplanes, board street busses, and
get into hospitals.
I just hope the funeral home
won't be too busy when I need
their services. That would be the
last straw.
The very last one.
F ound Bank Bag
Sets Precedent
I he North Carolina C ouri ot
Appeals used the law concerning
larcenv of found propertv in a re
cent North Carolina case.
Three people were Mainline at a
bus stop in front of a drugstore
when t lies discovered a hank bat
on the sidewalk
Without looking in the bag, one
ol them picked it up and soon
boarded a bus with the others.
I ater in the dav. all three looked
into the hag and found that it con
tained over a thousand dollars m
cash plus main checks.
The three divided the nioncv and
took it as their own. dispoMtig ol
the bag and the checks.
Ihe question arose whether
larcenv had been commuted as a
result of the finding and raking ot
the bank bag
In t lie case. Male v. Moore,
reported in Volume 46 ol the
North Carolina Court of Appeals
Reports at page 254. the court
noted that the old common lavs
providing that lost propertv could
not be the subject ol larcenv was
no longer good in North ( arolina.
The court said that whether pto
pertv i>? lost or just mislaid, it can
now be the subject ol laiccnv in
North C arolina.
The court recognized that
whether a person who finds and
keeps lost propertv for his own use
is guiltv of larcenv depends upon
whether at the tune he finds i he
propcriv he knows ot has reason to
Law For Laypersons
know thai he can ascertain the
owner of the property.
1 1 at the lime of finding the pro
perty he knows or has reasonable
means of knowing or ascertaining
the owner, he is guilty of larceny if
he keeps the property with the in
tent to deprive the owner.
In this case, the court looked at
the facts to see whether the three
people could have discovered the
ownei of the hag.
I lie bank bag had printed on the
outside i>l it I he name of the bank
10 which the owner had obviously
intended the bag to go so that the
cash and checks could be
deposited .
In addition, ihe bag contained
numerous checks made out to the
older of the drugstore in front of
which the people had found the
bag.
t onsidering these facts and the
additional facl thai the bag was
found right outside of the
drugstore named on the checks, it
appeared that the finders did have
reasonable means of ascertaining
the owner.
When thev did not attempt to
tind ihe owner but instead took the
tnonev as their own, it was ob
viously I heir present intent to
deprive the owner of his lost pro
pet t> and convert it to their use.
I litis, larceny of the found pro
pel tv had been committed.
Gillis Tapped For NC Ed Post
Harold L. Gillis, Director of
Vocational Education, was elected
as Vice-President of the North
Carolina Association of School
Administration, beginning July 1,
at the Spring Meeting in Raleigh,
May 15-17.
NCASA is composed of approx
imately 2,000 members consisting
of principals, assistant principals,
superintendents, assistant
superintendents, directors, super
visors and coordinators.
The Association, formed in
1976, fundamental goal is to pro
mote and provide quality leader
ship, by serving the entire team, in
the improvement and advancement
of public education.
Gillis is a charter member of
NCASA. He has previously served
a 3-year term (1978-81) on the Ex
ecutive Committee representing
District 4. He also has served on
the Special Committee on Associa
tion Structure, chaired the Budget
Committee and a Special Political
Action Study Committee.
Gillis has been the Local Direc
tor of Vocational Education in
Hoke County for over 10 years. He
is presently serving a term on the
Board of Directors of the North
Carolina Council of Local Ad
ministrators of Vocational Educa
tion. He is a former Chairman of
District 4 Local Directors and has
chaired the District 4 Vocational
Fair at Cross Creek Mall.
Gillis states "he feels it is a
honor and privilege to represent
this school system's administrators
as well as serve as an officer in this
state-wide organization."
The typical American spends 40
minutes a day waiting--at
stoplights, in lines and restaurants.