Newspapers / The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.) / May 22, 2002, edition 1 / Page 2
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2A THE NEWS-JOURNAL Kaeford, N.C. Mav 22.2«)2 Viewpoints Hard times call for hard look at spending Our local government is look ing at some hard times. But, the fact is, most of the residents they serve have been looking at even harder times all along. For instance, in the me dium income of a Hoke resident was less than $13,000 (and that’s a w hole lot less than our commis sioners are compensated for their “service”). A study conducted in late 2000 by the N.C. Justice and Commu nity Developmetit Center and NC Equity showed 45 percent of Hoke's population is below the living income standard. For years, Hoke County has been considered the poorest county in North Carolina. And if that is not bad enough, 1 loke’s unemployment rate almost hit 10 percent earlier this year. These soberitig facts and the laces behitid them should be fore most in the minds of those who are in the process of preparing the county budget for the upcom ing fiscal year. Robeson County has a handout chart listing the organiziition of gewernment there, At the top of that chart is listed “thecitizensof Robeson County.” These “citizens" are the folks who should be remembered as the tax dollars are doled out for services. To take that a step fur ther, perhaps biulget planners might borrow from a suggestion m;ide at the newspaper academy sponsored by the N.C. Press As sociation last week. At the academy, retired pro fessor Raleigh Matin suggested reporters not write their articles for all the readers but keep just oiw individual — a friend, a neighbor, an acquaintance — in mind. Perhaps those creating and de liberating on Hoke’s budget might keep just one individual in mind. It might be a single mother jugglingthe rearing of children with a job. It can be an elderly resident on a fixed income; or just an average family — Ixith parents working—with two or threechildrenandcollegcliKimingin the future. It can be a head of house hold who has lost his or her job and is on unemployment until he or she finds work — if he or she is able to find another job. What practically any person cho sen has in common is he or she makes every penny count. Every pentiy of the tax dollars they pay should also count. Ciovernment business has been run too long on a careless approach to spending the residents’ tax dol lars. Let's get back to the basics and. like Robeson County’s chart, put the taxpayers — or at least one taxpayer — at the top. Making people mad is down to a fine art Needless to say Harry Truman was one of my favorite presidents. 1 le was kniHvn as "(live ’em Hell Harry." When he ran for president in I94H I earnpaigned for him. His opponent was Thomas Dewey, it was reported by all the major papers that he would lose. President Harry celebrated by going to bed. When 1 received all my favorable publicity, instead of going to bed, I went fishing. A lot of good thoughts can come out of fishing. When I catch a fish and the hook is set deep I always give the fish the name of one of my critics and yank real hard. You would he surprised how this helps to put everything into perspective. I have decided at my age I will start a new business. I am going to be a consultant to people who want to make folks mad and don't know how. You see. I have a toi-of experience at it. I managed to make my wife mad when we were young. I am sure 1 have done it many times in 51 years, but those I am not going to write about. She, at one time, bought my pants; Ireni can hold on to a buck with the best of them. Regardless, backinthose early days an eight-dollarpair of pants was a good price. She bought a pair and I look them to New York on a trip with a group of high school seniors. I even ate a 12- ounce steak wearing those pants. I lowevcr when 1 returned home, she washed them. The next time I wore the pants, the bottom of them came up to my knees. Naturally I complained. She never bought me another pair of pants. One can talk so much it will come back to haunt him, 1 have also been guilty of doing this. It was the same fix my father got into when he told my A View from the Country Kaz Aiitiv mother after she made him a pine apple cake that it was "so dry dust came out" of his mouth; she never cooked him another. I should have learned by his lesson. 1 will be a good consultant, they can come to me and 1 will do the job. You see I am a master at it. In fact, not many people can have a railio show and not be a participant. Some times my name is mentioned for a two-hour period. I lend my name to the program and don't gel paid for it. Now if my name were Izquerdoile, I wouldn't be on the air that long. It is hardertopronounce izqiicrdaite lhan it is Autry. I will share mv secret gladly; it really is simple, '^'ou can make a lot of people mad if you tell them the truth.The truth is ;i powerful weapon ;ind w ill ruffle a lot of feathers, hut is the best message I have found. Ra dio talk hosts usually tell people what they want to hc;ir; this m;ikes good music to their cars. I'.ven our friends will ;isk us for ailvice after they have made up their minds on the action they are going t(' take. They will feel a h't better if you solidity what they have already de cided todo. My secret isout. Call me — the door is aKvays open. VVe just celebrated Mother 's Day. Celebr:iting Mother's Day should be a weekly event. As von can tell, I am high on mothers. Sure, we have some mothers w hoshouldn't have been moth ers in the first place, not many, most mothers hang with their children, whether they are right or wrong, the rest of the folks will walk off especially ifthev think we are w rong. Your mother is the best friend you will ever make throughout your lifetime. In fact, I thought so highly of Mother's Day that I put on a w bite co;it and a w hite pair of p;ints. One lady in church said, "Raz, you h)ok like a dressed-up gatigster." An other said I looked like a preacher from a wav-oiit church. Wc had a gr'od service on Mother’s Dav. A large crowil was in attendance, which makes our preacher smile. I told some of my fellow back row pew sit ters that the Baptists would surely beat everyone in the Methodist church to the restaurant, because-Reverend Rich enjoys prc;iching to the masses and besides they h;id to phiy one of the six- verse songs through once so the con gregation would know what they were singing. I decided to tell my preacher that 1 had to leave early bectuise Ireni and 1 were going out of town to celebrate Mother's Day. It didn't seem to upset him, bec;iusc 1 am sure even though he didn t mention it, he was thinking ‘you leave c;irly every Sunday before the last song issung.' True statement. Once again, you don't have to apologize for the truth. Most of us in the congregation are a lot like the keynote speaker at a con vention of priests w ho came to speak. 1 le shuflled his notes, scanned his au dience, and said thoughtfully, “Where to begin'.’ Where to begin'.’” A voice in the crowd yelled, “As close to the end as possible.” Will Memorial day be different this year? What does the holiday on the last Monday in May mean to you'.’ A trip to the beach'? The car races'? A family picnic? An extra day off? A lot of good prices at special Memorial Day sales'? Great. But why? Is this all there is to Memorial Day for us — even after September 11 of last year and the events that followed it? Originally, there was a day for laying wreaths on the graves of the fallen on both sides of the Civil War. During that war, some southern women began to dedicate soldiers’ One on One D. G. Martin graves each May 30lh. In 1568, Union General John l^rgan desig nated the same day to be used to honor the graves of Unioti soldiers. Because it was a time to decorate the graves of Civil War veterans, this day of honor was first called Decoration Day. Later, it came to be a time for remembering all those who died in any war. For a long time, the various states y'- ' \ T-r- i^—" / / // 5 piPER.- N i ARE- we eveR GUO To ! We’ve lost something dear chose different dates to observe Deco ration Day, but it was observed, sol emnly, almost everywhere. People re membered and were grateful. Now it is called Memorial Day, and it is taken on the Monday closest to the end of May. What will you be doing this Memo rial Day weekend? Will you be there by a soldier’s grave? Or at a memorial service? Most of us will not. So, have we forgotten? In his famous address at Gettysburg battlefield, Abraham Lincoln said of those who fought there, the world can never forget what they did here. Was Lincoln wrong? Have we for gotten? Have we forgotten those who fought and died for us in Vietnam, Korea, the world wars, in other con- IJicts, and now in Afghanistan? Think about it. Think about what they did for you. Take a minute. Do something. Display your tlag. Attend one of the graveside ceremonies. Or visit the grave of a friend and leave a wreath or flower or flag. Call the family of someone who gave his life and let them know that you care. Say a prayer. Lest we forget. Editor’s note: A Memorial Day cer emony will take place at II a.m. Mon day, May 27at the Veterans Monument on the Hoke County Courthouse la wn. Right now, outside the window ot my study, I hear the steady, mourntui cry of a blucjay. It was ;innoying, I couldn’t concentrate on my study. When 1 looked outside I saw tw'o blucjays. One was continuously cry ing, with clockwork precision, The blucjay had its head bowed toward the ground as each cry was punctu ated with the partial spreading of its wings The other blucjay was wailking around the same area over and over again, as if looking for something that it lost. It was no longer annoying to me. Now 1 understood w hat going on. and 1, too, was melancholy, as if I had lost something dear to me. You sec, these birds had lost their home. And most likely theiroffspring as well. They made their home under the edge of the roof of our house. When repairs were done, their home was lost (it appeared that their chicks may have been hemmed in). The parent birds tlew away w hen the crew men began repairing the house, hut the chicks were not able to By. Un knowingly, their nest bcc;imc their tomb. Sure enough, when 1 undid the repair work, the chicks were inside, dead. Could it be that modern technol ogy (television, video g;imcs, playstation, virtual reality, etc) and our fears (our child being kidnapped, molested, physically assaulted or even killed) have hemmed in our youth and our homes have become tombs where their imagination, and sense of ad venture has died. 1 never thought 1 would see the day when parents would rather their child stay inside and watch television than to go outside and play. But it is happening in many neighborhoods across America. Parents as well as some kids believe that the world has become so violent and uncertain that some things that were considered nor mal are unheard of now. Such as having your teenage child walk five or six blocks to and from school every day, or allowing your child to investi gate or adventure in their immediate neighborhood. Even playing in the neighborhood park or playground is forbidden. It is time for parents to say “enough is enough” and organize. Parents together can make all the dif ference. All Together Now Rav P. Owens Why should the world hem our kids in and kill their naturally curious and adventurous spirit? Letters to Editor policy The News Journal welcomes k to tfae Editor and encour ages readers to express their opin- I lOffU o’’ Letters must be signed and tn« . clurfe an address and phone num- 5 be& The street address and ^lone I nundter will not be published, but ^ Stre re)uittd so we may verify au- i thenikity. The name of the writer i In sotM cases, the town the ’ wfber k from will be publisiwd at the end of the letter. We itserve the right to edit let ters for grammar, as well as those tM exceed 301 wmrds,'We will not pebiaii Mten that we consider to be m poet taste or slanderous. In aitnM! cases we may add ait editor’s note as a ponocript when we U'- ^A^a coereetton. explanation or tMnptifiGatxmtswturankd. Wenay alto, atom dkerstion. Unit the num ber of tiinns an individual writer may suWiit a letter for publication. The news -Journal Published every Wednesday by Dickson Press, Ine., Paul Dickson President 119 W. Elwood .Avenue, Raeford, North Carolina 28376 (910) 875-2121 (Call for fax number) moA) PRINTED WITH SOYINK Home Page: www.thenews-journal.com Robert Dickson (robert@thenews-journal.com) Publisher Ken MacDonald (ken@thenews-journai.com) General Manager I’at Allen W’ilson (pat@thenews-journal,com) Editor Vietoriana Sunnners (vicky@thenews-journai.com) Reporter l eena ,Jones (teena@thenews-journai.com) Advertising Rep, Becky ,|ones (becky@thenews-journai.com) Office Manager Linda Watson (iinda@thenews-journai,com) Receptionist Roltin Thompkins (robin@thenews-journai.com) Computer Design Sandra Wiggins Computer Design Henry L. Blue Production Supervisor Mantise Andrews I’ress Foreman Sam C. Morris Contributing Editor email ads to: ads@thenews-journal.com email classifieds to: classlfieds@thenews-journal.com email legals to: legals@thenews-journal.com Periodical Class Postage at Raeford, N.C.(USI’S 388-26(1) Postmaster: Send address changes Itt: P O Box 550 Raeford. N C 28176 The News-Journal is sold at these locations: Averitt’s Central Ave Barbee Pharmacy Harris Ave Bo’s S. Mam St. Butlers Grocery Arabia CVS Pharmacy 401 Bypass Carttiens GroceryCentre Grove Church Rd. Community Grocery Five Points Daniels' BP 401 Bypass Daniels’ Exxon E. Central Ave. David’s #5 Hwy 20 & Central Edinborough Restaurant S. Main St. Fast Shop W. Prospect, Ave. Food S. Stop W. Prospect Ave. 401 Express Stop ...E. Central & 401 N. 401 Shop & Save #1 Harris and 401 401 Shop & Save #2 E. Central Ave. G-Mart Hwy 211 E. Hardin’s Rockfish Rd., Rockfish Home Food Supermarket Main St. Howell Drug Teal Dr. J&L Clover Scurlock School Rd. Subscription Form □ New subscription □ Renewal □ Newcomer (3 free months) □ Gift (We'll notify recipient) Clip, mail with payment to; The News-Journal P.O. Box 550 Raeford, N.C. 28376 Lucky Stop 401 and Palmer McNeil s (jrocery . Antioch MePhatter s Grocery . . 401 Bus/Vass Rd. Miller's Cash & Carry Dundarrach Miller’s Express Lube 401 By-Pass 0 & J Conv. Mart Old Maxton Rd. Papa's Pizza Harris Ave. Parks Grocery McCain Poco N. Main St. Quik Serve 211 East R&R Grocery ,,Hwy. 211 East Robbins Hgts Grocery E, 7th Ave. Short Stop #14 401 & Palmer Short Stop #23 Rockfish Rd.&401 Short Stop #54 Hwy. 401 Bypass Short Stop #64 Hwy. 211 West Short Stop #68 N, Fulton St. The News-Journal 119 W. Elwood Wagon Wheel Restaurant. ...509 Harris Woody's Rockfish Rd. at King Rd. Zip N Mart 401 N. (910)875-2121 for more information Subscriber information: Name Address City Phone State .Zip Your name, address (if different from above) Name Address City state Phone -Zip Worth Repeating "The huilgel I ;im jiresenling hikes ilrastie steps to atklress a diastie situ- ;ition. In preparing it. I ha\ e lolloweil tv^o mandates: (I.) Your e.xplieit di rective to me not to raise Ihe t;ix rate, and (2.) T our staiuling ordei not to invade the I’lind b;ilance." - Hoke County Maihiger Mike Wood in his I'Y 2()()2-2()03 budget message to tlie board of commissiottets. Ratos (including N.C. lax) ■1 1 In Hoke; 1 One year .. $14 1 1 6 months • .... $8 1 Senior Cit .. $12 1 Outside Hoke; 1 One year .. $17 1 6 months $9.50 1 Outside N,C.: 1 1 One year .. $20 1 1 6 months .. $11 1 ■
The News-Journal (Raeford, N.C.)
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May 22, 2002, edition 1
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