Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / April 11, 1991, edition 1 / Page 4
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Edward M. Sweatt and Carolyn H. Sweatt Publishers Edward M. Sweatt Editor Susan Usher News Editor Doug Ruttcr and Terry Pope Staff Writers Johnny Craig Sports Editor Peggy Earwood Office Manager Carolyn H. Sweatt Advertising Director Tlmberley Adams & Cecelia Gore Advertising Representatii>es Tammle Galloway & Dorothy Brennan Typesetters William Manning Pressman Brenda Clemmons Photo Technician Lonnie Sprinkle Assistant Pressman Phoebe Clemmons and Frances Sweatt Circulation PAGE 4-A, THURSDAY. APRIL 11, 1991 Pay Up Or Pay Consequences Garnishing workers' paychecks for past-due taxes may seem like a harsh measure for Brunswick County Commissioners to authorize, but is it really? While we may gripe about this government rule and that government rule, Americans enjoy ? and often take for grant ed ? an incredible degree of personal freedom and opportunity. Just ask anyone who has lived in another country. Paying taxes, like voting, is one of the responsibilities we as sume when we choose to live here. Unlike voting, however, pay ing taxes isn't optional. And it can hurt, taking money from oth er things we need or want. Most of us can afford to pay our tax es. It just takes a little budgeting to make sure money is set aside each month toward that bill. In cases of hardship such as unem ployment or illness, a payment plan can be worked out. In short, there's no good reason not to pay taxes. It's only fair to the majority who do pay their taxes that the county go after the handful that don't pay up. If the county doesn't, that would make the tax burden on the rest of us even greater. The county's tried two types of foreclosures in the past to collect taxes. It ended up with some property it may never be able to sell ? and it still doesn't have the taxes it set out to col lect. Sometimes it takes garnishing wages to get a parent to as sume financial responsibility for his or her child. Maybe that is also what it takes to get people to accept responsibility for shar ing the costs of local government ? to the tune of $4.15 million still owed in property taxes for the past 10 years. If they don't like the way county government is run, the place to express that is at the polls, not the tax office. The county has one duty of its own in going after back tax es: To be fair, pursuing with equal zeal all overdue taxpayers, using whatever means are at its disposal. Having one's wages garnished for taxes may be embarrass ing, as one commissioner pointed out, but there is an alternative: Pay up. I ? . LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Don't Shell Out Tax Funds For Shimperoo To the editor: An article in last week's Beacon captioned "County Treats Legisla tors on a Busy Trip to Raleigh" brought tears to my eyes. In essence, the news story reported the fact that County Manager David Clegg and two county commissioners shelled out approximately $3,000 to entertain an unspecified number of N. C. legislators at a bien nial lobbying event known as a "shrimperoo." Ostensibly, the purpose of the "shrimperoo" is "not only to social ize" but to bring matters of concern to General Assembly members while they are in session. Most citizens have no objection to meetings between stale and county officials as a legitimate course while conduct ing business, but events such as the "shrimperoo" would appear to ex ceed the bounds of propriety and circumspection. Less than a year ago county moguls were publicly agonizing as how to balance an already bloated budget and, ultimately, as to how they could squeeze through the fiscal year with some "belt-tightening." Officials bemoaned the fact that fiscal constraints would require a re duction of critical services such as police protection. Somewhat fa cetiously, I would recommend some additional "belt-tightening" by re ducing the amount of shrimp supplied at taxpayers' expense by county and assembly members alike. Presumably, General Assembly members already receive an al lowance for meals and lodging while in session. Since they are the ben eficiaries of free lunches or dinners, do they in turn deduct their meal allowance from their expense accounts? The critical question here is, however, should one group of elected officials entertain another group of elected officials at taxpayers' ex pense in order to influence legislation? All of these individuals hold their positions in trust to the electorate, with a solid presumption that they will act responsibly on behalf of their constituents. Resorting to use of discretionary "slush funds" to finance such events as the "shrimp eroo" would appear to be unconscionable. A final point: the "shrimperoo" was catered by a Wilmington sea food restaurant Are there no food emporiums in Brunswick County ca pable of providing the necessary fixings for a "shrimperoo?" Have the culinary credentials of areas such as Calabash, the Seafood Capital, been reduced to a point where they are deprived of sharing in this distri bution of taxpayers' money? Francis W. Niland Shalloue Someone Is Doing Something Right To the editor: Thank you so much for your support of all the troops in the Gulf. It is heartening to see that there are still people who care. I would also like to thank all those who supported the soldiers. You are the true heroes. You showed your stuff and you alone were victori ous. You are saluted. The following is in response to a letter in the March 7 issue written by Catherine Moore of Burgaw: Repressive dictator? Before Saddam invaded Kuwait, every house hold received almost $3,000 a month from high oil revenues. Before Saddam invaded, there were no homeless on the streets of Kuwait. Before Saddam invaded, not one count of rape had been charged in two years. Before Saddam invaded, school for children was free; there were no drugs or drug-related deaths in Kuwait Lady, if it takes a little repressiveness to achieve that, then by God someone is doing something righL By the way, there is a new democra cy in Kuwait. Yes, women are allowed tc vote! Everyone has the right to speak; even you. To everyone in Brunswick, thanks for your support. All of us aren't home yet, so please don't forget us. Sgt. Shawn Hewetl U.S. Air Force, Operation Desert Storm (Letters Continue On Following Page) Top 1 0 Thoughts While On Red Bug Road If you travel the highways of Shallotle, chances are you've found yourself sitting in line recently. A detour route of U.S. 17 on the north end of town sometimes gets backed up for miles and miles. During rush hours and weekends, traffic waiting to get into or through Shallotte is bumper to bumper with angry motorists. For a while, you'll just have to grin and bear iL If you think there is another way to get around Shallotte without using the Red Bug Road detour, forget it Not unless you've got wings or a big, red S on your chest. The old U.S. 17 is being ripped up. Construction crews arc busy putting the final touches on a four lancd U.S. 17 bypass of Shallotte. By Memorial Day, the state promis es, the bypass will be open and resi dents along Red Bug Road can re turn to their normal lifestyles. Those of us who work or like to shop in Shallotte will then be able to do so without that bumper to bumper traffic making it so difficult to make left turns in town or to pull back onio the highway there. By now, I've gotten pretty use to the detour route. I must travel it to and from work every day. I even know what one red light and a green arrow on the same fancy stoplight means, even though the three or four drivers in front of me don't It means go, folks. But I can't blame them for stop ping and looking before making the turn. It's the stupid stoplight that's entirely contradictory. It's some thing new. New and improved al ways spells trouble. Some people get to the N.C. 130 and Red Bug Road stoplight and have no idea which way to turn. Could it be bccausc the state forgot Terry Pope to install any directional signs along the detour route telling motorists how to gel to Holden Beach? Take the family from West Virginia that has been told by a friend exactly how to get to Holden Beach. Drive south on U.S. 17 and turn left at the first stoplight, right beside the Market Express. Well, what are all of these orange and white barrels and where 's the first stoplight? He didn't tell mc about all of this. Should 1 turn left here or just go to Shallotte and look for the Market Express? Sec how confusing it can be for visitors or people who are not very familiar with the area? By the way, save yourself some time in backtracking. It's a left turn to Holden Beach off of Red Bug Road. If you're heading to Shallotte or places south, sorry. Just follow the long and winding trail of cars. Hundreds of other motorists will be there, too, thinking. You know how your mind wanders when you drive. You think about everything under the sun and can't remember what you've just passed. It's scary sometimes. Like David Lctterman's top 10 lists. I've compiled die top 10 thoughts of angry motorists while they're sitting in line along the Shallotte detour route. We'll count backwards, just like Lcttcrman: 10. Arc engines supposed to smoke like that? 9. If I sit on my horn, it'll make the traffic move faster. 8. Go ahead. Cut in line, if you want a V-8 engine sitting in your backseat. 7. It's probably just a wreck right around that next curve. 6. 1 knew I shouldn't have bought that half gallon of chcny vanilla. 5. I should have bought some gas in Supply. 4. By the time I get to work, it'll be time to go home. 3. What's a Red Bug anyway? I've never seen one. 2. If I had a convertible, at least I'd b<*. getting a tan. 1. This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. This is your brain on the Shallotte detour. Any ques tions? Welcome To Another Season Of Fish Stories Easter has come and gone, signi fying the start of another fishing season and the resumption of the newspaper's weekly Fishing report. It has been my pleasure to write the fishing report for the last three years. Gathering reports from local marinas and piers and photograph ing fishermen with their catches somehow helps ease the Monday morning blues. I don't know about you, but I've learned over the last few years that I have to mentally prepare myself for the fishing season. I can't just go into the season with any old frame of mind. I've go! to be psyched up about fishing, and more importantly, take every thing I hear with a grain of salt. You see, if I've learned anything after three years of fishing reports it's that fishermen, as a group, don't always tell it like it is. I'm not saying that all fishermen are liars. But for some reason, the H fishing community is allowed to bend, stretch and twist the truth and get away with it. This probably dates back to cave man times when big, hairy cavemen would venture out of their caves to hunt for food. When a caveman came back to his cave empty-handed, he had to tell his wife something. So he made up some goofy story about a big fish that got away. The rest is histo ry There was general agreement last year that we had a good fishing sea son in the South Brunswick Islands. That was pretty impressive, because general agreement among fishermen isn't easy to come by. Nobody knows what the 1991 fishing season will hold. There's no way to tell if it will be a success or a flop. But one thing I know for sure is that fishermen will enjoy the season whether they catch anything or not. Fishermen may tell tall tales and complain a lot, but deep down in side, most of them fish just because they love to fish. Regardless of what type of sea son we have this year, I've set sev eral goals I hope to reach as a fish erman. First of all, I want to catch a flounder. I've eaten flounder since I was a kid, but I've never caught one. From what I've heard and read, flounder are pretty tough to catch. They lie on the bottom of the ocean or waterway and wait for their prey to float overhead. I'd love to catch a real big floun der, like a 10-pounder. I'd probably have it stuffed and mounted on the wall. I'd even settle for a small flounder, as long as it meets the 13 inch minimum size limit. Another goal I've set this year is to purchase a small boat. I know I wrote about purchasing a boat last year, but I'm a little more serious about it this year. If the right deal comes along, I'll probably take it. My biggest goal this year is to go king mackerel fishing. If I can't catch a flounder or buy a boat this year, the least I want to do is go king fishing. Catching a king mack erel would probably make the whole year. If I don't reach any of my goals this year, I really won't worry about it The way I figure it, I can always take after my fellow fishermen and blame it on the weather. Then I'll start over next year. CP Bill Warrants Close Examination A bill introduced recently by Rep. George Miller of Durham de serves a close look by the General Assembly and the public. If it actu ally works the way the sponsors predict, the bill would be a very hu manitarian effort It would create a privately funded trust fund to help pay for the medical services and rehabilitation needs of people with birth-rclatcd cerebral palsy. These would be needs not covered by existing government pro grams or by private insurance. Care for a family member with CP can de plete a family's resources quickly, even when existing limited sources of assistance are tapped to the fullest Cerebral palsy is the term used to described impaired muscular power and coordination due to brain dam age at or before birth. Only when the state can prove that the cerebral pal sy was caused by substance abuse or genetic abnormality would a person not be eligible for the program. To finance the trust the bill pro poses assessing hospitals and doc Susan Usher tors who deliver babies a fee (up to $170 combined total) for every ba by delivered for a fee. To get an idea of the money involved, there are approximately 104,000 births in North Carolina each year; In turn, parents of children with birth-related CP would no longer have the right to sue their doctor or hospital. (Presently five to 10 of the state's ISO to 250 birth-related CP children bom each year win civil damages, the rest nothing because they can't prove cause.) The bill would require investiga tion of every cerebral palsy birth. The state would be able to sue for impairments it determines were caused by malicious, willful or wanton conduct of a physician. Any civil penalties won would go into the fund. Sponsors of the bill estimate that the average amount of lifetime un met needs woulo oe approximately $107,310 per person. A family would qualify regardless of the ex tent of their own resources. The bill also would require all physicians who practice obstetrics to participate in an obstetrical care coverage plan developed by their local health department or commu nity. migrant or rural health center. This would, say sponsors, assure continuity and quality of care and provide services to indigent preg nant women. Offsetting these costs: Sponsors predict that passage of the bill would 1) put "downward pressure" on delivery fees as well as 2) reduc ing the cost of malpractice insur ance. The theory: That by barring families from suing, the bill should lead to reduction in malpractice in surance premiums for doctors who deliver babies. The cost now is about $30,000 a year, compared to 513,000 for family physicians who do not deliver babies. High costs of malpractice insur ance have supposedly driven some doctors away from delivering ba bies and one in three doctors who do can expect to be sued under the current system. Sponsors of the bill think it reasonable to assume that the number of doctors delivering babies will increase when the threat of lawsuits is reduced. We shall see. Perhaps the most important as pect of the bill is this: Children would get treatment early, when they need it most. Presently care is sometimes delayed for those in volved in court cases. For others, it may be nonexistent or minimal. This idea of a privately-supported fund administered by the state is worth clo^e examination. The alter nates, after all, are not very attrac tive.
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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April 11, 1991, edition 1
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