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Editorial
Lack of interest
If Sunday voting returns for subsequent elections in Robeson County, it won’t be because of popular demand. Robeson County cast its collective ballot on Sunday voting three days ago, and it’s clear this is a convenience that simply isn’t needed. The numbers, which are unbending, tell the story. Just 728 people cast ballots at the the four voting sites, and fewer than 100 voted at each of the three satellite sites. For the satellite sites, t...
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Amy Grant
Your View for 23 Oct., 2012
Will the presidential debates have an effect on how who you will vote for president? “My decision will probably change after hearing the presidential debates.” Ashley Walters — St. Pauls “The debates will not persuade me to vote differently because I am aware of the issues both candidates are moving forward on, and I am very aware of the issues that will affect me, my family and my community.” Amy Grant — Lumberton “I do not thi...
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Sunday schooled
Robeson County residents will have the historic opportunity today to cast a ballot on a Sunday — and the spirit of an important cornerstone of this nation’s Constitution will be trampled on as that is being done. You might be surprised to be told that the words “separation of church and state” do not appear in this nation’s Constitution, but the document is unambiguous that religion is a matter of freedom, and should not be established or r...
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Stuck on the ground
We were disappointed recently to deliver the news that the Mid-Atlantic Fly-In & Sport Aviation Convention has been at least temporarily grounded, and the possibility exists that its wings have been forever clipped. The debut event was in 2003 as part of a statewide celebration that marked the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ maiden flight at Kitty Hawk — and it was deemed so successful the decision was made to continue it annually...
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Good Friday
t was sad but appropriate that Bill Friday, one of this nation’s most respected educators, died quietly in his sleep at his Chapel Hill home, not far from the University of North Carolina, with which he will forever be bound, and on a Friday, which was University Day. Today’s Our View will hardly dent the surface in an attempt to extol the virtues of President Friday, but we will begin with this. Friday had the good sense to find his bride ...
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Answering the call
All men are created equal, then a few become firemen. — Anonymous Wednesday’s fire in downtown Lumberton really could have been much worse. It was because of the professionalism of dozens of firefighters, paid and volunteer, that the blaze was kept from spreading to nearby buildings and businesses, thereby creating more uncertainty about the future of downtown Lumberton. All this was managed without anyone being hurt. The cause of ...
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Book dumb
We don’t know if Robeson County’s high rate of illiteracy is because our county’s public library system is so poorly funded locally, or if the system is so poorly funded as a result of this county’s high rate of illiteracy. But we are confident proclaiming that any county’s library system and its illiteracy rate are tightly tethered. The implicit message is that literacy doesn’t matter, when in fact, an ability to read, write and comprehend...
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Honoring Goodson
The Lumberton City Council this week put its full weight behind a fledgling effort to honor Jeremiah Goodson by passing unanimously a resolution that Exit 22 bridge on Interstate 95 be named in his honor. Goodson, everyone needs to remember, is the Lumberton police officer who was shot to death on July 17 while trying to make an arrest at a convenience store on Fayetteville Road, not far from where the bridge will be after substantial const...
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Playing nice can pay in politics
Republicans were supposed to have an easy time of it in North Dakota’s U.S. Senate race. The multi-term Democrat, Kent Conrad, wasn’t running for re-election, and this region is supposed to be Republican in its conservative soul. Thus, according to the script, Republican Rep. Rick Berg should have had this Senate seat in the bag — as his Democratic foe, Heidi Heitkamp, tried to crawl uphill with a heavy D on her back. Contrary to these expect...
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One down, more to do
We have promised publicly — and to more than one commissioner privately — that when the time came to commend the county Board of Commissioners for taking action to roll back its pay and perks, we would do so. That time is now. On Monday night, the county Board of Commissioners pared one branch from the tree of benefits when members voted unanimously to immediately end a deferred compensation plan that was falsely advertised as being able ...
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Chris Guess
Your View for Oct. 2, 2012
Do you think the Robeson County Board of Commissioners will roll back their pay and benefits to put them more closely in line with what commissioners in other counties across North Carolina Receive? “I think the Robeson County commissioners should roll back their pay and benefits because I feel as though they can do a better job in the community.” — Twala Qualls, Maxton “I think they should put their benefits the same as other counties...
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School choice
About 6 percent of the students in the Public Schools of Robeson County are attending schools out of their district — and some parents of the more popular destination sites say the system’s transfer policy, which is basically a green light, causes crowding. Parents of students at Tanglewood Elementary School recently complained to the Board of Education, saying the high number of transfers to that school were violating state laws capping th...
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Killing COMtech
The county Board of Commissioners appears committed to pulling the plug on COMtech, the 11-year-old economic effort that while never becoming the industrial park that was envisioned, is a viable business complex and a lure when trying to snag new industry. The commissioners cut COMtech’s funding request by more than half for the current fiscal year, doing so as they managed to find enough money to give themselves a raise while also dumping ...
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Preparing for college
ith the fall semester well under way at colleges across the nation, there’s a lot on the minds of students and their parents. Not going unnoticed is that in recent years, many college graduates are coming home with more than a degree. They are arriving with huge debts and without job offers. This is a frightening prospect for graduates and their parents. Taxpayers should also be concerned. College costs have soared in the last few years, ...
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Plan doesn’t add up
We think that the well has finally run dry. But we believed that last week, before this newspaper learned of yet another benefit our county commissioners have provided themselves, a deferred-compensation plan that allows them to continue to draw a salary after they leave office. And, yes, your guess is correct: We can find no other county that offers a similar plan. For those keeping score, here is what we have: The commissioners’ salary ...
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