Thursday, June 30, 2005
On watch: Citizens should pay attention to how tax increase is spent
Now, it is final. After weeks of hand-wringing, the county commissioners have finally bitten the bullet and passed a 7.5-cent tax increase. So, the debate over whether our taxes are going to go up is over — they will....Published: Jun 30, 2005 12:03 PM Full Editorial
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
A deception: Left behind? No. They’re left out
Ninety-seven percent of North Carolina’s high school students — grades 9 through 12 — are graduating! These are the figures for the 2002-2003 school years. That was the best record of any school in the nation as recorded in the...Published: Jun 29, 2005 11:06 AM Full Editorial
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Power of words: Ten Commandments emphasize nation’s principles
There seems to be something a little less than logical about a Supreme Court ruling that allows just about every other kind of expression there is in a courthouse except the one that might make someone think about justice and...Published: Jun 28, 2005 11:21 AM Full Editorial
Monday, June 27, 2005
Perspective, please: Don’t let Iraq war become a Vietnam
Quagmire. Vietnam. No end in sight. We’re losing. These were familiar words in Washington as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Gen. Richard Myers and other military leaders faced an Armed Services Committee last week. The secretary and the generals were...Published: Jun 27, 2005 11:45 AM Full Editorial
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Cost and benefits: Value of Paramount project has many measures
Those who are suggesting $10 million might be a little much to spend on the reconstruction of the Paramount Theater are not completely wrong. A community that has to raise taxes to meet its bills perhaps should not be thinking...Published: Jun 26, 2005 12:19 AM Full Editorial
Friday, June 24, 2005
Best of the best: Why our SJAFB came out on top
Most of us have felt comfortable about the future of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. But there was an understandable uneasiness as all bases were being scrutinized under the Base Realignment and Closure mandate. Some of the 157 bases definitely...Published: Jun 24, 2005 11:33 AM Full Editorial
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Appalling: Top brass admits leadership failure
It was a sad state of affairs. Two Marine Corps generals were meeting with the House Armed Services Committee. Members of the committee were concerned over why many vehicles being used by Marines in Iraq had not been reinforced...Published: Jun 23, 2005 11:52 AM Full Editorial
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Gas prices: No new refineries in almost 30 years
Prices are influenced to a significant degree by supply and demand. Or so we have been led to believe over the years. If hurricanes decimate the orange orchards in Florida, expect to pay more at the grocery store. Droughts in...Published: Jun 22, 2005 11:15 AM Full Editorial
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Lost rudders: As values fall by the wayside, sinister influences fill the void
An e-mail message is circulating around the area about a few statements made to some legislators by a man who lost his daughter in the 1999 Columbine High School shootings. Darrell Scott was called to speak to a subcommittee of...Published: Jun 21, 2005 11:57 AM Full Editorial
Monday, June 20, 2005
Pier pressure: Shallow water sinking school ferry proposal
It is time for the state to abandon a plan to ferry 10 Outer Banks children to and from the mainland every day so they can go to school. Solutions are available that are more sensible and less expensive. The...Published: Jun 20, 2005 12:08 PM Full Editorial
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Tragic losses remind us of things that really matter
Sometimes what strikes you most about tragedies you see in the newspaper is how much time we really waste in our lives. And this week’s reports of the tragic deaths of a person who had yet to live her full...Published: Jun 18, 2005 10:29 PM Full Editorial
Friday, June 17, 2005
Stepping down: Hulse leaves board better than he found it
Geoff Hulse can be involved in a plethora of complex projects at once without ever appearing flustered — in fact, apparently having fun with all of them. Hulse has been practicing law for about 20 years in Goldsboro, but some...Published: Jun 17, 2005 9:41 AM Full Editorial
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Rep. Jones: Don’t put ‘Pullout’ on a calendar
Congressman Walter Jones’ concern over the continuing death toll in Iraq must be shared by all among us. Each of us reads with pain and frustration each day’s reports of car-bombings and ambushes staged by insurgents. And we share the...Published: Jun 16, 2005 11:43 AM Full Editorial
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Close O’Berry or Caswell? Put top priority on the patients’ care
O’Berry Center at Goldsboro and Caswell Center at Kinston are being mentioned as potential targets under a state budget proposal that considers eliminating one of the state’s four mental retardation centers to save money. Caswell Center has 950 residents and...Published: Jun 15, 2005 11:25 AM Full Editorial
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Wake up, world! Put terrorists in perspective
There seems to be no end in sight to the international attention being given alleged incidents involving desecration of the Quran in detention centers holding Iraqi insurgents. One report — later proven untrue — that a U.S. interrogator flushed one...Published: Jun 14, 2005 10:42 AM Full Editorial
Monday, June 13, 2005
Diamonds: Robinson league offers community a chance to score
On the surface, the Jackie Robinson Baseball League seems to be nothing more than a chance for some children to get together and to bat around a few baseballs. And it is that, and so much more. The league’s goal...Published: Jun 13, 2005 10:16 AM Full Editorial
Published: Jun 13, 2005 10:16 AM Full Editorial
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Get answers: Citizens entitled to question rising tax burdens
There seems to be more talk about taxes these days. The state is extending a half-cent sales tax increase, which, even though they say it isn’t, is an additional tax. A temporary tax that is set to expire and is...Published: Jun 12, 2005 12:03 AM Full Editorial
Friday, June 10, 2005
New optimism: Community poised for ever greater possibilities
Thursday’s announcement of a new call center for the Fraternal Order of Police — and the 120 new jobs that will accompany it — suggests that there just might be reason to think there is more good news ahead for...Published: Jun 10, 2005 11:16 AM Full Editorial
Thursday, June 9, 2005
Minimum wage: Let people be paid according to their worth
As usually happens when money issues are brought into politics, the recent discourse on the minimum wage was rich in sympathy for the poor, but lean in economic substance. What started it was a bill introduced in the North Carolina...Published: Jun 9, 2005 11:17 AM Full Editorial
Wednesday, June 8, 2005
Aloha, taxpayers: Commissioners blunder with excursion to Hawaii
Somehow the idea of four county commissioners and a clerk spending their days at seminars and their late afternoons and evenings lounging on a beach in Hawaii or at a luau would be a lot easier to take if it...Published: Jun 8, 2005 11:38 AM Full Editorial
Tuesday, June 7, 2005
At O’Berry: Jerry Lyall set a high standard
Dr. Jerry H. Lyall is retiring from O’Berry Center at Goldsboro at the end of this month. He has served as the center’s director since 1978. Succeeding him will be Dr. Frank S. Farrell, who has had the privilege of...Published: Jun 7, 2005 11:15 AM Full Editorial
Monday, June 6, 2005
D-Day — Remembering the high cost of freedom
They came from homes and families thousands of miles away, young, a bit afraid, but steeled for the upcoming battle. They were not sure what to expect. They just knew they had a job to do. And even when the...Published: Jun 6, 2005 11:48 AM Full Editorial
Sunday, June 5, 2005
Feline fun: Lawmakers overlook state cat candidate
“Gee, Elmer, what’s the state cat up in Maryland?” “Why, it’s the lovely, loving and loyal Calico Cat, Herman. And what’s your state cat down in North Carolina?” “Our state cat is the felis concolor,” replies Herman, looking down ashamedly...Published: Jun 5, 2005 12:00 AM Full Editorial
Friday, June 3, 2005
New York Times: Its big scoop undercut the war on terrorism
Whose side are you on in the war on terror? That might be an appropriate question to demand of some in the “national media.” Specifically today, of The New York Times. From a lofty, ivory tower perspective of pretended purism,...Published: Jun 3, 2005 10:31 AM Full Editorial
Thursday, June 2, 2005
A vital pledge: Daily recitation offers essential reminders
It might seem like a small thing, asking students to recite the pledge to the American flag every morning in North Carolina schools. In fact, some people might not even know that it is not already part of the morning...Published: Jun 2, 2005 10:33 AM Full Editorial
Wednesday, June 1, 2005
Reunions: A chance to give something back to the community
Hundreds of Wayne County high school graduates came home this weekend to celebrate not only their school days, but to remember those who gave them their start. The Dillard/Goldsboro Alumni and Central High School reunions were more than just a...Published: Jun 1, 2005 10:55 AM Full Editorial