Saturday, March 31, 2007
Stepping up: Boys and Girls Club nominees are reason to be proud
Obstacles do not always create stopping points in a young person’s life. In fact, for some they create opportunity to shine even brighter. For the competitors in the state’s annual Youth of the Year competition for the Boys and Girls...Published: Mar 31, 2007 12:49 PM Full Editorial
Friday, March 30, 2007
Shelter priorities: It might not seem like it, but now is the time to build
There are some people who might wonder why there has been so much fuss about building a new animal shelter in Wayne County. And, in the wake of some of the recent concerns about the budget in this county and...Published: Mar 30, 2007 11:12 AM Full Editorial
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Get IDs right first: One-stop registration and voting is a recipe for trouble
There is a bill being bandied about the General Assembly this week proposing that North Carolina adopt a one-stop registration and voting program. The idea is to open up the democratic process and to make it easier for voters to...Published: Mar 29, 2007 11:30 AM Full Editorial
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
One more vote: WCC Board of Trustees made a pick for continued progress
It is not official yet, not until the state’s board governing community colleges makes the choice a lock, but the Wayne Community College Board of Trustees took a positive step for the college Tuesday. The board decided to offer the...Published: Mar 28, 2007 11:25 AM Full Editorial
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Dress code talk: Parents should speak out on what they want to see
The Wayne County Board of Education has made a stand — and now it is up to the parents of the county’s students to decide if they want to see the members’ proposal enacted. Parents will receive a survey asking...Published: Mar 27, 2007 1:32 PM Full Editorial
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Finding balance: Schools, Medicaid compete for county’s budget
Have you noticed how much talking there has been lately about how many bills there are to pay and how little money there seems to be in the county coffers to cover them? It is not an unusual call —...Published: Mar 24, 2007 11:56 PM Full Editorial
Friday, March 23, 2007
No pork, just vote: Spending plan should not include pet project money
If you really believe that there ought to be a bill that passes Congress that sets a specific date for a withdrawal from the war in that country — why must you have a promise of federal money for your...Published: Mar 23, 2007 11:22 AM Full Editorial
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Here we go again: There ought to be a hearing about hearings in capital
There seems to be an awful lot of time in Washington to sit around and call hearings. The hoopla over Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and his firings of some federal prosecutors has gone from a few questions to a full-blown...Published: Mar 22, 2007 11:45 AM Full Editorial
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Honor defined: Nation should listen more to its heroes and less to its critics
U.S. Army Pfc. Michael Russell’s story ought to be required reading for every protester, waffling congressman or anyone else who is throwing around criticism about the war in Iraq or claiming not to understand why the U.S. went there in...Published: Mar 21, 2007 12:14 PM Full Editorial
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
A tragic story: There is lesson to be learned from night of bad decisions
It only takes a moment to change a life forever — or to take one. It doesn’t matter how old you are or how well-behaved you have been until that moment. When you make a dangerous decision, it can end...Published: Mar 20, 2007 1:35 PM Full Editorial
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Distractions: Much of Washington’s bickering just political gamesmanship
Political manuevering is part of the game of politics. It is how you know if you are a political appointee that when an election is nearing, it is time to start looking for another job. If there is a new...Published: Mar 17, 2007 5:42 PM Full Editorial
Friday, March 16, 2007
Primarily nothing: Battle to be early presidential knight-makers is interesting
With all the interest in moving up primaries, there seems to be a rush to be among the first to weigh in on who should run for president in 2008. California moved its date up to February this week, with...Published: Mar 16, 2007 11:19 AM Full Editorial
Thursday, March 15, 2007
An uplifting break: College students should consider service instead of just parties
You have seen the television reports and the programs depicting what actually goes on when college students head to the beaches for spring break. And as you know, especially if you made one of those trips yourself, community service is...Published: Mar 15, 2007 11:27 AM Full Editorial
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Direction needed: Continuing school issues require more than local input
There seems to be more than one county talking about who should pay for what and who should have the say so over the programs in their counties’ schools. Duplin County’s commissioners and board of education are trying to work...Published: Mar 14, 2007 11:27 AM Full Editorial
Monday, March 12, 2007
Where are they? Lottery proceeds distribution much quieter than its debut
The North Carolina Education Lottery started off with a bang — lots of hoopla and scores of promises from the legislators who backed the plan, which was touted as a way to provide extra education funding to the state’s schools....Published: Mar 12, 2007 11:05 AM Full Editorial
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Deal with issues: Political platitudes won’t move schools forward
Perhaps it is time to ask someone else to take up the notion of who has the final say-so on what is to be done with education in North Carolina — specifically who will pay for it and who will...Published: Mar 10, 2007 10:44 PM Full Editorial
Friday, March 9, 2007
Ethics starts inside: State officials know what’s right — that’s where to begin
The rules have been changed, and now the North Carolina General Assembly is headed along the road of good ethics, sound management and honorable dealings, right? Well, maybe. New House Speaker Joe Hackney has set up a whole new set...Published: Mar 9, 2007 11:01 AM Full Editorial
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Time for action: Veterans health care needs overhaul and more funding
The reports that have come out of Walter Reed Army Medical Center about conditions there are a disgrace. The stories of suspect conditions and less than high quality care should make those in charge of that portion of the veterans’...Published: Mar 8, 2007 11:14 AM Full Editorial
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Their own merit: Candidates should be decided on qualifications, nothing else
Democratic hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is trying a new tack to get attention to her campaign for her party’s nomination in the 2008 presidential election. She is launching an Internet campaign to attract women voters to her cause of...Published: Mar 7, 2007 11:21 AM Full Editorial
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Dealing with all of it: Teen pregnancy issue is one of social ills that affect education
We can take some comfort in the fact that we weren’t as bad as our neighbors when the time came to figure out just how Wayne County is doing at controlling its teen pregnancy rate. We are 26th in the...Published: Mar 6, 2007 1:06 PM Full Editorial
Monday, March 5, 2007
Lesson from Anna: Furor over star’s remains a sad tale — and a message
At last, the furor over Anna Nicole Smith is over — and she has finally been buried next to her son in the Bahamas. This, of course, after weeks of bickering among her survivors and those who claimed they knew...Published: Mar 5, 2007 10:53 AM Full Editorial
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Losses, lessons: Now is time to check to see if Wayne facilities are up to par
No one could really have predicted the tornado that ripped through the hallways of an Alabama high school Thursday. And those who were in charge of the students attending classes there will probably never stop playing over and over again...Published: Mar 3, 2007 11:39 PM Full Editorial
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Tracking grads: New measurement is good, but numbers are a bit skewed
The new method of measuring high school graduation rates is in place. So now, North Carolina parents will know for sure just how their children’s schools are performing, right? Well, not necessarily. When you first look at the numbers listed...Published: Mar 1, 2007 11:00 AM Full Editorial