02/27/04 — Briefly

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Briefly

By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on February 27, 2004 1:56 PM

BRAC restrictions

Military officials at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and other bases are restricted by the U.S. Department of Defense from providing specific details regarding the Base Realignment and Closure, or BRAC, while the DOD internal deliberation process is going on.

Once the secretary of defense makes his recommendations by May 16, 2005, to the independent BRAC commission, all of the information used by the DOD will be public information, said Lt. Col. Stewart Cox, chief of the 4th Manpower Office at Seymour Johnson.

The secretary of defense has stated that currently the DOD has about 20 to 25 percent excess base infrastructure capacity, said Cox.

He said the reason the DOD has restricted the release of information is so the BRAC process will remain fair and impartial.

The N.C. Advisory Commission on Military Affairs has met several times in Goldsboro to discuss its strategic plan on how to make North Carolina the "most military friendly state." The BRAC process has been on its agenda, but all military leaders attending those meetings excuse themselves before BRAC is discussed.

Lions to sell pancakes

Goldsboro Downtown and Host Lions club members will hold their annual pancake day fund-raiser and auction Saturday at the Boys & Girls Club of Wayne County at 1401 Royall Ave.

All-you-can-eat meals of pancakes, sausages and drinks will be served at $5 each from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets are available from club members and will be sold at the door.

The annual auction of donated items from businesses will be held at 10 a.m. Members and spouses also will sell baked goods.

Proceeds will be used to help the visually and hearing impaired in Wayne County, as well as the Boys & Girls Club and other community projects.

No Showtime

TV Showtime does not appear in today's News-Argus as it usually does on Fridays. The size of the annual Focus edition made it impossible to insert the magazine, so it was distributed in Thursday's edition instead.

If you missed it, copies of the Thursday paper are available at the News-Argus offices at 310 N. Berkeley Blvd. in Goldsboro.

Bloodmobile

The Wayne County Chapter of the American Red Cross will have a Bloodmobile on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Berkeley Mall. Donors will receive a coupon for a free car wash.