Commissioners Vote To Proceed With Elementary School Project

CMYK
4A
THE BUTNER-CREEMOOR NEWS
EDITORIAL PAGE
THURSDAY
July 15, 2010
The decision of the
ranville
County
ommissioners Monday night
o purchase the Southern
ivestock Center was an
xcellent one.
The potential for developing
he property into an economic
evelopment resource to
roduce new business for the
ounty is tremendous.
The $600,000 price at which
he property could be purchased
s a real bargain which was
nfluenced most likely by the
ownturn in the economy. But
ith creative leadership the
roperty could present
onsiderable positive economic
enefits for the county.
The idea of moving the
ounty’s Agricultural Extension
ffice to the site is a good one
nd the possibility of renting
pace to the Federal
Agricultural Stabilization and
onservation Service (ASCS)
ffice should also be studied.
The local community almost
ost the ASCS office recently in
Federal government move to
onsolidate offices to save
oney.
It is possible that the
evelopment of a new
Agricultural One Stop Center”
ight help keep this valuable
sset which provides service to
ranville landowners and good
aying federal jobs to the local
mployees.
A similar move was done
ecently in Johnston County
ear Smithfield and they ended
p with a beautiful Agricultural
enter. The fact that there is acual
land included in what could
e the Agricultural Center
eans that 4-H clubs could
ave demonstration projects
ear the building and that Ag
xtension agents could set up
emonstration plots to help
ormer tobacco farmers and
thrs learn to grow new crops
uch as strawberries, grapes,
lackberries, blueberries,
omatoes, cucumbers, peppers
nd other garden crops and
ossibly help the county to
cquire grants from such
gencies as “The Golden Leaf
oundation to help farmers
ake the transition to a new
way of making a living.” With
political cooperation and
influence these potential grants
could actually be worth more to
the county than the purchase
price of the buildings.
The site is near enough to
the new Biofuels Center that it
could be used to support this
agency’s work.
One follow up prospect that
deserves study is using a
portion of the property to be
developed as a multi-state
equestrian center to encourage
and support horse owners with
competitive events, exhibitions
helping horse owners or
potential owners with horse
ownership, health care,
training and sale of associated
products and services.
The center is also well located
to be developed into a
center for events and
equipment exhibitions to cater
to the equestrian market which
could be a major new economic
resource for the county not just
for the products sold but also
for the tourism market which
could help existing motels,
restaurants, animal feed and
equipment dealers,
veterinarians and even clothing
dealers and caterers.
North Carolina and
Virginia are home for nearly
300,000 horses with an
established value of more than
$1.2 billion dollars.
The horse market within 2
hours driving time includes
more than 30,000 farms
ranches and boarding barns
that provide homes for more
than 150,000 horses. Horse
owners in this area buy, sell and
trade more than 15,000 horses
each year.
If this type use of the
property was successful it could
even encourage new
restaurants and merchants to
decide to locate and do business
in our county.
The reservations of those
who chose not to support the
use of the county’s fund balance
savings is understandable in a
down economy.
Still the opportunity to buy
the Livestock Center at the
bargain price for which it was
offered will not likely be
duplicated when the recession
ends.
The county is now in good
enough shape with its savings
and it will benefit from the
higher tax values established
because of the recent revaluation
of property in the
county.
The leadership displayed by
Commissioner Currin and the
other commissioners who voted
to approve the purchase of the
center represents the kind of
“out of the box” thinking that
the Granville Economic
Development office needs to be
encouraging to attract new
business to Granville County.
The decision made was a
good deal for the county.
Harry Coleman
Taking In The Big Top
It was a rare day at the
North Carolina General
Assembly. The circus came
to town.
The ringmaster was a
Republican state senator
from Cabarrus County,
Fletcher Hartsell. He had
his hands full, trying to tame
corporate lawyers, press
lawyers, indignant journalists,
and a state-owned
television agency.
The legislature hadn’t
seen such fun since the state
House kicked out one of its
own, a kicking-and-screaming
Thomas Wright.
Like Wright, the folks in
the various rings of this
three-ring circus may not
have seen it that way.
Hartsell had started the
show by subpoenaing a
UNC-TV reporter, Eszter
Vadja, and the station’s
general manager, Tom
Howe. The senator
demanded that they appear
before his Senate judiciary
committee with documentary
footage that Vadja had
compiled on aluminummaker
Alcoa.
Hartsell wanted to show
that Alcoa, seeking another
A V IEW
F ROM
R ALEIGH
By Scott
Mooneyham
50-year
f e d e r a l
license to
operate its
four dams on
the Yadkin
River, didn’t
deserve the
license.
Earlier this
decade, it had
shuttered its
aluminum
smelting plant on the shores
on Lake Badin and laid off
the workers. Why should it
still control the river’s
waters without providing a
substantial benefit to the
state?
He hoped that the
documentary footage would
help make the case and
apparently feared that
UNC-TV might deep-six the
project. (They didn’t, at least
not after Hartsell issued his
subpoenas.)
So, he broadcast it
himself at the committee
meeting. The footage didn’t
present the company in a
very flattering light.
The show set off all
manner of roaring, teethbaring
and
tail-switching
by those
lawyers and
journalists.
P r e s s
lawyers
criticized
Hartsell’s
use of a
subpoena to
get the documentary.
The state, after all, has a
shield law to protect
journalistic enterprises
from having to turn over
unpublished footage, notes,
sources, etc. A national
organization of statehouse
reporters, CapitolBeat,
added its own
condemnation.
Alcoa executives and
lawyers complained that
the documentary footage
was unfair. They told
Hartsell and the committee
that, yes, its Badin plant
had released PCBs years
ago, but that the PCBs in
fish in Badin Lake weren’t
necessarily their PCBs.
Got it?
Then one of the Alcoa
execs had the pleasure of
being worked over by the
committee for a half an hour.
It’s not clear that Hartsell
advanced his cause very
much. His decision to issue
the subpoenas was a bit hamfisted.
As a state agency,
UNC-TV would have had to
turn over the footage without
a subpoena. His subpoenas
only riled up the press and its
lawyers.
But the fuss over the
subpoenas was a bit absurd.
UNC-TV isn’t an independent
news agency. Just like any
other state agency, most of its
documents and materials are
public records, and so subject
to any public request for that
material.
It’s also questionable
whether UNC-TV is, in any
traditional sense, a journalistic
enterprise. Its bucolic,
mythologized view of North
Carolina ˆ where everyone
plays the dulcimer, collects
Ben Owen pottery and grows
organic vegetables ˆ looks a
lot more like entertainment.
The exception of this Alcoa
piece, and the resulting
controversy, only proves the
point.
The Raleigh Report
Letter To The Editor
Collective Effort Required
To The Editor:
The letter to the editor from Carolyn Dry published in
the June 24th edition had misleading statements in it.
Many of her comments appear to be taken directly from
the Glenn Beck entertainment show.
The return of the bust of Winston Churchill was done
because it was on loan to President George Bush after 9/
11, per Tony Blair. That bust was replaced in the White
House with one of President Lincoln.
The statement on the Cloward and Piven plan was
written in 1966 when Obama was an infant. I believe he
has no ties to such thinking today, and certainly could not
have had from his crib.
I’d also like to know when we became an enemy of the
Palestinians, as she stated in her letter. I think that would
be news not overlooked by anyone. And, as regards to Israel,
the President has stated “that our ties are unbreakable.”
The President has met with Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu five times since taking office. Yes, we
are a big government, and, thank God, we are. Who could
pay for all of our many problems without a big government
checkbook? When a state has major floods or fires, or a
huge tornado or earthquake, where would the money come
from? What states could handle the bills? The answer is
the government checkbook. It requires a collective effort
on the part of all Americans. There are places to go
online that have the reputation for an on-partisan view.
Please everyone, at least try to check facts before you
believe. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but not their
own facts. We are all misled everyday.
Renee Whitney
Creedmoor
We worked long hours
this week as we move closer
to adjourning this year’s
legislative session. Our work
has helped move to forward
legislation on ethics, extend
economic incentives to
business, and expand DNA
testing in the criminal
justice system. We still have
a number of important bills
to consider before session
comes to a close, but I
anticipate that we will
remain here only a few more
days before returning home.
Once the legislative
session has come to an end,
I will update you on the
details of the major
legislation that has been
approved over the past few
months. This week, I wanted
to provide some additional
information about the
budget that Gov. Perdue
signed into law last week.
This information highlights
items included in the
budgets for Health and
Human Services, the
Judicial Branch, General
Government, and
Transportation. Figures in
parentheses represent
decreases in funding. Some
of these are cuts in services,
while others represent
savings expected from more
efficient operations.
Thank you as always for
your interest in state
government. If you have any
questions about this
information or anything else
that I can help with, please
contact me. I am always glad
to be of service.
Health and Human
Services
_ Provides funding for
small rural hospitals for
assistance with operations
and infrastructure maintenance
- $1 million.
_ Provides state funds to
continue to serve people in
the AIDS Drug Assistance
program who are enrolled as
of July 1, 2010. These funds
will allow
eligible
individuals
who are
on the
waiting
list as of
July 1 to
be enrolled.
To
the degree
that
funds are
available,
additional
people
will be enrolled in the
program - $14.2 million.
_ Provides savings in
overall Medicaid expenditures
through the expanded
efforts of the Community
Care Network of North
Carolina (CCNC). DHHS
contracts with CCNC to
manage use of Medicaid
services. Savings will be
generated by expanding
CCNC's care management
programs in hospital
discharge, mental health;
palliative care, and
pharmacy. The improved
Informatics system will
enhance data integration,
analytics, and reporting,
increasing performance and
cost savings – ($45 million).
_Generates savings by
adding mental health drugs
to the Preferred Drug List
(PDL), which were
previously not part of the
PDL savings, and also
requires prior authorization
but only for off-label
prescribing of mental health
drugs – ($10 million).
_ Reforms the In-Home
Personal Care Services
program to provide care to
those individuals at greatest
risk of needing institutional
care. Reform transitions
eligible recipients into new
program for adults needing
extensive assistance with
two or more activities of
daily living – ($50.7 million).
_Eliminates Medicaid
reimbursement
of
'never
events' in
T HE hospital
inpatient
R ALEIGH
settings.
'Never
R EPORT
events'
are certain
types
of medical
By Jim
issues
Crawford
that develop
or
are acquired
while a person is in
a hospital, but should have
been prevented. The policy
change brings Medicaid in
line with Medicare
reimbursement – ($5
million).
_ Generates savings
through new Program
Integrity initiatives,
including Medicaid SWAT
teams for on-site investigations,
strengthening
Medicaid fraud laws,
innovative technology to
detect fraud and abuse,
and prepayment reviews
for questionable providers
– ($40 million).
_ Generates savings by
doubling the Medicaid
Investigative Unit staff at
the AGO to expand the
prosecution of Medicaid
fraud and abuse. Additional
staff will ensure
increased prosecution and
additional Medicaid funds
recovered from fraudulent
providers – ($1 million).
_ Streamlines functions
within the Child Support
Section and reduces
operating funds to coincide
with the elimination of 16
state Child Support
Enforcement offices - $1.3
million (20 filled positions,
13 vacant).
_Mental Health
_ Provides funding for
community services
administered by Local
Management Entities,
fully restoring cuts made last
fiscal year - $40 million.
_ Increases funds
available to purchase local
hospital bed capacity for
crisis response within
communities, bringing total
funding to $29 million - $9
million
. _ Increases funds
available for training direct
care staff and front line
leaders in patient care - $534,
795.
_ Reduces state funds for
the Whitaker School; the
program will become a
Psychiatric Residential
Treatment Facility in which
services are Medicaid
reimbursable – ($1.9 million).
Judicial
_ Reduces the Administrative
Office of the Courts central
administration budget - $1.1
million.
_ Provides funds to
expand the Medicaid Fraud
Criminal Investigation Team.
The expanded unit will
consist of sworn
investigators, attorneys,
program assistants, financial
investigators, and
administrative support
personnel. This investigative
unit is responsible for
obtaining convictions of
community service providers
that commit fraud, recovering
restitution and civil penalties
for the benefit of the Medicaid
Program and the Civil
Forfeiture Fund, and
deterring fraud - $600,000.
_ Reduces the appropriation
for medical
services for inmates based on
capping fees paid as a
percentage of billed charges.
This reduction applies to
inpatient and outpatient
hospital services as well as
professional services – ($20.5
million).
_ Consolidates administrative
functions
(Continued On PAGE 13a)