Columbus County Community Chat

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Monday night’s open school board forum on the dispute over the Gideons’ request to put Bibles in Columbus County fifth-grade classrooms shed light in a number of areas, but it also revealed that the waters are indeed untested and murky.

The county school board is in an untenable position, likely to be sued either way it chooses.

That’s bad news for Columbus County schoolchildren, who need the full attention and focus of school leaders to improve education in conditions that are difficult enough already.

We suggest that all sides contemplate practical solutions. Given time, things could be resolved without a court fight.

The first logical step would be to give the North Carolina School Board Association time to develop a model that all school boards could adopt and be in compliance with federal case law.

The “Practical Solution of the Night” award goes to the Baptist preacher who suggested that the sons and daughters of Christian families give Bibles to classmates who want them. It is allowed, and nobody will wind up in court.

The preacher’s oration could offer a silver lining to the entire affair.

What if the faith-based community took this opportunity to muster forces and really get involved in the schools? The school board has already said that it welcomes – and even encourages – churches and church members to volunteer in the schools.

Could the same group that met Monday night set a goal of doubling the number of the faith-based community who currently volunteer helping students learn to read, or by providing a strong, moral shoulder for vulnerable children to lean on?

If just one-tenth of the 6,700 people who signed the Gideon petition agreed to volunteer in the schools, what a blessing that would be for so many students.

That’s the hard work the faith-based community should be doing.

Our schools don’t need a court fight. What they need are practical solutions from practical people willing to roll up their sleeves and make a difference in the lives of our young people.

The drownings of two East Columbus High School students last week at Lake Waccamaw was a tragic accident.

Drownings are infrequent at Lake Waccamaw, in part because the lake is shallow in most places, but hypothermia apparently proved too much for two of the three boys.

We were impressed with the efforts of all involved in the rescue and recovery effort.

The accident occurred during the coldest conditions of the year. At times, the temperature dipped into the teens and winds gusted to 25 miles per hour.

Local fire, rescue and law enforcement officials were on the water or going pier-to-pier in terrible conditions when the possibility remained that the boys were alive.

Rescuers were faithfully back on the water on the subsequent three mornings, even when it was obvious the two boys could not have survived.

It was also gratifying to see the out-of-county units that assisted, ranging from the Coast Guard, which sent a helicopter, to water rescue teams from surrounding counties. The team that found the last victim was from the New Bern area.

It’s unimaginable what the families of the two boys have gone through and continue to experience; yet, it should be of some comfort that so many people understood their loss and responded with extraordinary dedication.

It’s easy to be overwhelmed at Christmas.

An estimated one-third of U.S. citizens don’t buy the first present until the week before Christmas,
Christmas cards must be written and addressed, and major meals must be prepared for Christmas day.

But despite the histrionics, uneasiness and heightened emotions that often come with the season, we’re always impressed with the number of people who take time to help others at Christmas. 2007, from what we’ve seen, has been no exception.

There are the church groups who arrange carolling at the nursing homes, there are the families that adopt less fortunate families, there are toy runs by bikers, there are school kids sending care packages to our soldiers overseas, there are people asking friends and family to donate to good causes rather than give gifts…and the list goes on.

The bad news is that the freneticism of Christmas isn’t likely to change anytime soon. The good news is that peace and happiness can just as easily be found if the true joys of Christmas – compassion and love for our fellowman, especially the less fortunate – are observed.

This year, make Christmas what it is supposed to be: a reflective and rewarding time that is centered on others rather than yourself.

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has chosen Columbus County Schools as one of two school systems in the state to be part of a new initiative to discover root causes of low student performance and what the districts’ strengths and weaknesses are.

DPI will send a team here and to Lexington City Schools over a three-year period to find ways to reverse low student performance.

Our hope is that the experiment will be a learning experience for both local educators – and especially for DPI.

DPI has a diminished reputation among the local education community that it must overcome.

For too long, DPI has made decisions from its ivory tower in Raleigh, decisions that have translated poorly to rural areas like Columbus County. Words like “out of touch” and “pie-in-the-sky” are often heard.

It’s no wonder that many teachers left Tuesday’s meeting with a heavy dose of skepticism.

But let’s be positive here. This experiment, which Columbus County is lucky to be a part of, has a chance to work.
At least one good decision has been made already – that this is a three-year process, not a six-month or one-year dog and pony show.

The time spent here will give DPI a first-hand look at what it’s like to educate students in a poor area where issues like low parent involvement and literacy, a lack of emphasis at home on education and poverty-related social ills make teaching a monumental task. We can’t think of a better laboratory than Columbus County.

And it’s not like teachers and administrators here aren’t trying. They are, but when one walks through Wal-mart, for example, and sees a parent or guardian slapping their children around, or realizes what young children are exposed to in movies, music and television, it’s easy to see that education has to be more than reading, writing and arithmetic. It’s so sad to see bright, young people beaten down by a crumbling or non-existent support system, but that’s what teachers are up against.

Our hope is that DPI will truly see this as an opportunity to create something that – in their own words – will be “national model.”

Likewise, we hope that local teachers and educators will participate willingly. The folks at DPI may recommend radical changes, and teachers need to be prepared to embrace them because these changes just might work. Radical change may be the only solution, in fact, we’ll be disappointed if at least a few extraordinary and bold initiatives aren’t tried.

If there’s one catch phrase that must be remembered during this process, it is “open-minded,” and it’s got to be from both sides.

Clearly, what’s being done now isn’t working, in large part because of social changes that have occurred outside the classroom over the years.

Education must evolve with those changes.

It will be a shining achievement for both the county schools and DPI if that evolution begins right here.

In his book, “Where Have All The Leaders Gone?,” Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued what appeared to be a doomed Chrysler Corporation from collapse in the 1980s, credits much of the company’s successful turnaround to the people he hired as his lieutenants. Finding good people to work for you is a key to effective leadership, Iaccoca says.

That’s why hiring the right county manager should be job number one on the commissioners’ list.

Columbus County has advertised for a county manager for some time now and commissioners say they’ve found no one who they think can do the job.

Former County Manager Jim Varner has been gone for a while, and while Interim Manager Leo Hunt has held down the fort in the meantime, he says he’s ready to fade into retirement.

With round one of interviews apparently unsuccessful, we think the county commissioners should reassess the process.

For starters, the job calls for applicants to have a master’s degree with county government experience. Having someone with both those qualifications would be nice, but we believe this severely limits the pool of candidates. Some of the finest journalists to ever work for The News Reporter, for example, didn’t go to journalism school.

We’re also concerned by recent comments by commissioners that the county can’t afford the salary that some candidates might demand.

We say we can’t afford not to pay a top-notch candidate. Rookies and low-man-on-the-totem-pole candidates will demand a salary in the $50,000 range. A good manager’s salary will start in the $80,000 or $90,000 range.

If the commissioners are shooting for a $60,000 manager as they have in the past, then the county will likely be saddled with an average to below-average manager.

As we’ve said many times before, the commissioners should hire a quality manager and leave him or her alone to do his or her job.

With the county’s finances at a precarious level, the need for economic development and better planning, we urge the commissioners to broaden their search and remember that the cost of hiring a good manager will easily be recouped.

If the commissioners want to turn Columbus County around, do what Lee Iacocca did – hire the best people and the rest will take care of itself.

Disposal of the county’s garbage is an expensive proposition – about $5.8 million annually – so any contract negotiations should be taken seriously and with much thought.

The county commissioners haven’t been known for their due diligence on tedious documents in the past, but they deserve credit for raising questions about the latest contract extension proposal from Waste Management.

The commissioners had planned to cancel their Dec. 17 meeting during the Christmas season, but have instead chosen to use the time to get more answers from Waste Management on their valuation of a three-sided metal building they’re offering the county at the “bargain” price of $325,000. As so often happens with monopolies, Waste Management has given the county the choice of paying $325,000 for this grossly overvalued building or accepting another long-term contract for waste transfer.

Whether the “deal” Waste Management is giving the county in the new contract is a good one needs study, but the commissioners are right to raise a red flag about the price of this shell of a building.

There are other issues that need to be thought out as well, such as aligning the transfer contract with the time frame of the collection contract because it’s not practical to have one contract commensurate with the other.

Second, the contract requires a minimum of 100 tons of garbage a day be moved through Waste Management. That kills any incentive to recycle or cut the waste stream, which would save taxpayer dollars in landfill fees.

Making sure taxpayers get the best deal in contract negotiations is what the commissioners are elected to do, even if it means working through Christmas. This is one trashy deal that wasn’t swept under the rug.

If there is a department of county government that must do its job well, it’s the 911 Center.

No matter how good the county’s fire, police and EMS services are, their efforts will be diminished if there are procedural issues at the 911 Center .

Sheriff Chris Batten recently appealed to the county commissioners for help in resolving issues with the 911 Center and communications with his deputies.

When it comes to stressful jobs, 911 dispatchers are at the top of the list. We have a dedicated crew at the 911 Center here, but they need to be in an environment where they can do their jobs effectively.

Bear in mind that dispatchers not only answer phone calls, they also dispatch them, type in information for record keeping, plus maintain radio communications with responding units – all simultaneously. Usually, four dispatchers can handle what comes in, but sometimes, several emergencies happen concurrently. That’s when you don’t want to be understaffed.

Several problems listed by Batten and brought to light recently need to be addressed. Perhaps the first is the simplest: 911 dispatchers here have to handle too many non-emergency calls. Often, these are calls for situations like interrupted water or sewer service or lost pets.

Citizens should expect answers to these calls, but intermingling these with heart attack or house fire calls is putting too much stress in an already stressful environment.

Batten is correct in asserting that whoever is handling sheriff’s department calls needs to be a sheriff’s department specialist – someone who understands law enforcement and is familiar with sheriff’s department protocols.

Can these current issues be resolved by honing procedures for non-emergency calls and rethinking operations? Maybe, but the 911 Center’s performance will never be predictable because of the nature of emergencies, which often occur en masse.

There are plenty of areas where the county can cut expenses, but the 911 Center isn’t one of them. Error has to be on the side of caution.

A proposed resolution that calls for stricter enforcement of immigration laws in Columbus County is better left where it was at the last county commissioners’ meeting – on the table.

The issue, which is being pushed by Commissioner James Prevatte, is low on the list of priorities of the federal government, so why should it be a priority for Columbus County?

Earlier in the year, Congress failed to pass a sensible immigration bill that would have given amnesty to illegal immigrants in the country now, but tightened restrictions in the future. So while Columbus County’s proposal may seemingly address what some consider to be a problem, we have much bigger issues on which to spend our time and energy than getting tangled up with a threatened lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU has said it’s itching to file suit against a county that adopts a resolution such as the one being considered here.

And the ACLU raises some valid points, such as the lack of due process for those suspected of being illegal aliens, and penalties for people who employ them.

But for practical purposes, does the county need to be involved in yet another costly lawsuit it would probably lose? For example, the Hazelton, Pa., town board adopted a similar resolution and spent $2.1 million defending a lawsuit it eventually lost.

We’re better off letting the federal government wage this fight to the extent that Congress allows it because we have bigger fish to fry in Columbus County.

Vote on sales tax is Nov. 6
By NICOLE CARTRETTE
Staff Writer