County Commission Race, Round 2:
“What is your position on deer hunting with dogs in Vance County? And what can you do to ensure that the rights of landowners are not violated?”
Hester joked that no matter what he said, it wasn’t going to be the right answer. He went on to answer that the county has passed a hunting law to take care of property rights, and that surrounding counties had different approaches.
He said he was an avid hunter and fisherman himself. He added that there was a balance that had to be maintained. He said if the current law did not work, it could be made more strict.
Hughes responded that he had written a letter to the editor on the subject that he wishes he had never written. He said that he is a hunter himself, but he does not hunt with dogs. He stated that it depends on the hunters and their respect for people’s property and other hunters.
Hughes supported the changes the County Commission made last year, and said “if it’s not broken, we won’t try to fix it any further”.
Boyd said that it has been a tough issue, and the object of the stricter guidelines was that those who hunt with dogs would be able to continue to do that. He said that in order to continue to do that, with the county becoming more congested each year, the hunters must have respect for the landowners. Once they lose respect for the landowners, they they are only hurting themselves.
Boyd essentially said that if hunters who use dogs do not police themselves, then the commissioners will have to step in.
Brummit said that those who do not want their property rights infringed upon by zoning need to respect the property rights of others when they hunt. He said he agrees with the other candidates.
Vance County Sheriff’s Race, Round 2:
“Full law enforcement coverage in our county, especially after normal business hours, is a concern for the citizens of Vance County. What do you believe is an acceptable response time for answering a complaint and how will you accomplish meeting that response time with your staff that you will have in your department?”
Candidate White responded that manpower has to be managed. He included females in his use of the term “manpower”. He said it was difficult to establish a response time because it depends on where the officers are. He said that he would look at establishing a satellite office, and that it might be in the Townsville area. He said that the satellite office does not have to be fancy.
He said he could not set a specific response time, but it has to be within reason. He said each officer has to assume responsibility for his or her calls. He said if he made up a number it would not be true.
Hoyle answered as well that he could not put a specific time on reponse. He said that currently Vance County is split into two districts. Hoyle said he would split the county into four districts to cut response time.
The independent candidate said he would use drug seizure money from the drug interdiction team to help, as well as staggered shifts.
Hoyle said he would continue the drug interdiction team on I-85.
North Carolina Senate District 7, Round 2:
“Many North Carolinians, including many in Vance County, struggle every day because they do not have adequate health insurance. What can you do in the legislature to improve this situation?”
Chuck Stires began his answer by referring to a $250 credit to businesses for offering individual health insurance that he called “window-dressing” for election season. He said there needs to be a “real effort” to effecting lower premiums.
Stires advocated tort reform to keep doctors from leaving. He also suggested looking at “healthcare delivery”, technologies other than physicians, to deliver heathcare.
Berger responded that he was proud that his legislative team supported the $250 tax credit for small businesses that offer health insurance. He said it was a piece of legislation that was advocated strongly by the National Federation for Independent Businesses. He said it was a key piece of legislation that they pushed, not an election-time trick, and the beginning of a process.
The senator also talked about starting a high-risk insurance pool by the state to take people with pre-existing conditions out of the private insurance pool to reduce costs. He said that help was needed from the federal government on the issue.
Berger also noted that costs would go down if North Carolina could do bulk purchasing. He also said that the Assembly had made sure that the children of working families were covered.
Listen to Audience Questions, Round 2 here.