I hope that everyone had a wonderful time celebrating the holidays with family and friends.
To kick off 2008, I hope that you will reserve Tuesday, January 22, 2008, on your calendar to attend a Public Forum for the 7th Senatorial District. The forum will be sponsored by Representative Lucy Allen (representing Franklin County), Representative Jim Crawford (representing Granville and Vance counties), Representative Michael Wray (representing Vance and Warren counties), and myself. This event will be held at the Civic Center at Vance-Granville Community College in Henderson, beginning at 10:00 A.M.
Presenters for this forum will include the following:
Mr. Leslie Boney, Associate Vice President for Economic Development Research, Policy, and Planning of the University of North Carolina General Administration, will speak on “The UNC System and Economic Development.”
Mr. Jay J. Chaudhuri, Special Counsel to Attorney General Roy Cooper, will speak on “North Carolina’s Efforts to Combat Internet Crimes.”
Mental Health Reform Panel Discussion:
Panelists will include:
* Patsy Christian, Director of the Central Region Psychiatric Hospital in Butner, NC
* Mike Moseley, Director of the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services
* Hugh Tilson, Lobbyist for the North Carolina Hospital Association
* Foster Norman, Director of Five County Mental Health Authority
On, January 3, 2008, North Carolina DHHS Secretary Dempsey Benton announced a plan to fix the state’s mental health system, in particular its psychiatric hospitals. Citizens, civic leaders, and public officials of Franklin, Granville, Vance, and Warren counties, if you can not attend the entire forum, we urge you to attend this panel discussion from 1:30-2:30 pm. Your opinions and concerns can help fix North Carolina’s Mental Health System.
Lunch will be provided for all participants. We hope to end the forum by 3 P.M.
You will have an opportunity to let Representative Allen, Representative Crawford, Representative Wray, and me know of your concerns for the upcoming short session of the North Carolina General Assembly (convening on May 13, 2008).
I hope that you will make this event a priority and plan to attend.
We hope that you will respond to this invitation by calling or emailing any one of the sponsors by January 18, 2008.
Please RSVP to one of the following offices by January 18th:
Attached are directions to the Vance-Granville Community College Civic Center.
I will look forward to seeing you on Tuesday, January 22, 2008.
As always, I thank you for allowing me to serve for you in the Senate, and I welcome your comments, questions, and concerns.
Sincerely,
Doug Berger