Category: Opinion

Editors Note:  Julian Oliver is a former resident of Vance County who submitted the following piece for publication: I faxed this letter to our 23rd Texas congressional district and Congressman Francisco Canseco is our Republican Representative.  The 23rd is located in SW Texas (Hondo and our surrounding area outside of San Antonio) Congressman Canseco: I am 76 years young, Korean War Veteran, retired DOD (Army) employee, Republican and reside in your 23rd District. I urge you and your fellow colleagues …

Candidate Mitt Romney keeps focusing on the question, in a number of ads on TV, “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?” That is a very interesting question and one I think that has a number of different answers. Do you think that Mitt Romney is better today than he was four years ago?  He will not show us his tax returns, but my suspicion would be that his net worth today is significantly higher than …

1.   Scattered Site Program Chairman Garrison opened the September County Commissioners’ regular monthly meeting with a public hearing regarding a change in last month’s approved Scattered Site Housing Program.  Note, this Scattered Site Housing Program should not be confused with Section 8 Scattered Site Housing Program as I did that last month.  The Commissioners collectively held their breath awaiting someone among the audience to speak for or against the change.  No one did, so Ms. Julie Reed, Council of Government, …

The City Council’s on Monday was three meetings in one; actually a regular meeting, a closed session, and a work session.  So my summary will follow the sequence of the meetings. 1. Vance County Comprehensive Transportation Plan Scott Watson presented to the Council the State Department of Transportation’s concept and planning for transportation needs within Vance County over the next thirty years.  This was a much improved presentation from the one given to the County Commissioners earlier this month.  Mr. …

There are now a whole series of commercials about people who claim they voted for Obama in 2008 but that they are now disappointed with his administration and do not believe they will vote for him in 2012. I am among those who have been disappointed by Obama’s administration. I had great hopes that he would be able to carry his vision of an administration that was focused on solving the problems that confront our country. That he wanted very …

Normally, I hate to repeat myself. In fact, I think one of my worst faults was that I hated to repeat a sermon, repeat an illustration, or even try to make the same points again. but the selection of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney’s running mate makes it extremely necessary. The Bowles-Simpson Commission was a bipartisan commission charged with the task of studying the great national debt and coming up with recommendations for dealing with that mounting problem. They studied. …

There are other opinions on this subject matter that are not represented by Stephen Ertman. I am a fifth generation link to Matthew Dickinson and I have other information to share concerning the possible move of Matthew Dickinson out of the Edwards “Family Cemetery”.  Neither he nor Diane Gravlee have consulted with the Dickinson’s who moved West.  They do not represent the Dickinson Family.  There are others who are doing genealogy, and none are officially called a family historian, nor do either …

I paid my way to the Vance Henderson Chamber of Commerce lunch meeting this afternoon.  The topic dealt with small investors or companies and solar power.  Rob Lease, with Argand, made the presentation to a packed conference room of business people.  The basic summary is this: 1.  If a building has a roof of at least 40 sq feet and up to 80 sq feet of open space the building owner may want to consider installing solar panels to generate …

By:  Stephen C. Ertman, Spokesman for the Edwards & Dickinson Family Descendants Here is some late-breaking news on the growing opposition to stop Louisburg College from disinterring their first precept, Matthew Dickinson, from the Edwards Family Cemetery located near Ingleside, NC.  A Dickinson Family Descendant has recently come forward and sides with the Edwards Family Descendants in strongly opposing the disinterment of Matthew Dickinson.  Matthew Dickinson did not marry, so he has no direct descendants.  Diane Gravlee is his great-great-great …

1.  Comprehensive Transportation Plan Maps Scott Walston, with the NC Department of Transportation, presented the Comprehensive Transportation Plan for Commissioners’ and publics’ review.  This is a forward looking transportation plan for Vance County.  Mr. Walston first reviewed the process for planning transportation needs, then quickly reviewed the maps of roadways, bike trails, and high speed rail.  Before anyone gets excited all of the maps are drafts or concepts. Mr. Walston made it clear this was not the time to approve …

In high school they teach you that Senators and Congressmen are elected by the people to go to Washington to solve the problems of the nation. They are representatives of the people. They are empowered by the ballot to act on our behalf to solve the major issues before the country.  That is supposed to be the way it works. But as anybody who has been watching has noticed that is not the way it has been working. Ever since …

Chairman Terry Garrison “called a special meeting of the Vance County Board of Commissioners and the Vance County Water District Board for Monday July 23, 2012 …”.  “The purpose of the special meeting [was] to … Enter into closed session to discuss attorney client privileged matters.”  Such an announcement should make one wonder what attorney client privileged matters is so important for the two Boards to meet.  That important matter was the contract between the City of Henderson and Vance …

There is a Book of Common Worship prayer of confession of sin that asks for forgiveness for “those things that we have done that we ought not to have done and for those things that we have not done that we ought to have done.” The two kinds of sins: the sin of commission and the sin of omission. There are glaring examples of both in the news at the moment.  There is a horrific example of the sin of …

It is well known that there is great power in the repeated lie. If you repeat a lie often enough, it will soon become believed as the truth.  There is no better proof of this than the continued repetition of the lie that Obama’s Administration has been the “most prolific big government spender” in the history of the country. The ads continue to repeat the lie that Obama has raised the national debt higher than anybody. So it is very …

1.  Joint Board appointments John Fogg and Nancy Wilson two racing adversaries in their prime were re-appointed to the ABC Board.  An aside, why is the sale of alcohol a State controlled monopoly instead of State monitored business? I digress to the summary.  2.  Economic Development Industrial Park Matters Stuart Litvin, introduced Dale Carroll Deputy Secretary of the NC Department of Commerce. Mr. Carroll was here to formally present the NC Department of Commerce’s recognition of two certified development sites …

Louisburg College’s decision to disinter one of its early professors – Michael Dickinson – from a rural, family graveyard, The Edwards Family Cemetery, despite the protestations of the Edwards family.  The college plans on desecrating the very old family cemetery with a backhoe, without regard to who they might disturb, or what they might destroy, in the process.  In a letter sent to the college, and various surrounding media, Susan Wiens writes: I have recently been informed about Louisburg College’s …

As I write this, animals in Vance County are suffering and dying. This is not meant to judge anyone, but to explain some hard facts about what’s happening to cats and dogs in Vance County and what you might do to help. 1)      The oft criticized Vance County Animal Shelter is bursting at the seams, last week holding over 150 in a facility built for a third of that many animals.  Although our devoted local volunteer rescue, Ruin Creek Animal …

I attended Monday’s Henderson City Council meeting because I read on HomeInHenderson the citizen concern for expansion of video gaming parlors.  I wanted to see for myself the number of people who would come to the council meeting to express their view regarding the expansion.  Besides myself only one other person attending the council meeting was not a council member, city manager, city attorney, or a city employee.  Consideration of Approval of Ordinance 12-08, An Ordinance Eliminating Distance Restrictions on …

I attended the June 20th, 2012 meeting of the City’s Boards and Commissioners meeting.  My dyslexia caused me to read the notice as a meeting of the county commissioners and city council.  I am glad I did and glad to have attended.  This was a committee meeting to review applications and resignations to City boards and commissioners.  Mayor O’Geary, Council persons Deake, Kearney, & Peace-Jenkins are the committee members.  Ms. McCrackin, the City Clerk, was also in attendance.  Although the …