Opinion
Chamber will need a new home
When Sally Davis said she would be in town for the Cantaloupe Festival later this month, I did not have the heart to tell her there were no cantaloupes.
Davis is the incoming president of the Tarboro Edgecombe Chamber of Commerce. She’s excited and enthused about the possibilities as only a Tarboro native could be.
“We always say that Tarboro is the center of the universe,” she said.
Last year’s inaugural Eastern Carolina Cantaloupe Festival attracted an appreciative crowd downtown and, thanks to some outstanding sponsors, raised about $6,200 for the Chamber.
Revenue will be more important than ever for the Chamber this year. For the last five years, the Chamber has been paying $1 a year in rent and bringing in about $28,000 annually in rental income.
That’s right; RBC Bank (formerly RBC Centura) let the Chamber use the old branch bank building RBC inherited when it acquired Triangle Bank in 2000. RBC already had a branch bank building in town (and still does).
Terms of the agreement that went into effect June 1, 2003, state the Chamber could use the 5,200 square foot building at the corner of Saint James and Main streets – an ideal location in the middle of downtown – for $1 a year until Dec. 31, 2008.
Dec. 31 is the date RBC’s lease runs out with First State Investors in Pennsylvania. Until then, RBC pays the lease, taxes and insurance, and maintains the building’s exterior, including the parking lot.
The agreement stated the Chamber could rent out office space, if it desired, to start-up businesses, business coming into the area.
Suddenlink (formerly Cox cable) was allowed because its location seemed to provide customer convenience in the community.
I do not know how a real estate firm or anyone else got to be renters, but renting office space, parking spaces and the dumpster brought in $27,925 last year.
“The Chamber had sole discretionary use of the building,” RBC’s manager of real estate services and facilities said. “We don’t monitor it. It was a donation to Tarboro and Edgecombe County.”
Maxie Coker, RBC’s regional manager for personal and business banking in northeastern North Carolina, was manager of the RBC Centura branch bank in Tarboro when the agreement came about.
He initiated the conversation about the chamber using the building.
“It was a way to give back to the community,” said Coker, a Tarboro native.
Indeed, it was a generous gift.
Cantaloupes? Some folks are working on that.
And let’s hope some folks are working on finding the chamber a new headquarters downtown.
Full disclosure: My wife Jean works for RBC Bank but not in the real estate division.
W. Terry Smith is editor of The Daily Southerner.
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Come meet Ashley Woolard Saturday
The First Congressional District is ready for a change. A change in leadership, a change in priorities, and a change in attitudes.
The last Republican to represent the First District was Walter Pool in 1883. Our stagnant advancement under the direction of the Democrats is evident that a change is needed. We need jobs and we need businesses to provide those jobs.
G. K. Butterfield is our representative in Washington. It is his duty to represent all members of his district. The people who are struggling to take care of their families, support their churches, and expect the government to represent them are ignored. How has Butterfield benefited his constituents?
He voted to destroy the best health care system in the world, and voted for a bill that he had never read that will cost the taxpayers trillions of dollars. He voted to use taxpayer money to perform abortions in the healthcare bill.
He voted for Cap and Trade that will destroy millions of jobs at a time we need them most. This bill will drive more businesses out of the country. He was appointed to the Helsinki Committee to adopt the U. N. Global standards of environmental policies.
He voted for finance reform that will further restrict businesses and make it more difficult to maintain job growth.
Butterfield is loyal to Nancy Pelosi, and she has appointed him to several important committees. One of which is the House Committee of Standards of Official Conduct. t is their job to censor fellow members for misconduct, but when Charles Rangel was examined by the committee for lying about his taxes he gave Butterfield a thousand-dollar donation and the charges went away.
Ashley Woolard is challenging Butterfield for the right to represent the First District. Mr. Woolard is optimistic that he can defeat Butterfield in November. However, he is realistic and realizes that he needs help. He needs volunteers to get his message to every eligible voter, because every vote is important, but above all he needs money. It will take a lot of money to put a Republican in Washington for the first time in 127 years.
I am sure everyone knows who Butterfield is, but how many of you know Ashley Woolard? If you haven’t met this young man, we invite you to join an Ashley Woolard for Congress meet and greet on Saturday, July 31, from 4 until 7 p.m. at the Macclesfield Community Center, N.C. 124 and Fourth Street. This will also be a chance to donate to the campaign and purchase barbequed chicken plates for dinner.
Don Harrell
Macclesfield -
She doesn’t like traps for cats
I live in Tarboro and some of my neighbors have put out traps for cats. These cats have been here since I have lived here.
We have all kinds of animals here running here and they look good here.
I am unhappy about the way people do things.
What can we do about this?
DEBBIE OWENS
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