Write now, candidates

Opinion

March 5, 2010

W. Terry Smith The Daily Southerner Fri Mar 05, 2010, 11:04 AM EST

Candidates, begin writing.

Since this worked well last year, let's try it again.

We are inviting the candidates in the May 4 Primary Election to take advantage of their newspaper.

The most important thing you can do is tell voters what you stand for, what you believe in, what you will do if you are elected and what sets you apart from your opponent(s).

(Like it or not, you are running against someone.)

There are many ways to get your message out: advertisements in this paper, yard signs, brochures and old-fashioned shoe leather as you walk the streets in your neighborhood, knocking on doors, shaking hands and listening to concerns.

We can help. Now that you have filed, write a column telling readers (the voters) why you are running for office, what you see as key issues, your positions of those issues and what you will do if elected.

Keep it between a page and a page and a half.

You can mail it or e-mail it to me (e-mail preferred to: tsmith@dailysoutherner.com), and I will use it on this page in the coming weeks.

Mail or attach a digital photo (a jpg, please) of yourself, and I will use that, too. If you do not have a photo, give us a call, and we will take one here in the newspaper office. No charge.

Do not wait. It is best to get your name, face and thoughts out there early. We plan to call for another round of columns in the fall when the races heat up for the General Election on Nov. 2.

We are planning coverage of the races, including candidate profiles, on our news pages.

Your supporters are welcome to send endorsement letters, also. Make sure they follow the rules, 250 words or less, written by the person that signs them and not an organized campaign using prewritten copy, please. See the letters policy on this page.

We will try to treat each candidate fairly. I am most interested in publishing accurate stories and treating each person fairly.

Go ahead and write now because the deadline is April 9. We will not accept any more essays after Friday, April 9. No exceptions. None.

Good luck.

Cleaning out a reporter’s notebook ...

When Dr. Peter Temple had to call off the annual Coon Cook on Feb. 13 due to the snow and ice, it was the first cancelation in 21 years.

Circle Thursday night, April 15. That’s the night of the Friends of the Library’s 10th annual Spelling Bee and second annual Chili Cookout. Form your team now. The entry fee is $100 per four-person team. Call Ann Adams at the library for more information.

WRAL-TV’s Scott “Tar Heel Traveler” Mason tells Ken Lautzenhauser he is planning “a fitting tribute to the Veterans Museum and the effort of local veterans.” Look for that report closer to Memorial Day.

Ken and Loretta, by the way, are back from Egypt.

Finally, I thought by now someone would have demanded the Town of Tarboro, Edgecombe County and county Public Schools remove elective abortions from their insurance coverages paid with taxpayers’ money.

Elective abortions are covered – as is Viagra.

W. Terry Smith is editor of The Daily Southerner.

Text Only

Opinion

To The Editor
To the Editor:
A recent news story about the Montford Marines honors the important and too-often forgotten group of men. However, some of the statements in the story were wrong and need correction.

February 20, 2012
Happening a special event
My first Happening on the Common was one to remember, perhaps in part because it included a wide variety of music, arts and crafts and food.
And while you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking if someone liked either music or arts and crafts, there is no such uncertainty when it comes to food.
My favorite of the day was from the Hispanic Youth Group from Tarboro’s First Baptist Church. Their tamales were, as the Campbell Soup Kids used to say, “umm, umm. good!”

May 21, 2012
A thief at large
To the Editor:
A glorious day was marred by a pickpocket, stealing from an eldery lady enjoying the day at the Happening on the Common on Saturday.

May 21, 2012
Arts Council does many things for community
Happening on the Common, which offered the opportunity for a day filled with leisurely entertainment, didn’t just happen.

May 21, 2012
Remembering Betty Perrin NeSmith
Betty Perrin NeSmith was a force of nature. I hate the past tense, but it's the grammar we use when someone dies‚ Im just not sure it's the grammar Betty would use when thinking about death. She is moving on, with things to do. She was looking for a higher plane even while grounded on this earth, and I'm happy to think of her still searching out there in the other worlds.

May 16, 2012
A great example of poor judgment
TO THE EDITOR: I was having breakfast at a restaurant last week when I was asked, What do you think of the new police chief selection? I responded with, Who did they choose? Thats when I was given the devastating news it wasn't one of our own.

May 16, 2012
Did you ever lose your vehicle?
Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a parking lot, knowing in yiour heart that you remembered where you parked but faced with the realization that you didn’t?
I think many of us have been down that path, sheepishly realizing that the reason your automatic door opener isn’t working is because it’s not your vehicle.
Then, sheepishly, we walk away and begin our wandering and wondering as we try to find our wheels.

May 14, 2012
Economic growth a must
I give credit to Rich Karlgaard, a regular contributor to Forbes magazine, for many of the statistics I use in this column.
As we all know our economy is extremely sluggish to put it mildly. It’s just growing at somewhere between 1 percent and 2 percent and at this rate the economy can only get worse. In comparison, our economy has grown, on average, at a rate of 3.3 percent since the end of World War II. And even during this time frame we had two big recessions.

May 9, 2012
Rest of week just gets busier here in Tarboro
Just the other day, as the community was making final preparations for Relay for Life, we heard someone complaining about how there is “never anything to do around here.”
We beg to differ.

May 9, 2012
And we continue to walk ...
As a cancer survivor — and on behalf of other cancer survivors — thank you to everyone who has taken even the most minute role in the Relay for Life effort.
That effort continues this week when the Rocky Hock Opry rolls into town for a couple of Saturday performances at Edgecombe Community College.
Please, continue your support.

May 7, 2012
More Opinion Headlines

Opinion

Search Results

Write now, candidates

Site Map