Opinion
For Noble, it is ‘personal’
Cleaning out a reporter's notebook ...
The most interesting rumor I heard this week was that Tarboro Town Manager Sam Noble is "on the short list" for the city manager's job in New Bern.
If Noble wants that job, he would be a strong candidate.
The application deadline was only last week. Forty-six people applied.
A committee to review the resumes has to be selected from a new mayor and Board of Aldermen that has five out of six new members. There have been no interviews. No short list.
"There are job openings all the time," said Noble. "Sometimes I get calls asking me to apply for certain jobs. Whether I apply or not is a personal decision. I am not commenting on whether I have or haven't applied.
"Tarboro has been awfully good for me and my family," he said. "My kids grew up here."
The 57-year-old Lumberton native and U.S. Air Force veteran has been here since 1987 and receives high marks for his work. His annual salary is $115,585.
His experience, business-like approach and 14 years on the board with ElectriCities has been beneficial for the town. This week he was elected chairman of the North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency (NCEMPA), which has 32 members, including Tarboro.
Noble's wife, Bobbie, is a social worker with Edgecombe County's Department of Social Services. Daughter Audra, a UNC graduate, is married and living in Louisville, Ky. Son Hunter, another UNC grad, is in law school at Valparaiso University in Indiana.
Maybe the rumor stemmed from Noble's appearance in New Bern to see Candis Owens receive a prestigious award at the Preservation NC conference on Oct. 30. Noble and town Planner Troy Lewis also attended a couple seminars on downtown revitalization and historic preservation.
Owens, chairwoman of the Blount-Bridgers House Garden Committee, received the Minnette C. Duffy Landscape Preservation Award, the highest award for preservation, restoration or maintenance of landscapes, gardens, streetscapes or grounds related to historic structures.
Owens' back yard off Park Avenue, by the way, was featured in the November/December issue of Carolina Gardener magazine. Candis and her husband Lloyd started over after the 1999 flood and hired landscape designer Ryan Gainey and Marc B. Mosley Architects, both of Atlanta, to design a plan. The result is "a salute to an English garden," the article by Peter Loewer states.
THE TOWN'S town's latest project is preparing mulch, free for residents. It was tried in 1995-2002, but there was not enough response, Public Works Director David Cashwell said.
"More people are trying to be green now," he said, "so we thought we would try again."
A lot has been prepared on Daniel Street where leaves and wood chips will be piled and available from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Weekends have not been addressed.
"We have put water on them to get 'em to decompose faster," said Ken Flint, the town's building and grounds superintendent. "It will work faster when it gets warmer (spring and summer)."
Genuine compost takes 12 to 18 months to make.
The emphasis is on providing "clean" compost, free of undesirable items for the flower bed and garden.
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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