The News and Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina • 13

ine News ot Ooserver ildleign iNL cliutudy 141M I 1 a i el 1 i Other opinion Doonesbury 6 Their own money is tearing families apart 50 YOU Y555IR I I 01105NT 7-5011VICAla IAIP class your children will" My friend remem- C12 TO A5 YOU 1 OFR I MFAN7H5R5 115R5 BOSTON We are talking about sneakers -s 7 1 tee Ull KNOR17115 11 eVeNT5 55YON9 MY CON7R01 Big sneakers Size 12 sneakers The new ones v- bers laughing at a boat named "My Children's Inheritance I351W1(15 FIRM MY UNMPLOYM5NT 17055NT that are currently located on my friend's son's t-A f''): llr' Ellen We both know parents of our age wrestling 50N aMT I R541-01 IziftrZT feet which are currently located on a high A Goodman Should they borrow 9ra! InPeR ON MY Pe- 17 school floor toN A 'VA with the costs of college 4k -tg'''-'1---------- 6 fORMANC5 The sneakers which loom even larger than a money on their house or have their children -4 i borrow? Should they invest in their children's size 12 in her mind's eye came into her life all (111i4 pumped up with hostility Parent and child had future or their old age? Will helping their I wrangled over them for weeks dependents leave them dependent? Pr- ii lv A-4" I- proof of warped values rip-off materialism But it is usually described and circumscribed 17711 1 i (3 4) This woman did not budget In others it may be designated for She and her husband approve of the purchase regard $150 sneakers as college as well as compact discs and sneakers not to mention the decline and fall of Western as "theirs" To do with as they will What do they want or expect of their children later in life9 The assumptions of family I will raise you and you will care for me have b- een replaced by the assumptions of indepen ilization Her son regards them as a Immigrant families still seem to pool their dence A reluctance to ask a fear of needing necessity an object of desire proof of his need resources But American parents who depend i civilization Even divorce laws are now infused by the dea that husband and vvife are separate mke his own choices on a teenager's earnings for groceries or rent economic units The goal is to achieve indepen- 30 (4 At a the end of the family wrangling the boy are more likely to feel ashamed of themselves dence self-sufficiency as quickly as possible -9 to lik16t4 played his trump card or more specifically than proud of their children his paycheck This is what he said: "I'll use my Is this an economic piece of the heralded My friend paycheck is of course not entirel her own nor is her husband's It is own money" He went into the store with a breakdown of the American family? My friend owned by the bank the supermarket credit portion of his summer earnings and walked out thinks so 11Mh I I 7H5 575N01 OHTHAT card companies the whole catastrophe as 5tlp I5 with scientifically designed engineered and We count the many ways in which the Zorba might describe it They don't ask their OF PeATH TH5 GYM marketed ego-building shoes marketplace treats us as individuals rather THAT57RO spa yell CARRY 1 12112N7 The woman and her husband were silenced than members of families Most adults are children to pay room and board although in STILL- ajHAT? 1715 A HAV5TIM5 rancorous wrangling over these shoes an ugly by his declaration And bothered by it employed on our own as workers who now earn reference was made to this expense PRO51-5M TO 5HOW5R This is what we talk about in the shadow of single wages not family wages We are these sneakers this woman and our parents subdivided as consumers with separate wants But in the aftermath of the Sneaker Affair Illmrw)-r--0 -'N ourselves our children Money and indepen- sneakers and Walkmen not shared needs her family has done a great deal of thinking 4 1 4 Depression used to bring money home put dence and family Our parents who were young during the ng eTnyprmesacrhkoeot have their Saturday morn- about money earned and shared The pros and cons of our famed American self-reliance preschoolers 10 i 10-1-1 i iEv About economic rights that belong to an my the table Increasingly each generation is on its own individual and responsibilities that belong to a si oonnse they hoey us edT 11 Those were re was t- liberated and isolated in and by the economy family 14?) 0) it it 4 4 pl V- whatever they earned went into the family pot econos and d'stribution Little went directly to their appear less like a permanent unit than like temporarily connected mdividuals currently cohabiting This is not a simple talkd The le mess of mic emotions not nd them- ockets selves to a bottom line But this is what my 1 4 site Now half a century later teenagers earn It happens up and down the age spectrum friend has learned: It has become far too easy their own money" They are much less likely On the turnpike this summer I passed an to run away from family in a pair of $150 CO to "bring it home" In some families that elderly couple in a car decorated with a sneakers 6B(140 oa4 money may ease pressure on the family bumper sticker that read: "If you don't go first The Boston Globe The People's Forum Name change obvious have been terminated The reading room is still open for state employees on a Credit where it's due A "loose cannon" as David Stith likes to describe himself can occasionally be Transit tax modest I noticed the new owners of WPTF-TV limited basis because there is a statutory I would like to correct an omission in an interesting addition to any board But In response to the Oct 26 letter have changed their call letters to WRDC requirement to provide this We still Nancy Ping-Robbins' otherwise excel- when the "loose cannon" is constantly opposing the $5 transportation tax I which supposedly stands for Raleigh- have the ESC and library systems intact lent Oct 28 review of the performance of firing at the school he has sworn to would hardly describe $5 per vehicle as a Durham-Chapel Hill but the impending layoffs may close the Mahler's 2nd Symphony by the North protect his actions become destructive tax "gouge" It costs more to license a a Doonesbury RfALLY R5F1 ON MY Peg: fORMANCe I Name change obvious I noticed the new owners of WPTF-TV have changed their call letters to WRDC which supposedly stands for RaleighDurham-Chapel Hill Name chz I noticed the have changed th which supposec Durham-Chapel 501 INA5NT 7-5011VICAta 140 OFR I WAN 77-15R5 Alege eV5A175 55YON9 MY COMM MY IJAIMPLOYMAIT 0055NT RfALLY IY-FteCT ON MY Peg- 117 7H5 575N01 OHTHAT15 OF P5ATH TH5 GYM YOU CARRY I PIPN'T IT5 A HAV5 TIM5 PRO51-5M WVW5R have been terminated The reading room is still open for state employees on a limited basis because there is a statutory requirement to provide this We still have the ESC and library systems intact but the impending layoffs may close the Other opinion Their own money' is tearing families apart BOSTON We are talking about sneakers Big sneakers Size 12 sneakers The new ones that are currently located on my friend's son's feet which are currently located on a high school floor The sneakers which loom even larger than a size 12 in her mind's eye came into her life all pumped up with hostility Parent and child had wrangled over them for weeks This woman did not approve of the purchase She and her husband regard $150 sneakers as proof of warped values rip-off materialism not to mention the decline and fall of Western civilization Her son regards them as a necessity an object of desire proof of his need to make his own choices At the end of the family wrangling the boy played his trump card or more specifically his paycheck This is what he said: "I'll use my own money" He went into the store with a portion of his summer earnings and walked out with scientifically designed engineered and marketed ego-building shoes The woman and her husband were silenced by his declaration And bothered by it This is what we talk about in the shadow of these sneakers this woman and our parents ourselves our children Money and independence and family Our parents who were young during the Depression used to bring money home put money on the table Those were the expressions they used The assumption was that whatever they earned went into the family pot for distribution Little went directly to their own pockets Now half a century later teenagers earn "their own money" They are much less likely to "bring it home" In some families that money may ease pressure on the family The People's Forum Credit where it's due I would like to correct an omission in Nancy Ping-Robbins' otherwise excellent Oct 28 review of the performance of Mahler's 2nd Symphony by the North ne News ot Ueserver Ellen Goodman budget In others it may be designated for college as well as compact discs and sneakers But it is usually described and circumscribed as "theirs" To do with as they will Immigrant families still seem to pool their resources But American parents who depend on a teenager's earnings for groceries or rent are more likely to feel ashamed of themselves than proud of their children Is this an economic piece of the heralded breakdown of the American family? My friend thinks so We count the many ways in which the marketplace treats us as individuals rather than members of families Most adults are employed on our own as workers who now earn single wages not family wages We are subdivided as consumers with separate wants sneakers and Walkmen not shared needs Even preschoolers have their Saturday morning TV market Increasingly each generation is on its own liberated and isolated in and by the economy We appear less like a permanent family unit than like temporarily connected individuals currently cohabiting It happens up and down the age spectrum On the turnpike this summer I passed an elderly couple in a car decorated with a bumper sticker that read: "If you don't go first A "loose cannon" as David Stith likes to describe himself can occasionally be an interesting addition to any board But when the "loose cannon" is constantly firing at the school he has sworn to protect his actions become destructive 141JV I la class your children will" My friend remembers laughing at a boat named "My Children's Inheritance We both know parents of our age wrestling with the costs of college Should they borrow money on their house or have their children borrow? Should they invest in their children's future or their old age? Will helping their dependents leave them dependent? What do they want or expect of their children later in life? The assumptions of family I will raise you and you will care for me have been replaced by the assumptions of independence A reluctance to ask a fear of needing Even divorce laws are now infused by the idea that husband and wife are separate economic units The goal is to achieve independence self-sufficiency as quickly as possible My friend's paycheck is of course not entirely her own nor is her husband's It is owned by the bank the supermarket credit card companies the whole catastrophe as Zorba might describe it They don't ask their children to pay room and board although in rancorous wrangling over these shoes an ugly reference was made to this expense But in the aftermath of the Sneaker Affair her family has done a great deal of thinking about money earned and shared The pros and cons of our famed American self-reliance About economic rights that belong to an individual and responsibilities that belong to a family This is not a simple talk The mess of economics and emotions do not lend themselves to a bottom line But this is what my friend has learned: It has become far too easy to run away from family in a pair of $150 sneakers The Boston Globe Transit tax modest In response to the Oct 26 letter opposing the $5 transportation tax I would hardly describe $5 per vehicle as a tax "gouge" It costs more to license a 4 Considering the way they treated me and 50 other employees of WPTF-TV not to mention their obvious contempt for the Triangle viewing audience WRDC must really stand for We Really Don't Care MICHAEL BUTZGY Former Producer WPTF-TV Raleigh Elections across state In the top left corner of the cover page of my News Observer are printed the words "State Edition" However on Nov 5 when I got to the LocalState section I was greeted with the headline "Elections set throughout Wake today" Since you no longer publish The Raleigh Times I realize the need to publish more "local" news But at the same time it should be recognized there are approximately 385 active municipalities in North Carolina most of which had their general elections on Nov 5 I simply feel your headline would have served a better purpose and a larger group of people if it had read "Municipal elections throughout state and in Wake County today" Possibly this might have reminded someone to go vote MARY JEFFRESS Supervisor of Elections Lenoir County Board of Elections Kinston Blame misplaced I read your Oct 31 editorial 'Bureaucracy at its best' and want you to know that Mike Gaddis and I both share your concerns and agree with James Scott but you have pointed your criticism in the wrong direction Prior to the budget cuts of July 1 the Office of State Personnel had a Workforce Resources Division managed by Mr Gaddis It handled the statutorily mandated job posting system for state vacancies assured that the vacancy information reached the Employment Security Commission and its 84 offices and made direct contact into the state's library network computer system to provide this information to 43 public libraries serving 62 counties where the public could obtain this information even at nights and on weekends (The Wake County library system does not participate) The data is also now available in libraries at four military bases 56 community colleges 12 state universities and 21 private colleges and universities This is probably the best system existing in any state for public information of its job vacancies Workforce Resources also maintained a reading room in the Administration Building for state employees and the public to review vacancies which was staffed by several employees who provided guidance in interpreting these vacancies and assisted candidates in making applications They also maintained a system of referral of application forms to agencies with vacancies and a follow-up program with the applicants To our surprise we were directed by a joint appropriations subcommittee on March 21 that 37 positions at the Office of State Personnel would be abolished including the entire Workforce Resources Division After we met and explained the statutory function of Workforce Resources the order was amended to reduce the immediate layoffs to 25 but they still had to include six from Workforce Resources with the remaining 12 layoffs to be deferred until July 1 1992 Consequently the application referral system has been eliminated the reading room for the public has been closed and the employees who provided guidance Considering ti and 50 other emi to mention the the Triangle vi must really sta Care Forr Raleigh Elections In the top left of my News words "State I Nov 5 when I section I was gi "Elections set tt Since you Raleigh Times publish more "1 same time it sh are approximat( ties in North Cat their general el( I simply feel served a bettei group of people pal elections ti Wake County might have re vote Lenoir CI Kinston Blame mi I read your Oc cracy at its best that Mike your concerns a Scott but you I cism in the wrol Prior to the Office of State force Resource Mr Gaddis It mandated job 1 vacancies asst information re Security Comm and made direc library networl provide this ir libraries servin public could obt at nights and County library pate) The data libraries at f( community col ties and 21 priin ties This is pi existing in any tion of its job NN Workforce RE a reading roor Building for st public to revie staffed by sev( vided guidano vacancies and making applie tamed a system forms to agenc follow-up progr To our surpri joint appropri4 March 21 that 3 State Personn including the es Division MI the statutory Resources the reduce the imr they still ha( Workforce Res ing 12 layoffs tI 1992 Consequently system has bec room for the pi the employees system has been einninatea tne reatung room for the public has been closed and the employees who provided guidance Carolina and Winston-Salem symphonies Her review credited the "massive forces of the orchestra the Winston-Salem Symphony Chorale and other singers" but neglected to credit also the Triangle's own Durham Civic Choral Society which provided some two-thirds of the total choral forces and should have been identified as an additional partner in this major musical effort In fairness to the reviewer it is unfortunate that the Winston-Salem Symphony apparently failed to provide proper program credits in the first place or to correct the omission with a program insert settling instead merely for an oral announcement which the reviewer may not have heard RICHARD ANDREWS Chapel Hill Not weapon of choice The editorial cartoon of Oct 24 is an insult to your readers' intelligence This cartoon depicts children in a day care center happily playing with assault rifles and ammunition clips supposedly all because such so-called "assault rifles" and magazines holding more than 15 rounds were not banned in the latest version of Congress' crime bill Why not depict the same kids playing with hunting rifles? Or double-barreled shotguns? Why not show them playing Russian roulette with a revolver? After all these types of guns have "legitimate" sporting uses and supposedly will never be the target of a ban The cartoon is nothing but pure sensationalism and has no factual basis There's a false perception that these types of firearms are the weapons of choice by criminals They are not Take this year's record number of bank robberies in Wake County How many of these robbers used an "assault Zero How many had pistols or implied they had pistols? Most all of them A recent news article states that a record number of weapons including knives and pistols were confiscated in Wake County schools Again zero assault rifles were confiscated Wake up and see reality The overwhelming numberof crimes that involve firearms are done with handguns not assault rifles Clearly banning assault rifles is not going to reduce crime I applaud the US Senate for realizing this and voting to remove the gun and magazine ban from the crime bill PAUL LISKAY Cary Stith fails NCCU I read with regret "Spangler trustee spar over Richmond" which reported NC Central University trustee David Stith's most recent attack upon the University of North Carolina system It was revealing that both CD Spangler Jr president of the UNC system and Chancellor Tyronza Richmond agreed with the need for an interim chancellor but for some reason Mr Stith did not In my judgment David Stith has violated his responsibilities as a trustee on numerous occasions At a rally in early September he pandered to concerned NCCU students telling them they "have got to come together because there is a conspiracy to take over the historically black colleges in this state" In August he said Clarence Brown should be removed from the NCCU faculty if the allegations against him were proved true But at the September rally according to The Herald-Sun of Durham Mr Stith flip-flopped and defended Mr Brown's nefarious activities library services It might be possible that the deferred layoffs for 1992 could receive some reconsideration to preserve those vacancy-publicizing programs that are still intact In the meantime the Raleigh office of ESC has full information available to the public on state and some federal job vacancies If the Wake County public library system could participate in the state job listings program and provide this at all locations it would greatly expand the availability of information and provide another meaningful public service RICHARD LEE State Personnel Director Raleigh Editor's note The length limit was waived to permit a more complete response to the editorial Not a poultry processor I am writing to ask your paper to stop referring to Imperial Food Products as a "poultry processing plant" Your readers are being led to believe that Imperial was a member of North Carolina's proud and important poultry industry Imperial Food Products Inc bought cooked and resold poultry products It could just as easily have been cooking fish or french fries when the tragedy happened A more accurate description of Imperial Food Products would be "food processor" or "wholesale restaurant" The poultry industry has a long and distinguished record of responsible service to the citizens and economy of our state and its reputation should not be tarnished by the reckless actions of a company that merely bought and sold poultry products CLAYTON LOFLIN Monroe President holds power It appears that Congress-bashing has recently become the favorite sport of the average citizen of North Carolina and possibly the entire nation People are refusing to accept the fact that the president is in a better position to do good or bad to the nation than either the legislative or the judicial branch The power of the president to appoint judges at certain levels particularly members of the Supreme Court affects all Americans for good or for bad often for generations These appointments seem to be purely political with little regard for experience or qualifications Fortunately for the country these judges quite often are sobered when they realize their responsibilities and some turn out well The present economic condition of this country is largely a result of the actions of our two latest presidents and Congress is only guilty of approving their demands most of the time It is way past time for the Congress to resume its real responsibility and exercise power equal to that of the president or the judiciary If Congress fails to reassert its power soon we will all be well on our way to a completely dishonest and dictatorial government We should begin our improvements by making it mandatory that the Supreme Court be allowed to select its own nominees subject to later approval or disapproval by the Congress and the president Thus we might get some of the politics out of the judicial system This must be done if we are to survive as the of the world pet in Orange County Given growth predictions for the Triangle continued road widening and road expansion throughout the Triangle is most definitely in the crystal ball if single-occupancy vehicles remain the sole form of transportation in the region If this becomes necessary funding hundreds of miles of additional lanes and new roads will cost Triangle residents a lot more than $5 a car Roads require enormous spaces that cut into ever-shrinking precious land left for an ever-growing population More roads mean disruption of neighborhoods loss of wildlife habitat and damaging alteration to private property Noise and air pollution in the Triangle will worsen if the growth in traffic continues unabated When acknowledging the true costs of single-occupancy transportation it is obvious that getting a good regional public transportation system in place now will over the long run save us all a tremendous amount of money and more VALERIE BROAD WELL Chapel Hill 'Better' sex ed? Your Oct 20 editorial praising the "Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education" recently released by the Sex Information and Education Council of the United States stated that sex education is a task that "parents are wise to entrust to properly trained and sensitive professionals because in the long run that is better for their children" "Better" according to whose agenda? The guidelines include teaching 5- to 8-year-olds about intercourse masturbation and abortion Older children are told that "a legal abortion is very safe" and "the right of a woman to have an abortion is guaranteed by the Supreme Court" Why not teach that since 1970 over $2 billion has been spent on Title a federally funded program utilizing the contraceptive approach to reduce pregnancy? Non-marital teen births have risen 61 percent over this same period! Instead SEICUS would rather impose its own morality standard on our children with these "developmental messages" to 9- to 12-year-olds: "Gay men and lesbians can form families by adopting children or having their own children" and "Conflicts may result in teenagers and adults who have been raised in a religion that does not fully accept human sexuality" And 15- to 18-year-olds would be told the telephone number of the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard Alas SEICUS has armed the public schools against parents if they dare oppose their plan Their publication "Winning the Battle" designed for administrators teachers and school boards "provides different strategies for responding to the efforts of an organized opposition" Translation: Keep Christian parents away from our public schools SARA A JAMES Knightdale About the Forum The News Observer welcomes letters on issues dealt with in its news and opinion columns in the previous week Letters must be signed originals of 250 words or fewer addressed only to us They must include the writer's address and daytime phone number and they are subject to editing Send letters to The to that institution NC Central is facing crucial problems including declining academic standards financial mismanagement low instructor morale and bureaucratic ineptitude Sagacious leadership is needed to return this vital institution to prominence Governor Martin should recall his appointment David Stith and replace him with someone of vision and integrity UNC's flagship black campus NC Central University's students and our taxpayers deserve better EUGENE A BROWN Durham Safe at the Grill In his "Fueling fears in Durham" story which you ran on page 1 above the fold on Oct 24 News Observer reporter Billy Warden noted that callers are querying Durham's "celebrated" Magnolia Grill restaurant "asking whether it is safe to come to dinner" Then without reporting what the restaurant staff is telling callers Mr Warden continued his story Obviously the staff is going to have to tell callers that dining at the Magnolia Grill is safe but you don't have to take their word Worried potential Grill diners can ask Mr Warden who became engaged over dinner at the Grill whether he was accosted during his trip to Durham The tactic of leaving the Magnolia Grill hanging is one of the oldest journalistic tricks in the world It works like this: There is no truth to the rumor that as a child Billy Warden set his elementary school on fire ANDREW CARPENTER Durham Ford served well Having read articles depicting Councilman Julian Ford as a sinister developer who is indifferent to neighborhood needs we deem it necessary to express the many positive contributions Julian has made to the city of Raleigh during the last two years We have spent time attending City Council meetings and consider Julian to be knowledgeable articulate and well-informed Not only has he shown compassion for his fellow neighbors he has always followed up on issues concerning our neighborhoods Julian was very instrumental in the addition to Raleigh's stormwater management policy This was a two-year endeavor that made this policy more equitable to the citizens of Raleigh He also attended our community club meeting at our request to answer questions concerning the widening of Lynn and Leadmine roads He was responsible for encouraging the council to review plans for Williams Park which has been in "mothballs" since 1979 This is a very important issue for us because we are surrounded by major roads and Williams Park would be one area easily accessible to our children With regard to rezoning and traffic Issues in our neighborhood Julian has been sensitive to our situations and has always been available to answer questions and direct us to the appropriate resources Although many disagree with his votes on shopping centers he supported and followed the prior council's wishes according to the Comprehensive Plan His background and expertise will be sorely missed on next year's City Council CATHEY KERR Valley Estates 5----0 4 by saying "Whatever Clarence Brown LULU LitObbLAINU Kingsmill Village People's Forum PO Box 191 Raleigh i i ROBERT BRYAN SR did most of us did it twice He goofed NC 27602 Inquiries may be directed to Raleigh in a sense because he got caught" Raleigh 8294517 greatest country ROBERT BRYAN SR Raleigh by saying "Whatever Clarence Brown did most of us did it twice He goofed in a sense because he got caught" LORI CROSSLAND Kingsmill Village Raleigh People's Forum PO Box 191 Raleigh NC 27602 Inquiries may be directed to 8294517.