The News and Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina • 3

North Carolina Observer Friday May 26 1995 3a Under Study finds hog farms can hurt property values Hogging the housing market A new NC State study shows that hog farms can lower the value of the nearby houses Here's how the price of a typical home would change when a new 2400-head hog farm is built in an area that previously had few hogs 09 ss wnn Vi mile were generally worth less than comparable homes in areas with fewer hogs For example the median price for a house in 'a neighborhood with lots of more than 60000 swine within two miles was projected at $60234 compared with $65284 for a comparable house in an area with few swine The construction of new swine operations has the greatest impact on communities that previously had few or no hogs In communities with large pig populations the addition of new hog barns has relatively little effect on housing values Palmquist cautioned that his study focused only on local impacts from hog farming It is conceivable he said that the economic benefits of pork production could raise overall property values throughout the region even while individual homeowners find that their own property's worth has declined "That's an entirely different question" Palmquist said "We're not saying that hog farms aren't beneficial We're just saying that having one next-door is worse than not having one The NC State research is the first to measure how home sale prices are affected by the swine industry By Joby Warrick STAFF WRITER Country wisdom has long held that pigs make lousy neighbors Now a new study says they can be costly too In a report certain to exacerbate tensions in the state's biggest hog counties three NC State University researchers conclude that housing values can drop significantly when hog farms are built nearby The decrease can range from a few dollars to nearly 8 percent of the property value says the report which was released Thursday by the university's economics department The exact amount depends on the closeness of the hog farm and how many hogs were already in the area before it was built Ray Palmquist head of the economics department and the report's chief author described the overall impact as moderate but quite real neighbors is that hogs reduce property values But other than anecdotal accounts until now there was little hard data to support their claims In their attempt to answer the question the researchers Palmquist and associates Fritz Roka and Tomislav Vokina of the Agricultural and Resource Economics Department gathered extensive data on 237 rural homes that sold between January 1992 and July 1993 in nine Eastern North Carolina counties Nearly all the homes are within two miles of hog herds Using standard economic modeling techniques they devised formulas that allowed them to adjust for differences in house sizes and locations Then they developed what Palmquist called a "manure index" a device that gauged how much animal waste was being generated within a half-mile a mile and two miles from each home Using the index the researchers could compute the values for existing homes and project what would happen if a new 2400-head hog farm were built nearby Some of the findings: Houses in hog-dense areas' 2 milei 1 mile cn a rap -379f -54 "We've showed that there is in fact a negative effect on property values" Palmquist said But he added that the drop was neither as drastic as hog industry opponents have said nor as insignificant as some swine industry officials have claimed Some pork producers contend that hog farms actually increase the value of nearby homes The study is the first to try to quantify how local property values have been affected by the state's booming swine industry LEGISLATORS COMPARE ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PLANS The News Observer which has doubled in the past four years with the expansion of modern high-density farming practices North Carolina's annual crop of more than 10 million pigs is the second largest in the country and contributes about $1 billion to the state's economy At the same time concerns over odor and the potential for water contamination have sparked conflicts in many rural communities where hogs have moved in One of the main complaints by fi The House run by Republicans this year for the first time this century would allow wholesale defections of students from the public school system Leaving with each student would be the taxpayer money now doled out by the state to school districts based on enrollment The House version places no limit on the number or type of nonprofit organizations that may apply for an operating charter A number of public boards including the city council or community college could grant a charter The Senate defines charter schools as part of the public school system and allows a local school board to veto a charter request The Senate version also places a 100-school statewide limit and bars religious schools Charter schools formed in other states have differed from the Democrats get ready for Senate fight Democrats in the state Senate have hired a Virginia political consultant to help them keep the Senate out of Republican hands in 1996 Kevin Mack of Alexandria Va is going to work for the Democrats Mack 28 is best known for helping the Demo-cratic majority in the Virginia legislature successfully defeat a multi-billion-dollar tax cut proposed by Gov George Allen Mack helped develop an aggressive public relations campaign that framed Allen's large-scale tax cut plan as an effort to cut police raise university tuition and hurt senior citizens "He brings a background of a wealth of knowledge and strategic planning" says Richard Conder the Senate majority leader It's the first time that Senate Democrats have hired professional help to coordinate a cam paign Conder said the Democrats need to do a better job of getting their message out than they did in 1994 where they lost 13 seats Senate Dem ocrats now Conder hold a 26-24 advantage "Where we got killed last year is the Republicans raised $200000 and gave it to individual candidates" Conder says "Our candidates didn't get anything "We got outspent and we got out politicked" Mack who is on a month-to-month contract says he wants to assess what happened in 1994 and begin mapping a strategy for keeping the Senate in the 'J hands of Democrats He says the Democrats have to play catch-up "Democrats are 20 years belt hind the technology curve and getting the message out to the voters" Mack says Conder says the Senate lead-X ership has also been talking to consultant Saul Shorr of Phila-j delphia and Mac McCorkle a Chapel Hill consultant both with have extensive experience ''in the state Shorr and McCorkle recommended Mack Conder says The goal is to raise $750000 for their campaign Conder 'says The Senate Democrats have a $500-per-person fund- raiser planned at the Carolina I Country Club on June 6 I Meanwhile Republicans have started to raise a $500000 kitty to keep GOP control of the state House and take control of the Senate I The NC GOP Legislative Trust has already raised about $50000 according to KD Ken- hedy a Raleigh businessman who headed up Republican fund raising in 1994 Republican fund-raisers are I planned in coming weeks in Hickory Asheville Rocky Mount Boone and Wilmington i Kennedy says fund raising for legislative candidates will be difficult in 1996 because there are so many other political rac- es on the ballot Earlier this year Kennedy gave the state Republican Par-1' ty $19000 to pay off the mort-C gage on GOP headquarters on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh The NewssObserver "THE OLD RELIABLE" (USPS3S5-460) VolCCLINO 146 Published every morning of the year by THE NEWS AND OBSERVER PUBLISHING COMPANY 215 McDowell St Raleigh NC 27601 POSTMASTER: Send change of address to: The News and Observer PO Box 191 Raleigh NC 27602 Secand-clasi postage paid it Raleigh NC and additional mailing offices cmcuixnoN prices Daily and Sunday $277 a week Daily only SI 62 a week Saturday Sunday $185 a week Mail subscription rates payable in advance are available from our office MISS YOUR PAPER? We hope not but If you should miss your paper please call early nut no later man am oaiiy 1 1 a Saturday and Sunday' (919)829-4700 PRINTED WITH SOYINK Soy Based Ink More than 34962697 lbs or newsprint recycled since January 1 1991 Dome 1 Rep John McLaughlin D-Mecklenburg goes over one of the bills during a House Education Committee meeting Thursday THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Proposals for charter schools get a look ilillii magnet schools which may attract students from throughout a local school district by concentrating on subjects like arts or mathematics Charter schools tend to be a product of parents who want a school dedicated to a type of student said Jim Watts a legislative staffer who advises lawmakers on education issues "Many times charter schools are formed around the needs of specific students whether they happen to be handicapped students or at-risk students or academically gifted students" Watts said Minnesota was the first state to adopt a charter schools law in 1991 About a dozen have since adopted legislation and another 20 or so states are considering proposals Gulley said The committee took no action Thursday on the Senate version slaying NC base will receive vital visit THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW BERN A member of the commission that will decide military base closings and realignments will visit Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station to see whether the base can handle 160 jet fighter-bombers The planned June 1 visit "is a major victory for North Carolina" said Rachel Perry spokeswoman for Gov Jim Hunt During his stay Marine Corps Lt Col Jim Brubaker a Defense Department analyst detailed to the commission will determine whether Cherry Point has the capacity to handle the 160 FA-18s The 1993 Base Closure and Realignment Commission ordered the aircraft sent to Cherry Point from Cecil Field in Jacksonville Fla But Defense Secretary William Perry recommended in Febi ruary that the planes go instead to Oceana Naval Air Station in Vir ginia Beach Va Rachel Perry said the visit is unusual because the Base Closure and Realignment Commission usually visits only military bases that have been selected for clof sure "The governor is hopeful that this unprecedented visit and the new capacity analysis will underscore the argument that he and the congressional delegation made a few weeks ago at the regional hearing in Baltimore" she said Hunt US Sens Jesse Helms and Lauch Faircloth both R-NC and US Rep Walter Jones Jr R-NC sent letters recently inviting the commissioners to visit Cherry Point "Members of your staff have already visited Oceana to analyze its capacity" Helms said in his letter sent Tuesday to BRAC Chairman Alan Dixon "I suggest a visit to Cherry Point so that the two facilities can be fairly evaluated with firsthand knowledge" Fair is fair said Al Bell of the New Bern-based law firm Ward Smith which coordinated the state's presentation before BRAC May 4 "If you're going to look at them look at us They looked at Oceana and therefore they should be obligated to take a look at Cherry Point" he said Brubaker will be looking to see whether Cherry Point has the land facilities and associated air space at both the existing and potential receiving locations for the planes said John Earnhardt a commission spokesman Earl Richmond Jr listens to testimony during his trial 'n i form" said Sen Wib Gulley D-Durham Gulley sponsored the version approved by the Senate The House has passed its own version Both bills reviewed by the House Education Committee on Thursday would liberate schools that operate within a contract spelling out agreed-upon objectives and methods The contract is called the school's charter The new taxpayer-financed schools would attempt to offer parents broader choices allow teachers more flexibility in the classroom and emphasize student achievement Gulley said Those that didn't live up to their charter would be forced to close The main difference between the competing versions seems to reflect beliefs about how radical a change to allow Bills reviewed by the House Education Committee would liberate schools that operate with a contract spelling out aqreed-upon objectives ana methods The associated press Lawmakers on Thursday made their first side-by-side comparison of dueling House and Senate proposals to establish alternative schools free of many regulations "Both chambers have indicated a real interest in looking at and exploring and moving forward with this concept of a new kind of public school one that says that the emphasis is going to be on being freed up from a lot of the regulations that are there now provided that you per Former soldier convicted in triple Officers testified that Earl Richmond Jr told them that he left evidence that he knew would implicate him THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FAYETTEVIUE A former drill sergeant who killed an Army payroll clerk in New Jersey has been convicted of murdering a Cumberland County woman and her two children a few months later Earl Richmond Jr 32 was convicted Wednesday of three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Helisa Stewart Hayes 27 her 8-year-old son Phillip and her 7-year-old daughter Darien He also was convicted of first-degree rape Richmond's sentencing hearing began Thursday He already is serving a life sentence in During closing arguments Wednesday one of Richmond's two attorneys Assistant Public Defender Jonathan Broun said there was no question that Richmond killed the family But Broun said the prosecutor had not proved the killings were first-degree murders "Just because he killed them does not make him guilty of first-degree murder" Broun said "It was horrible no question about that but just because it is horrible does not mean he is guilty of first-degree murder" Similarly Broun said prosecutors did not prove that Richmond raped Hayes Broun said Richmond was under the influence of alcohol and cocaine at the time of the killings flew into a rage when Hayes hit him during an argument then killed Hayes and her children New Jersey for the April 1991 rape and murder of Lisa Ann Nadeau an Army payroll clerk at Fort Dix NJ Members of the Hayes family hugged each other and wept as the verdicts were read Richmond was expressionless Richmond's trial took just 2Vt days and the jury deliberated an hour before reaching a verdict Law enforcement officers testified that Richmond confessed to killing Hayes and her children and told officers that he left evidence in her mobile home that he knew would implicate him because he wanted to be caught A former detective said that Richmond showed no remorse and could not guarantee that he would not kill again Hayes and her daughter were strangled doctors testified The boy was strangled and stabbed 50 or GO times i THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.