Our Informer

Skeptics observing the push for creation of an UNC-Hickory campus see little chance of this becoming a reality in the foreseeable future.
Ms. Kitty Barnes, chair of the Catawba County Board of Commissioners and chair of the board for the Hickory Metro Higher Education Center, told a Chamber of Commerce assembly this week “maybe we’ll see this in 20 years.” A very big maybe.

Fueled by a resolution from the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce, the concept has gained new life and likely will be presented to UNC authorities at a meeting in Hickory starting at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, in Hickory. The University of North Carolina Tomorrow Commission has included Hickory as a stop in its across-the-state “listening tour.” The objective is to get input from business and civic leaders.

Earlier this year, Rocky Mount residents rallied around an effort to get a UNC campus in their community. Even though Rocky Mount is home turf for Gov. Mike Easley and Attorney General Roy Cooper, along with influential state legislators, the campaign quickly died. Wesleyan College even offered to shut down and turn over their campus to UNC.

Lenoir-Rhyne College is staying quiet. But Sen. David Hoyle, an LRC graduate and member of the Board of Trustees, is not. He has said the Senate leadership has absolutely no interest in adding hundreds of millions of dollars to the state budget for another UNC campus. Hickory area legislators consistently have voted against state budgets and this fact also sends a message to proponents.

In the meantime, the Higher Education Center continues to attract students, 15 per cent of whom reportedly are from Hickory and 50 per cent from Catawba County. Half of the 772 students come from other counties in the Metro.

‘INSOURCED JOBS’: As a leading manufacturing state, North Carolina factories shed hundreds of thousands of jobs as production moved offshore, primarily to Asia. At the same time, North Carolina ranks 10th in the nation with “insourced jobs”.
It is estimated that 6 per cent of the private sector workforce—192,000 people—are employed by subsidiaries of foreign firms. Some 40 per cent are in manufacturing.
The statistics were prepared by the Organization for International Investment.

PERDUE MAKES IT OFFICIAL: Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue kicks off her campaign for the Democratic nomination for governor Monday in her hometown of New Bern. On Thursday, she kicks off the western campaign at a luncheon at the Morganton home of Mike Fulenweider. Fulenweider has extensive holdings in the food industry and serves on the North Carolina Board of Economic Development. He is inviting political leaders from across the Unifour and western North Carolina. The event starts at noon Thursday.
BIOTECHNOLOGY ANYONE? Last week top state governmental and education officials assembled for the official opening of the Biotechnology Manufacturing Training and Education Center on the Centennial Campus of N.C. State University. Gov. Easley, UNC President Erskine Bowles, and Martin Lancaster, president of the N.C. Community Colleges, hailed the $38 million facility as the linchpin for a new manufacturing economy. The facility is shared by N.C. State and the community colleges.

Catawba Valley Community College President Garrett Hinshaw is looking at opportunities the state center could have for the Hickory Metro. He has envisioned a new manufacturing research and service center which would represent a blending of programs offered by the Hosiery Technology Center, the Furniture Technology Center, and other outreach to companies. It would be housed in the building to be occupied by the Engineering Center.

Biotechnology and “green manufacturing” are buzzwords in Raleigh. The momentum behind these developments is impressive. It is the largest center of its kind in the world.

North Carolina ranks third in the nation in biomanufacturing. According to Gov. Easley, the state has lost 250,000 manufacturing jobs since June 2003, but has gained 300,000 in employment in other sectors.

Democrats in the Tenth District can dream. Having Daniel Wallace as the 2008 candidate for Congress would be a dream-come-true. He is a military hero, having lost the lower part of his legs in an accident while on duty in the Navy. He saved the life of another while sacrificing his legs. He is the son of the Rev. Wallace Johnson, minister at First Presbyterian Church in Hickory. He is a UNC graduate. He and his family live in Raleigh where he is an attorney.

What more could Democrats want?

While incumbent Rep. Patrick McHenry, Republican, continues his march to the far, far right, he is leaving members of his own party behind. McHenry and fellow GOP Rep. Virginia Foxx were the two members of the North Carolina delegation who refused to sign a letter urging the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to provide drought-relief resources to hard-pressed livestock farmers. Although some of his associates in the Tenth District have had their problems, including murder-suicide investigations, McHenry continues to tout the “family values” label.

If Dan Johnson decides to run—and he is being encouraged by the national Democratic Congressional Committee—he will have fertile ground for his campaign.

BUSY LEGISLATURE: House members and senators in the North Carolina General Assembly filed 3,645 bills during the 2007 session. This was not a record. That was set in 1916 when almost 10,000 bills were introduced. Prior to World War I, local governments had very little authority. The state legislators determined where roads would be built, approved appointment of local court officials and even granted divorces. That all changed in 1918.

Most of the bills in the 2007 disappeared in committee. Some bills—such as the proposed Constitutional Amendment to prohibit same-sex marriages—were identified by the leadership as “election campaign bills” and never made it to committee. Other bills were folded into other legislation, i.e. the new IBT restrictions. Hundreds of appropriation bills were filed, with some integrated into the budget.

SECOND THOUGHTS: When the General Assembly in early August approved almost $40 million in incentives to keep Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. in Cumberland County, most Republicans, including those from the Unifour area, voted for the measure. But when legislators gathered this week for a special session in Raleigh to override Gov. Easley’s veto, a change in attitude was apparent.

As a compromise, legislators approved bills that would give Goodyear $24 million and its competitor Bridgestone in Wilson $22 million. Both will have to invest millions in modernization of operations and maintain a minimum employment base of 2,000.

This time, the bills were approved along a party-line vote. House Speaker Joe Hackney said “What triggered this was the absolute devastation that would occur in Cumberland County if Goodyear were to move.”

ROAD SHOW: Sen. Fred Smith, a wealthy Johnson County Republican who is seeking his party’s gubernatorial nomination, has been holding barbecue and campaign rallies across the state. He is expected to host functions in Catawba and surrounding counties before Thanksgiving. Turnouts have been mixed, but he is fulfilling a pledge to hold such meetings from Manteo to Murphy.

NOVEMER 9 FOR DEMOCRATS: Catawba County Democrats have picked November 9 as the date for the Century Club Dinner which raises money for county party activities. This year both Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and Treasure Richard Moore are expected to attend the function headed by Connie Bray and Sandra Deal.