A sampling of editorials from NC newspapers
The Associated Press
Posted: Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008
More Information
http://www.co.rowan.nc.us

From The Charlotte Observer, Oct. 9

State, federal action needed against Raeford officials in immigration raid

Where are the handcuffs for the people who own and run the House of Raeford Farms? That's the glaring omission in the raid Oct. 7 to find illegal immigrants.

Federal authorities raided a Greenville, S.C., poultry plant, arresting more than 300 workers believed to be in the country illegally. The raid came after authorities determined that 777 of the 825 plant workers had apparently submitted false documents to get their jobs. Workers as young as 15 and 16 were among those detained. Their employment appears to violate S.C. labor laws. Yet the only people arrested Tuesday were the workers. Why?

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say they will continue a probe to determine who allowed illegal workers at the plant. They say that's as big a priority as identifying illegal workers.

Really?

The feds might want to check out a February series by this newspaper detailing the lax regulations and weak oversight under which N.C.-based House of Raeford operates. Five current and former supervisors admitted that some Raeford supervisors knew they employed illegal immigrants. ICE has arrested 11 plant supervisors. Most pleaded guilty to using fake documents. But no high-ranking Raeford officials have been charged, and the feds said Tuesday they're not sure any will be.

Sadly, Carolinas labor officials have yet to take significant action against Raeford. Compare that inaction to what happened last spring at an Iowa meatpacking plant where nearly 400 workers were detained. Iowa labor officials charged Agriprocessors with 31 safety violations, and planned to levy a $101,000 fine.

Illegal workers are an easy target for arrest. But they're not the only ones breaking the law. In fact, the workers are more often exploited and abused.

The House of Raeford denies it knowingly hired illegal workers. We don't believe it. State and federal officials have a responsibility to vigorously probe the company's involvement. And if an investigation shows the company and its leaders did knowingly hire illegal workers, some handcuffs should be waiting for them too.

---

From Salisbury Post, Oct. 13

No evidence of voter purging in North Carolina

With the Internet already churning out reams of outrageous election rumors and attacks, the last thing we need is an inflammatory assertion that large numbers of legitimate voters in North Carolina may be purged from the registration rolls.

Unfortunately, just such a claim emerged last week, but it didn't come from wackos in the blogosphere. It came from the New York Times.

In a front-page story published last Thursday, the Times said that half a dozen "swing states," including North Carolina, had misused a Social Security Administration database to improperly check 400,000 or so voter registrations, rather than primarily relying on state databases to verify information. Headlined "States' actions to block voters appear illegal," the article alleged that "tens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law." The Times said the story was based on registration data from individual states, but the article didn't cite any statistics backing up the implication of widespread rejection of voter registrations in North Carolina.

So it's time to launch a federal probe and bring in Jimmy Carter to monitor ballot boxes, right? Not quite. N.C. election officials and the voter watchdog group "Democracy North Carolina" both say there's no evidence of a voter purge. While elections officials did check registrations against the Social Security database, they say it's not only proper to do so but can help resolve questions about incomplete or confusing registrations, reducing the risk of fraud. And with 700,000 new registrations across the state (including 6,000 additions in Rowan County since 2004), it's hardly surprising that it might be necessary to cross-check a high number of them.

Bob Hall, executive director of Democracy North Carolina, condemned the Times story in strong terms. "It is particularly reprehensible because it can make North Carolinians worry that they won't be able to cast a ballot in the upcoming election; in other words, it has the same effect as a devious rumor aimed at disenfranchising voters." His group has been one of the state's staunchest proponents of reforms to make voter registration and voting more convenient and transparent. Their goal is to get more citizens involved in the process. You can bet that if there were a whiff of real registration improprieties, they'd be leading the charge for an investigation.

With an unprecedented surge in voter registration, some confusion and misinformation - along with human error - are probably inevitable. But that's a far cry from a systemic breakdown, which appears to be what the Times believes has occurred. Fortunately, any worried voters can verify their registration information through the local elections board. Voters also can find information about registration procedures on the board's Web site (linked from http://www.co.rowan.nc.us), including "one-stop" voting, which begins Thursday and offers another opportunity for unregistered voters to sign up. Elections officials have a responsibility to help legitimate voters sign up, while guarding against election fraud. It sounds like they're doing their job.

---

From The Herald-Sun of Durham, Date

New UNC Chapel Hill chancellor will bring new energy to the university

The installation of a new leader is an exciting time in the life of a university, a day to be reminded of the past and to look to the future with new energy.

And it was especially exciting on Oct. 12 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, when H. Holden Thorp was installed as its new chancellor.

Thorp is a different kind of leader for the beloved 215 year-old university. He's young, for starters - only 44 - to be taking the helm of North Carolina's flagship university. He's also remarkably unpretentious for such a lofty post, preferring to be called Holden, driving to work in a Mazda Miata and known for his fondness for playing keyboard and guitar in a rock band.

He also has deep Carolina roots, growing up in Fayetteville and graduating from UNC in 1986. Originally intent on a career in medicine, he switched gears to chemistry and ultimately, to administration. After a stint in graduate school in California, he came back to Carolina as a chemistry professor and eventually became chair of the department. He has also run the university's planetarium and was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

He also seems firmly grounded. In a conversation with Neil Offen and Daniel Goldberg of The Chapel Hill Herald, Thorp said his youth gives him the luxury of taking a longer view of things.

"I don't have to be in a huge rush to announce this initiative or that initiative. I can look at some of the more structural things, the things that have to do more with the environment, the people, and focus on building that so the new initiatives can come from the ground up."

He said his age also means he can relate better to students and to faculty, since he was teaching just three semesters ago.

Thorp's deep ties to the university and the state also gave him an insight into what he called the university's unique calling to try to do "two historic things at once. One was to aspire to the highest academic standards globally and the other was to serve a single state."

Carolina has done amazingly well over the years in achieving both goals. It's a good sign that, as he begins what we hope is a long tenure, Thorp has his eye firmly set on the big picture.

---

From Star-News of Wilmington, Oct. 14

Former NC sheriff's punishment for abusing power was too lenient

Maybe the sum of money Ronald Hewett embezzled from Brunswick County taxpayers was relatively small, but his crime was not minor. Four months, to be served concurrently with a federal sentence for obstructing justice, is just too lenient.

In a deal with Brunswick County District Attorney Rex Gore, the former sheriff pleaded guilty Oct. 13 to three counts of embezzlement and "no contest" to one count of obstruction of justice.

For that admission of guilt, and one non-admission, he was sentenced to four months in prison and fined $100 (he'd already repaid the taxpayers for the amount he embezzled). He'll serve his time concurrently with a 16-month federal sentence for obstructing justice that's related to the same crimes - and he'll pay a $10,000 fine.

Perhaps District Attorney Rex Gore and the judge felt that was sufficient punishment. And hey, the amount he embezzled was small - less than $1,500, according to Gore's investigation.

But Hewett's abuse of the public's confidence was immense. What he stole was more than currency; it was the integrity of the Brunswick County Sheriff's Office and the trust of the people he took an oath to serve.

The former sheriff admitted using tax money to pay deputies for working on his campaign and for assorted chores on his property. In other words, Hewett treated the taxpayers' employees as his own personal staff.

Gore is to be praised for going public with his own investigation and state charges in advance of the federal charge of obstruction of justice. A federal grand jury had been investigating for months, allowing for all sorts of speculation; Gore released depositions and other investigative documents, providing the public with as many details as possible.

That was important. Brunswick County residents needed to know why those charges were being filed.

The federal charge, of course, was brought because Hewett sought to interfere with the grand jury's investigation into allegations that he misused taxpayers' money.

But by agreeing to what is essentially no additional punishment, Gore has let Brunswick County residents down. A consecutive sentence, tacked onto the end of the federal sentence, would have at least recognized Hewett's betrayal.

Superior Court Judge Gary Locklear, visiting from Robeson County, where another corrupt ex-sheriff and a gaggle of his deputies were recently sent up the river, could have declined to accept the agreement. But he didn't.

A corrupt lawman, apparently, is no worse than a petty criminal in the eyes of the justice system.

But the damage he does to that system is much, much worse.

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