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Aiming for peace

Andre Sanders, Contributing Writer

April 15, 2004

KIRKUK, Iraq - The son of two area residents will proudly tell all comers how he and his fellow soldiers are changing lives for the better in a country recovering from war and 40 years of oppression.

Then he will quickly add that striving to maintain stability in this region can be just as dangerous as was fighting the war a year ago.

Army Staff Sgt. Jason L. Farmer, son of Mike Touchon, of Garner, and Kay Farmer, Tunstall Ave., Apex, is a member of the 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery Regiment out of Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

The unit is charged with keeping the peace and protecting the lives, property and freedoms of Iraqi residents of Kirkuk and its surrounding communities.

The 2nd of the 11th serves a dual role that has soldiers working door-to-door and face-to-face with the people of Kirkuk as a local police force, while providing protection for the city in the form of Howitzer cannons.

“I'm a cannon crewmember, but here my mission is a little different,” said the 1991 graduate of Apex High School. “I patrol the outlying towns and villages and conduct traffic control points. I also go on raids where we search the homes of people believed to be dealing in illegal arms. Basically, it's my job to keep the peace and maintain stability in the city.”

Centered in northern Iraq, Kirkuk is the focal point of Iraq's oil industry. This area is considered a cultural hotbed because of the population mix of Turkomans, Kurds and Arabs.

Where once Iraqi soldiers roamed the streets, the city is now swamped with families strolling up and down the avenues. The once ever-present tanks that rolled down the streets have been replaced by cars, taxis and children playing.

Despite the new atmosphere, Farmer knows that many dangers still exist and understands the relevance of the mission in Kirkuk.

"This is a very demanding job," he said. "We come face-to-face with the people of Iraq and possible terrorists on a daily basis. The letters and support I get from my family keeps me going and ready to face anything. I believe in the work we're doing here and I'm glad I can help the people of Iraq."

Although the transition from war to peace represents a safer, calmer and freer Iraq, Farmer knows that for the Iraqis who desire peace and for the American soldiers protecting them, there is still much work ahead. The intensity of the mission has this soldier looking forward to returning to the simpler things from life back at home.

"Being here makes me appreciate everything I have back home," he said. "The average American can't understand what the average Iraqi family has to go through. I'm glad my family is safe at home, living a good life. I want to thank my family for all of their support - keep the letters coming and keep me in your prayers."

Farmer is proud of his transition from war fighter to peacekeeper, and he vows to do whatever is necessary to maintain stability in this region and give the Iraqis the chance to create a free society for themselves.
 

Price criticizes Bush's plan

Shawn Daley, Editor

April 15, 2004

In the days and weeks following 9/11, firefighters and police officers were hailed as America’s heroes.

While the public viewed first responders with a newly found respect, politicians promised unwavering support for the nation’s “first line of defense.”

Now, 2½ years later, U.S. Rep. David Price believes that support is fading.

With the Bush Administration planning major cuts in law enforcement and firefighter grants in order to beef up the Homeland Security Department, first responders in small towns and rural areas are being left to fend for themselves.

Although Price and many of his Democratic counterparts agree that the terrorist threat must be faced, they think Republicans are handling it the wrong way.

“We have had for many years federal support for firefighters and local law enforcement on the theory that this is a shared responsibility (with states),” said Price. “Our local police and fire departments have drawn on these resources for many years.

“Now we have the new Homeland Security Department and a new set of threats and the president wants to shift a lot of money into this new anti-terrorist effort. A lot of us are saying this is important but we still need to have an old-threats approach as opposed to a terrorism-only approach. This is how the debate is shaping up in Congress.”

Price shared his views last week during his annual visit to the Apex Herald office.

The congressman discussed his efforts to push forward an accelerated timetable on improvements to NC 55. He also noted that he is working with town officials toward securing federal economic support for downtown revitalization projects and wastewater treatment plans.

“We’ll see what type of funds we can shake loose for those things,” said Price. “That will be part of the appropriations bills this summer.”

But Price was quick to note that it will be a tight budget year as a result of the nation’s economic woes. Despite some hopeful signs, the economic recovery has been slow and has failed to produce many jobs.

Although some economic pitfalls were unavoidable because of 9/11 and the need to improve national security, Price said more could have been done to stimulate the economy. He also criticized Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy.

“I think we should have had a better-considered set of tax cuts,” said Price. “ (We needed) tax cuts that did more for middle class people and had more of an economic stimulant affect rather than just these windfalls for the country’s wealthiest people.”

According to Price, Bush’s mishandling of the economy is also to blame for the lack of federal funding for the state’s roads.

“You have a real squeeze on things we need like building roads,” said Price. “The transportation bill we recently passed is nothing like it should be.

“The bill is squeezed just like education funding and lots of other things are squeezed. It’s crystal clear – if we weren’t in this fiscal mess we’d have a much better transportation bill.”

But it is the Bush administration’s cutbacks on first responders that seem to irk Price the most.

Bush is looking to shrink the State Homeland Security Grant Program by nearly 60 percent, which translates into a $22,790,654 cut for North Carolina. The Republicans are also proposing to eliminate the Byrne Grant and Local Law Enforcement Block Grant programs while cutting the COPS program by 87 percent.

The COPS program is responsible for the addition of 2,900 police officers in the state and for equipment upgrades in numerous communities.

“Bush wants to substitute some Homeland Security money but it is not equivalent,” said Price. “First of all there is less money and what money that exists is being targeted to the larger cities thought to be the greatest security threats.

“So for small towns and rural areas you are talking about losing half of the support we’ve had for years.”

Price recently met with local first responders and spoke to them about their needs. The discussions left him convinced that smaller departments were being left behind in Bush’s new plan.

“I’m getting an earful and I imagine every member of Congress is,” said Price. “This is not where we thought we were going after 9/11. We thought we were newly appreciative of our first responders.

“The president had all sorts of photo-ops with cops and firefighters and there was lots of talk about their heroism. But if this is the result, where you are making most departments worse off than they were before 9/11, than that is just unacceptable.”

 

School mourns death of student

Shawn Daley, Editor

April 15, 2004

An Apex High School sophomore was one of two teens killed Monday afternoon in a two-vehicle accident on U.S. 64 in Cary.

Breann Nicole Gentz, 15, of 1217 Bungalow Park Drive in Apex was a passenger in a car that collided with a tractor-trailer. Another passenger in the car, Cary High School student Kassel Aaron Smit, 16, of Cary, was also killed. Both died at the scene.

The driver of the car, Katherine Hart, 16, of Cary, was listed in fair condition Tuesday at WakeMed. Hart is also a sophomore at Apex High.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, Dwight Gilmore, 40, of Gastonia, was not injured.

John Hayden, dean of student services at Apex High, said more than 50 students spoke to school counselors Tuesday.

“We first heard about it (Tuesday) morning and saw what happened on the news,” said Hayden. “At that time we didn’t know who they were. But we found out pretty quickly it was one of ours.”

According to Cary Police, Hart was driving a 1994 Plymouth Acclaim west on U.S. 64 at about 4:30 p.m. She attempted to make a left turn onto MacKenan Drive and drove into the path of a tractor-trailer that was traveling east on U.S. 64.

The truck was carrying liquid nitrogen andnone but none of the contents spilled.

Members of the school’s crisis team spoke with teachers Tuesday prior to the start of the school day. After the faculty had been informed, principal Tom Dixon relayed the news to students over the public address system. A moment of silence was also held at the school.

“After the news got out kids were very upset,” said Hayden. “We had counseling staff ready and available and we had 50 to 60 kids, probably even more, speak to them.

“The students handled it in different ways. Some kids needed to call a parent, some needed to be together with friends in a group.”

Hayden said many students were affected by the accident because Gentz and Hart were involved in numerous activities.

“Breann was a pretty popular girl, as was Katie,” said Hayden. “They were also both good students. Katie was involved in track and that is a pretty large group. Breann was involved in a youth group and some other activities.

“Some of the students got together and talked about their experiences with the girls. I didn’t know Breann personally but from listening to the kids she sounded like she was a special person.”
 

GOP candidates focus on Easley

Hilary Caryl Russell, Staff Writer

April 15, 2004

Seven Republican candidates gathered together April 7 at the Embassy Suites in Cary to rally for their cause.

The goal: to sustain support among their Republican constituents and gain momentum in the race to claim incumbent Gov. Mike Easley’s seat as the primaries draw closer.

The Tri-County (Wake, Durham, and Orange) Gubernatorial Gala and Forum was organized in part by Holly Springs resident Linda Hunt Williams who serves as vice chairman on the executive board for the Wake County Republican Party.

“This is what we should be doing,” said Williams. “Talking to our candidates and talking to our neighbors and changing things.”

Local radio talk show host Jerry Agar and Andrew Taylor, associate professor of political science at North Carolina State University, served as moderators.

Apex Mayor Keith Weatherly said he attended the event because he wanted to know more about the individuals who are vying for office.

“I like to see the quality of the candidates and I think the leadership they are exhibiting for the upcoming campaign is exciting,” he said.

“The (forum) was a good opportunity to compare and contrast the candidates and come away with a different perspective.”

Candidates included Sen. Fern Schubert of Marshville; U.S. Congressman and previous North Carolina Republican Party chairman Bill Cobey of Durham; Sen. Patrick Ballentine, of Wilmington; and Richard Vinroot, a former mayor of Charlotte who was the Republican Party’s candidate for governor in 2000.

Also running are Davie County Commissioner and attorney Dan Barrett, former secretary of National and Economic Resources under Gov. Jim Holshauser and businessman George W. Little, and Timothy Cooke, a scientist with experience in the textile industry.

Candidates were given two minutes to answer a variety of questions during the four rounds that made up the forum.

Annual increases in taxes and loss of jobs in the state served as the primary focus of the forum and each candidate had something to say about the methods in which Gov. Easley has handled both issues and how they will change them.

“We have the highest taxes in our region making this a very difficult and expensive place to do business,” said VinRoot. “I want to change that. I want to eliminate corporate taxes on manufacturing entirely.”

Little, who spoke of his more than 40 years of experience as a businessman, said his main concern is increasing employment.

“Gov. Easley has been asleep at the wheel of this job. We must cut taxes to help existing businesses and we need aggressive recruiting programs to brings jobs to the east and the west.”

Schubert said a change in the leadership was necessary in order to exact change in the state.

“California has been the model for too long and this state is in a world of trouble,” she said.

“I’m running for Governor to tell you what is going on and then what I’m going to do to change it.”

Cobey agreed with Schubert and said the state needed a new kind of leadership, one he could provide because he possessed a specific character trait.

“Political courage is the courage to speak out on issues clearly,” said Cobey. “We need to win judicial races, and local races. We have a great future in this state but it’s a future with Republican leadership.”

Ballentine, who has 52 Republican legislators supporting his candidacy, said his campaign would stress a positive, conservative message.

“This governor is the only governor in America to raise taxes three years in a row,” he said. “Let’s put common sense back into state government. There are a lot of things we can do to improve this the state of North Carolina and I am the right person to get it done.”

Barrett stressed the importance of representing the people and keeping North Carolina’s economic development and prosperity in house.

“We have to remember we are servants of all of the people. We need a governor who will stand up for North Carolina jobs and we need to encourage North Carolina companies to get contracts and services and when we can, to buy locally.”

Cooke, a scientist, who has worked in the textile industry, said he was the ideal candidate for the position because he knows what working in North Carolina is all about.

“I’ve worked in the fields of North Carolina and I’ve worked in the factories, I’ve given to the community colleges of North Carolina. Contact Gov. Easley and ask him to show you the money, because I don’t have it and I don’t think you have it either.”

For more information about the local Republican candidates running for office in this year’s election, go to www.wakegop.org.
 

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