Who Is Home in Henderson

We’re curious about the state of the move to the new city hall. Anyone have any info?

Gov. Mike Easley signed the state budget bill into law this week, clearing the way for the General Assembly to adjourn Friday.
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Sgt. S.R. Spence of the Henderson Police Department Highway Traffic Safety Unit reported that on July 17, 2008, members of the unit along with the Secretary of State’s office conducted a search and seizure of a tractor-trailer which yielded more than $185,000 of counterfeit merchandise which was destined for North Carolina local markets.
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Editor’s Note: The previous date and time given for the blood drive at The Pegram Agency were incorrect. This reprint of the original article that ran on July 14, 2008 gives the correct information. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

While temperatures and fuel prices continue to rise this summer, the American Red Cross reports that the blood inventory levels are so low it is unable to sufficiently meet the demand of local hospitals.
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National Summit on States’ Issues will include energy and transportation among key topics at annual gathering
Raleigh — Rep. Michael H. will be among the thousands of legislators who will gather in New Orleans this summer for the National Conference of State Legislatures’ annual Legislative Summit.

The gathering serves as the annual business meeting for state legislators and legislative staff members from all 50 states. During this time, they will share ideas on solutions to the nation’s most pressing matters, including driver’s license security, global climate change, the mortgage crisis and transportation funding.

NCSL is a formidable lobbying force in the nation’s capital on these and other issues. Recently, the organization convinced the Department of Homeland Security to change its REAL ID regulations in a way that will save states $10 billion over the next five years. The group also helped secure badly needed additional funding for surface transportation and for the State Children’s Health Program. As a result, North Carolina is on track to receive an additional $171 million in transportation money for 2007-08 and $320 million more for transportation in 2007-09.

This will also be an important time for education. NCSL’s Legislative Summit offers nearly 150 sessions on policy issues such as immigration, redistricting, higher education, climate change, transportation, mortgage crisis and fiscal conditions, to name a few.

“I am looking forward to working with NCSL to help North Carolina and make our nation better,” Rep. Wray said. “I plan to take advantage of a number of policy sessions that are important to my constituents: Investing in Our future: The Status of America’s Youth; Bridging the Transportation Funding Gap; Building a Workforce for the Future-The State Role; Can We Afford Our Health Care? New Directions and Solutions; Controlling Prison Populations and Price Tags; Property Taxes Back on the Radar Screen; and Move your Message with Technology. The knowledge I gain from these experiences will help me find solutions for many of the challenges facing our community today.”

The NCSL Legislative Summit will run from July 22-26. Speakers will include former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich; Charlie Cook, one of the nation’s leading authorities on U.S. elections and political trends; David Wyss, chief economist at Standard and Poors and one of America’s leading experts on the economy; and Marvin Odum, president of Shell Oil Company.

Washington, D.C. -– As North Carolina’s average gas price remains just over four dollars per gallon, U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington) today voted for legislation to promote responsible domestic production of oil and natural gas. The House failed to garner the two-thirds required to pass H.R. 6515 on a party-line vote of 244 - 173.

“North Carolinians are struggling to make ends meet as gas prices continue to sky rocket, while oil companies continue to rake in record profits,” said Etheridge. “Today’s bill will tell the oil companies that they must invest in increasing our domestic oil supply or they will lose their right to own the land they are sitting on.”

The Drill Responsibly in Leased Lands (DRILL) Act would take steps to increase domestic oil supply. It would require oil companies to drill on the 68 million acres of land they already have leases for or relinquish their leases so other companies can drill there. It would speed the development of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and it would call on the President to facilitate completion of oil pipelines into the NPR-A and to facilitate construction of an Alaska natural gas pipeline to the continental United States to move the product to market. The bill would also reinstate a ban on the foreign export of Alaskan oil, keeping more oil here in America.

The NPR-A has an estimated 10.6 billion barrels, more than the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is estimated to have. Along with the 68 million acres of already-leased land, U.S. oil production could nearly double. The DRILL Act will also increase supply sooner than opening up new unleased areas to drilling because there is existing pipeline that reaches within 5 miles of NPR-A and the area is already partially leased.

Etheridge has also introduced his own legislation, H.R. 6334, The Increasing Transparency and Accountability in Oil Prices Act of 2008, that would give the CFTC additional authority and resources to prevent manipulation and excessive speculation in energy markets. Etheridge is the Chair of the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management of the House Agriculture Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the government agency that is responsible for protecting the public from fraudulent practices in commodity futures trading, including oil and gasoline. The House Agriculture Committee will hold hearings in July to examine other legislation aimed at cracking down on speculators.

The Henderson Police Department is pleased to announce the following promotions which were effective on July 17, 2008.
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On Saturday, July 22, 2008, there was a picture of the American Flag flying at half-staff and a short write-up about the passing of teacher and tennis coach Sylvester Bulluck.
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Here it is. Have at.

To quote the article “White: Politics led to daughter’s new charge” that appeared in The Daily Dispatch on Sunday, July 13, 2008:
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