Joint open house
As reported in The Carrboro Citizen, our nonprofit agencies recently held a joint open house for the community at our offices in downtown Carrboro. The scores of guests who attended enjoyed food donated by the following local restaurants:
Acme Food & Beverage Co., Boleros, Breadman’s, Café Carolina and Bakery, Chipotle, Hardee’s, Jason’s Deli, La Hacienda, Le Bleu Water, Mama Dip’s Country Cooking Restaurant, Margaret’s Cantina, Monterrey Restaurant, Open Eye Café, 35 Chinese, Top of the Hill and the Weather Vane. Â
We are deeply grateful for the generous support of these community-minded businesses.
Ben Balderas, executive director, El Centro Latino; Stephen Dear, executive director, People of Faith Against the Death Penalty; Chris Moran, executive director, Interfaith Council for Social Service; Luke Smith, executive director, El Futuro
Misperception of dog tethering issue
I am deeply disappointed that most of the local media has been complicit in reinforcing a common misperception of the county’s dog tethering issue, namely that it is a debate between “animal rights activists†and “hunting groups.†Such polarization only serves to obscure the real complexities of this issue and hinders substantive discussion.
Tethering is a common practice amongst ordinary people who, for a variety of reasons, find it necessary to tie their animals up outside. It is not an inherently abusive or neglectful practice. Naturally there are going to be exceptions, but Animal Control ought to report, investigate and prosecute such situations on a case-by-case basis, rather than a broad sweeping ordinance.
The two public hearings on the subject were minimally publicized and poorly attended.
Without further effort the Tethering Committee will have failed to dutifully execute its charge of “obtaining general public comment or input about tethering from a cross-section of the community.†As such, their recommendation to amend the current ordinance is premature. Such an action by the BOCC would set a dangerous precedent of limiting the liberties of the whole to curb the transgressions of a few.
And yes, I do have a dog in this one. My 11-year-old husky, who has broken out of every fence created, and now spends his days napping on the porch or in the shade of a mulberry tree. In fact, Animal Control came by recently on an anonymous call. Finding his bed and chew toy nearby, his food and water full, they called him “not only sweet, but a little spoiled.â€
Dan Stern
Senior – Biology Dept.
UNC-CH
Children of immigrants deserve an education, too
I am disappointed at the reaction to the announcement by the Community College system that they should admit students who are the children of undocumented persons. These are children who, through no fault of their own, were brought to this country. They worked hard in school and only wish to further their education. Some of the children were even valedictorians of their graduating classes, and yet there are those who would seek to deny them, and us, the fruits of their labors.
I am dismayed by those who ignore the facts about these children: they pay out of state tuition, which is $2000 more than the actual cost of a community college student’s education. In addition, there are only 340 of these students out of a total of 271,000 students in the community college system. This is hardly denying a place to any North Carolina student.
Those who would pile on ignore the line of Supreme Court decisions saying that schools cannot discriminate by denying services to aliens. This is no less than demagoguery by using these children for political motives, instead of helping them to succeed and become contributing members of our society.
Finally, I am appalled at the venom and hatred directed toward innocent children. Thanks for the common sense of our governor, President Lancaster and the two presidential candidates Democrat Bill Richardson and Republican Mike Huckabee who see the true picture. Huckabee put it beautifully, “In all due respect, we’re a better country than to punish children for what their parents did. We’re a better country than that.â€
Ellie Kinnaird