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FROM THE EDITOR

Posted on May 27, 2010May 28, 2010 by Staff

At our core

Over the next few weeks, the local governments in our area will make their final calls on how to best confront what is universally a time of constraints.

It’s pretty simple to just say that government, like the rest of us, has to cut back. For starters, the rest of us aren’t mandated to provide for the health, welfare and safety of all of our neighbors. And considering the slashing of local budgets in the past two years, there are places where the budget knife is poised perilously close to bone.

The outlook ahead is still not good. There may be some bright spots on the horizon, but blue skies? Not for a while, not even in Carolina.

This will be a tough year. Most of them are for one reason or another. But this is the kind of year that is the measure of a community, its heart and soul, a time when our collective compassion is challenged.

Not long ago, we were a prosperous place, or at least it appeared that way. Orange County has always seemed a wealthy county, but although we are near the top of the state in terms of per capita income, we’re about even with the state average in the percent of our citizens living in poverty.

In truth, we have long been among the most stratified counties in North Carolina. Part of that is because we are also one of the more expensive places to live.

For the poor and those struggling to keep up, the recession has drained savings and strained resources. Contributions to service and support organizations are way down as well, while demand increases.

We may have touched bottom, but it’s still a long swim back up. There are many things that can wait until next year. Compassion is not one of them.

Kudos

Congratulations to Norma Bell, Eva Barnett, Ethel Carver, Sarah E Carter and Bettye Jenkins, who were honored at a ceremony at the Hargraves Center last weekend by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority of Chapel Hill, Mu Omega Chapter, for their leadership in business and their tenacity in keeping their enterprises thriving. Until now, these women were unsung heroes in our community. We applaud them and the sorority for recognizing their efforts.

Clarification

Last week in the paper, we had board of aldermen member Dan Coleman expressing disagreement with the county’s economic development policy. Coleman points out that he was specifically concerned about plans for an economic-development district near Mebane and not a similar district in Hillsborough.

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