EDITORIAL: Weekly wrap

Mar 6, 2010 — The Fayetteville Observer

Mar. 6, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Brief opinions about events of the past week: Merit: For Fayetteville State University's Lady Broncos, who soundly defeated Bowie State last weekend and won their third Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament championship in the school's history.

It was a great performance for the women's basketball team, which won its first league championship since 2001. And it was a Cinderella season for Coach Eva Patterson-Heath, who took over the team last June. At this time last year, she was coaching high school basketball in Red Springs.

The team hopes this is just the start of its big momentum, as it takes aim at the NCAA Division II Tournament. A big cheer for continued success.

Demerit: For the dwindling suport for Fayetteville's City Rescue Mission, which may have to close because it's running out of money. The mission, which serves about 100,000 meals a year to homeless men and women, also provides a shelter for seven homeless women. Its men's shelter was destroyed by a fire in 2007 and the mission hasn't been able to find funding to reopen it.

Donations to the mission are down about 50 percent from last year, Executive Director Gladys Thompson says. Operations Manager Thomas Lambeth says it costs about $200,000 to run the program. "If something doesn't happen between now and the end of March," he said, "there is a great, great possibility that we'll close." We hope donors will step forward and make that something happen. In these troubled times, the mission is a vital part of Fayetteville's safety net.

Merit: For Julianna Smoot, the new White House social secretary. Smoot replaced Desiree Rogers this week, who came under fire after a couple crashed a White House gala last year.

Smoot has deep roots in this area. She grew up in Southern Pines and Clinton. Her father was a golf pro and her mother a teacher. Long active in politics, she was finance director for the Obama presidential campaign.

She's the second North Carolinian to make a splash in the Obama White House. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is an N.C. State grad and former press aide to Rep. Bob Etheridge of Lillington.

Demerit: For the sudden shutdown of the Defense Department's Military Spouse Career Advancement Account, which paid to help soldiers' spouses get the education they need to pursue a good career. About 133,000 military spouses applied for the program since it began a year ago.

The program was too popular for its own funding, which is why it's been put on hold. The government does plan to bring the program back when more funding is found. We hope that happens soon -- yanking away a popular program is no way to maintain morale in wartime.

Demerit: For the N.C. Department of Transportation, which failed to tell more than 700 of its employees that their life insurance policies, provided through the state, were cancelled eight years ago.

Worse, nearly 100 employees have continued to pay for the defunct policies.

The DOT said Thursday it will refund $160,000 to the workers who paid premiums after the cancellation. The State Auditor's office also is looking into the glitch. It should.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0072-42634310