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OBSERVATIONS
February 18, 2021 |
 |
 Wingate Lassiter |
N.C. legislators are on the right track
in tackling summer school and litter
They've passed a bill forcing local jurisdictions to return students to school, and it's mostly political grandstanding as Johnston County and even neighboring Wake County have already made moves to do just that. (I thought the majority party in the General Assembly traditionally was all about "local control.")
At the same time, it's encouraging to read about a couple of proposed pieces of legislation that we may be able to chalk up as real progress.
One bill, co-sponsored by House Speaker Tim Moore, would enable local school districts to offer six weeks of summer school to help students catch up after a year of interrupted learning because of the coronavirus outbreak. Those classes would provide in-person instruction, targeted to students at risk of falling behind but open to all in grades K-12.
While they're at it, I wish our legislators would go ahead and grant local districts authority to set their own calendars, which have been restricted in recent years by coastal interests who don't want the annual school term to begin till late August. Perhaps the summer-school bill will make that moot.
As things now stand, Johnston County Public Schools are shortening the fall semester by a couple of weeks to end the term before the Christmas holidays. Starting school in mid-August would fix that problem.
The other bill that came to light this week is a proposal to double fines for roadside littering. That would raise the penalty for "first offenders" from $250 to $500, and that might get their attention --- if the new law is effectively enforced.
That bill comes from Wayne County's Representative John Bell IV, whose district includes the eastern portion of Johnston County. Ted Godwin, one of our county commissioners, will surely give that proposal a cheer as he has brought up the littering problem time and again at recent meetings of the county board.
Shall we call it "Lake Buffalo"?
Ever since a large swatch of land on the west side of Buffalo Road just beyond Buffalo Creek was clear-cut not too long ago, we've had a clear view of the flooded lowground there whenever the Neuse gets out of its banks --- a frequent occurrence in recent months. An unsuspecting passerby might mistake it for a natural lake, or perhaps a man-made impoundment. Notice the litter floating in the flood near the roadside --- definitely the result of human activity.
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