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Dart to the whopping statistical error that misstated the pace of development occurring in North Carolina.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture originally reported that 781,500 acres of open land had been developed across the state between 1992 and 1997, or an average of 17.8 acres bulldozed and paved per hour.
Now, the USDA has backtracked and said the figure was off by about a third because of a computer programming error. The revised statistics show 506,600 acres were developed in the 1992-1997 period, which is still a lot of development. The error amounts to an area about the size of Orange County — which is only fitting, given some of the fiscal miscalculations that have come out of Raleigh over the years.
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Laurels to order in the court — and in the clerk of court’s offices. There should be less disorder — and more relaxed working conditions — now that the county has completed renovations at the criminal clerk of court division in the Rowan County Justice Center. The renovations more than tripled the cramped quarters shared by 11 employees. It’s no surprise that Clerk of Court Jeff Barger reports the renovations have boosted employee morale. Who wants to handle court records when you feel as if you’re imprisoned by file shelves?
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Dart to the litterbugs who continue to mar North Carolina’s roadsides — and, as a result, the state’s reputation as a bastion of natural beauty. The situation seems to be getting worse. The state Department of Transportation reported that it picked up nearly 11 million pounds of roadside trash last year — up from 7.6 million pounds collected in 1999. The 2000 total amounts to a pound of trash for ever person in the state. And it’s not like they got it all, either: If you want to see a prime example of roadside litter, check out some of our local interstate interchanges — especially the Jake Alexander Boulevard exit off northbound I-85. It looks Hurricane Floyd just blew through again.
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Laurels to the Rowan-Salisbury Schools food service workers who are organizing nutrition fairs to educate youngsters about healthy diets and alternatives to fat-laden fast foods and snacks. Recent reports have pointed to an increase in obesity among American youngsters, with potentially harmful longterm health effects. Maybe some budding couch potatoes will learn to like carrots.
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