THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 18, 1994 TAG: 9412180045
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: PAUL SOUTH
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
For the past two years, politicians from Raleigh to Washington have been howling about the Grinch That Stole Government, a.k.a. ``Gridlock.''
We've all heard ``the G-word'' until we're red and green in the face. And in November, the voters sent a message that they wanted government to work - not for government's sake, but for the electorate's.
The jury is still out on whether November's rhetoric will become January's reality. But in a time when the whole world seems to be looking for role models, a local environmental consultant might fit the bill.
His name is George Wood.
George Wood's name will not cause the corridors of power in Washington to crumble. And chances are, the 42-year-old Colington resident is not on the Christmas card lists of the Gingriches, Doles, Clintons or Kennedys.
But in a small way, George Wood has had an impact on the future of this country, and in a larger way, the future of the children of Dare County. He did it by applying a time-tested, seemingly forgotten color to the canvas of effective democratic government.
Compromise.
Wood took three seemingly diverse interests, and brought them together. The Dare County Board of Education wanted a site for a new school. The Town of Kill Devil Hills wanted to provide a site for the new school. And the Nature Conservancy wanted to protect an environmentally sensitive inland dune known as Run Hill.
Talk to the members of the Run Hill Working Group that hammered out the complex land-swap that culminated with signing ceremonies Tuesday, and they'll tell you that Wood firmly but gently ripped down the walls that separated the three groups.
He gave comfort when feelings got ruffled. He found common ground where none seemed to exist. And when hard heads and childishness seemed to win out, Wood would tell them so, simply by saying, ``You've got gravy on your tie.''
``That was his way of telling us we were out of line,'' said Fletcher Willey, a member of the Run Hill Group. ``George helped us to focus on the things we had in common, rather than the differences we had. Once we were able to focus on those commonalities, the circle of our common interests became larger and larger. After that, we were able to work on the things that we disagreed on.''
This was no easy thing, this compromise. The path of least resistance for the three groups was to stick by their guns, to butt heads until all parties wound up in court - the modern-day equivalent of the OK Corral. Dare County has seen that shootout before.
``It was so easy to say, this is our property, and we're going to take this dune down and build this school.
``But as we looked at things, we found there were parents who had children in the school system, who lived in Kill Devil Hills, and were involved in the Nature Conservancy.
``When it got down to it, George made us focus on the larger good, and not on our own interests.''
It was historian David Stick who laid down a framework two years ago for the agreement Tuesday night. The late Mayor Pro Tem of Kill Devil Hills, Lacy McNeill, also advocated compromise.
``David Stick gave us an historical perspective,'' said Willey. ``He gave us a structure which showed how this could be worked out. He basically said, `Here's the equation, solve for X.' And Lacy was right there before the idea became popular, saying there has to be another way to work this out.''
And like the men who would take the spirit of Jefferson's Declaration of Independence, and Madison's Constitution, and make them living, breathing, working documents, George Wood took the spirit of Stick's document and McNeill's words, and made it work.
``He was a facilitator, sometimes a mediator, sometimes a catalyst,'' Willey said. ``There were a lot of times when somebody would get really upset and he'd say, `I'm sorry, that was my fault. Let's move on.'
``And we'd go on to something positive. That was really unselfish. What this really says is that people with diverse interests can calmly sit down, and focus on the larger good of the community, and not on ourselves or our own interests.''
It has been written that, ``No democratic government can exist without conciliation and compromise.''
Wood gently reminded the deeply committed citizens of the Run Hill Group of that priceless truth, leading to a rare result in these days of shameless partisanship.
Through cooperation, everybody wins.
It is a lesson worth remembering. by CNB