THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 23, 1995 TAG: 9504200216
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Long : 148 lines
I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Terry Wheeler going on 12 years. During that time I have never known him to show, act, behave, or imply any of the appalling statements that have been quoted in the media by Commissioner Shirley Hassell.
He must be confounded by these vindictive and uncalled-for attacks to his outstanding reputation and fine personal character. Dare County can no longer stand this type of personal grandstanding by one un-informed individual. The poison and mistrust that is being festered by Mrs. Hassell is not needed or justified by the citizens she claims to represent or the county government we are all a part of.
Please continue to hold your head high, Terry, and be proud of the accomplishments that you have been a part of for Dare County. Talk is cheap, but on the part of Mrs. Hassell, it is unfounded, argumentative and vindictive, and it has no positive result. I hope the members of the Dare County Board of Commissioners will not allow these comments to continue.
Please know that I personally have full trust and confidence in you and your fine work with Dare County all these years. I will publicly stand behind you and help in any way I possibly can.
Robert A. Gabriel
Kill Devil Hills On fishing issues
``The referendum process, if successful, could give legislators the support they need to enact sweeping changes to the state's fishing industry!''
Excuse me, but being a commercial fisherman, should I not take offense at this sentence as an endorsement of the recent net ban proposal by Billy Richardson, a Fayetteville legislator? Thanks, Betty Mitchell Gray. You finally answered any doubts we in the commercial fishing community had about your objectivity on fishing issues.
However, that which Gray neglected to write about the press conference was far more noteworthy than that which she did relate. Mr. Richardson walked into the press conference and said, ``I am going to set the ground rules for this meeting right now. I will only answer questions from the press.'' He then proceeded to tell the captive audience that the referendum process was an opportunity to let the public have their say. After the conference, he walked out without letting anyone in the audience respond. He conveyed the often-used threat that if we don't do something about our fisheries, tourism in our coastal communities will suffer.
For the record, tourism in Dare County rose 12 percent in 1993 and 17 percent in 1994. I only hope to be able to get out of my driveway in 1995. Richardson related how of North Carolina's 22 fin-fish species, 14 were listed as stressed. He emphasized his concern about the disappearance of the Atlantic croaker, for instance. When the audience erupted in laughter, I guess Ms. Gray was as baffled as was Mr. Richardson.
People, in my 18 years on the water, the last two years have been the best for this particular species in our ocean fisheries on record, when both catch and effort are considered. And yes, being an adviser for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, I can assure you that for some unknown reason they are still listed as threatened. As to why they don't go into the very sounds Mr. Richardson is so worried about, it is a question fishermen have asked themselves before - before, that is, they went into the service or out of the area to find work.
However, over time everything from crabpots to longlines have allowed fishermen other means in a crunch, and to rely less on nets. Yes, that's right, less on nets than ever before. But to take the nets away only complicates the process again. Mr. Richardson gave us an alternative, though. He said aquaculture was the answer. Does anybody know of any cheap coastal land to dig ponds on for this solution?
I wonder if Mr. Richardson considers the fact that possibly the farmers in his area might be contributing to the demise of our estuaries through the runoff of fertilizers and pesticides. Maybe we should look to the referendum process to see if the farmers in his constituency can make it without these. To do that, however, would be as petty as that which he is trying to do. You see, this is not a conservation issue, but rather an allocation one. It's being orchestrated not by Mr. Richardson, but the North Carolina chapter of the Atlantic Coast Conservation Association.
One might ask, shouldn't conservation be considered if things are as bad as Mr. Richardson thinks? Yes, it should. But when a reporter asked him why he wasn't proposing a total fishing moratorium rather than just one on the watermen, he said he would have to look into it. Right! And if anyone believes that, they probably think the second ``C'' in ACCA stands for conservation. If so, why is ACCA Director Dick Brame always referred to as the recreational fishermen's spokesman?
Fresh, imported seafood, anyone?
Jeff Oden
Hatteras Thanks, Chris Kidder
I would like to thank the North Carolina Press Club, and Chris Kidder in particular, for another successful Literacy Day in Dare County. Thanks to this group, on March 31, Dare County adult students had the opportunity to attend workshops on family reading, smart grocery shopping, using the newspaper and family first aid. What's more, these adult students also had the opportunity to talk one-on-one with representatives from the North Carolina Employment Security Commission, with hotline workers, with volunteer tutors and with literacy education staff from College of The Albemarle.
Adult students who attended Literacy Day were exposed to the many advantages available to them if they are willing to make a commitment to improve their reading skills.
This was an ambitious undertaking - the second of its kind sponsored by the North Carolina Press Club in Dare County. I'm sure you have read newspaper articles about the illiteracy problem in our country. Nationwide, one person in five is illiterate. And 1990 Dare County census figures show Dare County fits right into that average. On March 31, Kidder and NCPC did their utmost to help adults who have a literacy problem.
On behalf of the volunteer tutors and our participating students, thank you again, Chris Kidder and North Carolina Press Club.
Mary Berntsen
Dare Volunteer Tutors
Kitty Hawk Support for wolves
Bravo! to Marlo Shedlock for her articulate letter (The Coast, April 16), in which she wholly supported our government's program to restore and protect the nearly extinct red wolf population.
Her rebuttal to the anti-wolf letter (The Coast, March 25), simply and clearly challenged the opinion as expressed by Mr. Barry Cahoon as being that of a buffoon.
Bud Koehler
Kill Devil Hills Why defend wolves?
I recently read the letter written by Marlo Shedlock of Kitty Hawk, ``Wolves here first'' (The Coast, April 16).
Mr first question is, how long has Ms. Shedlock lived in Dare County? How many of these red wolves roam on her property? Just how much knowledge, other than what she has read in the paper, does she have about these wild animals?
I would greatly appreciate it if you would reprint my husband Barry Cahoon's letter in its entirety.
I would like to reinforce his thoughts. If they can prove these animals lived on the Dare mainland years ago, I'd love to see it. If they like these animals' presence here in the county, where both my husband and myself are lifelong natives, then they should pack them up and put them in their towns where they are so greatly appreciated and wanted. Furthermore, I should hope Ms. Shedlock does not swat at house flies or mosquitos, nor spray for house bugs or set mouse traps. Perhaps they were here before she was and too deserve to roam freely.
I guess I still just don't get it. How are these wolves such an important part of my life on the Dare mainland? And boy, isn't it still so easy to give an opinion about an issue that doesn't directly affect your life or your pets' lives in any way?
Sherrie Cahoon
Manns Harbor by CNB