THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 6, 1995 TAG: 9509060474
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
The Dare County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to ask the North Carolina General Assembly to approve local legislation that would redistribute a portion of the profits of the Dare County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
Under the proposed measure, the allocation would go to maintain a foster home for battered, abused and neglected children in the county.
Currently, nearly half the county's ABC revenues go to the Dare County Tourist Bureau. If the legislation passes, the money would go instead to the yearly operation of a foster home.
The board unanimously approved the action, which was requested by Commissioner Geneva Perry.
``Legislation passed in 1977 sets out how profits from the ABC Board are to be distributed,'' Perry said. ``Legislation passed in 1990 or 1991 now provides adequate funding for the tourist bureau. I think the ABC funds should now be shifted for the operation of a foster home.''
The amount of money the county receives from ABC funds each year varies depending on the sale of alcoholic beverages in the county. In 1993-94, the county received $184,000 in ABC funds.
Last year, Dare County received about $182,000 in funding, with 42.5 percent going to the tourist bureau. The rest of the profits go to towns in the county, the county general funds and the ABC Board's capital improvements account.
Under the legislation, the funds would be administered by the Dare County Department of Social Services in consultation with the Children and Youth Partnership. The revenue would be used for operation of the home. Funding for construction would come from private sources. Social Services would contract with a private concern to handle day-to-day administration.
In 1977, three children in Dare County were in Social Services custody because of abuse. Today, 44 county children are in Social Services care. Many have to be placed in foster homes outside the county because there are not adequate facilities in Dare County.
Social Services Director Jay Burrus said the inability to house abused or neglected children locally aggravates an already difficult situation.
``These children are already victims,'' Burrus said. ``But they are being re-victimized because we have to move them out of the county. They have to get used to new schools and an unfamiliar environment. It also makes it difficult for parents, who are trying to get their act together, to visit the children. For younger kids, that is extremely important.''
Some foster children are placed as far away as Thomasville. Those distances make it difficult for Social Services personnel to monitor the care children receive. In turn, that means increased transportation costs for the department, as well as lost work hours because of travel.
Commissioner Shirley Hassell said she supported the concept advocated by the bill. However, she expressed concern that only five or six children will benefit from thehome, and said that parents should be required to reimburse the county for the cost of housing their children, either through community service or other means.
``I think the parents should be held responsible,'' Hassell said. ``It should not be left to local people when the parents of these children are the abusers. . . . Foster care is not a happy ending, but a tragic beginning.''
In other action, the commission rejected by a 4-3 vote action that would transfer ownership of the Dare Campus of the College of the Albemarle to the school.
The title transfer would have enabled the college to use $1.5 million from a 1993 bond referendum. The referendum required the county to provide equal matching funds through cash and in-kind services. Property ownership would take care of $900,000 of the match, Perry said, with the remainder paid in $100,000 increments annually over the next six years.
The motion was defeated 4-3, with Commission Chairman Robert V. ``Bobby'' Owens Jr., Commissioners Hassell, Doug Langford and Sammy Smith voting against the proposal. Smith had earlier offered an unsuccessful substitute motion to table action on the motion.
Owens said he expected the issue to come before the board again.
In other business, the panel:
Passed a resolution by a 4-3 vote expressing support for the commercial and sport-fishing industries. Commissioners Hassell, Midgett and Smith objected to the inclusion of sport-fishing in the resolution.
Agreed to study concerns about the lack of public beach access in Rodanthe and in other unincorporated areas on Hatteras Island.
Approved a letter saying the county had no interest in purchasing property on Run Hill. Late last year, the Nature Conservancy, the Dare County Board of Education and the Town of Kill Devil Hills approved a complex land swap that would provide additional protection for the environmentally sensitive Run Hill, and land for a beach high school.
Under North Carolina law, the School Board is required give the county the right of first refusal, if it wishes to dispose of any property. by CNB