THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 21, 1996 TAG: 9604180173
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Long : 120 lines
It was entertaining to read Chris Kidder's columns of Feb. 17 and Feb. 24 in The Carolina Coast. Apparently, her muse about ``the old dilemma of whom to trust'' applies not only to real estate agents, but also to real estate reporters.
I think that a person who presents herself to the public as a professional real estate reporter should have enough common sense to know that a real estate company cannot average 38 weeks of rental per year in any subdivision on the Outer Banks.
John Light
Kill Devil Hills Pesky planes again
It must be that time of the year again. Seems like every time I venture outside to enjoy the spring weather, I'm greeted by that familiar, loud buzzing sound. And it's NOT mosquitoes.
Once again - at least in my neighborhood - the tour planes are buzzing overhead.
Unfortunately, some of these tour plane operators are less than neighborly about how residents of the Outer Banks are affected by the frequent flyovers of our homes.
In addition, there are legal standards to which they must adhere during these flights. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, aircraft must maintain an altitude of at least 1,000 feet over a congested area - most of our neighborhoods fall under this definition.
If you would like to learn more about how you can encourage the tour plane operators to become more neighborly - and stick to the legal requirements - you can contact the FAA at: Federal Aviation Administration, NCFFDO6, 2000 Aerial Center Parkway, Suite 120, Morrisville, N.C. 27560. (919) 840-5510.
Barbara Blonder
Nags Head Nitrogen in the Neuse
A recent agreement signed by the Neuse River Foundation and the North Carolina Division of Environmental Management has raised a question that to date has not been answered.
The agreement, signed by representatives of both entities, concedes that differing methods used by them for determining whether or not nitrogen levels in the Neuse River has risen over the past several years are both valid.
However, the results of the two studies are significantly different. DEM has maintained that, based on their studies, there has not been a significant increase in nitrogen in the Neuse over the last several years. The NRF's tests have indicated that there has been an 11 percent increase between the periods of 1988-90 and 1991-93.
The agreement also states that the DEM report did not consider the nitrogen influence of the Contentnea subbasin, which, according to the USGS, has the highest nitrogen yields per square mile of any area in the entire Albemarle-Pamlico drainage basin. This piece of information alone makes the results suspect.
Rep. John Nichols, who, like many legislators, depends on state agencies to supply him with facts on which to base his decisions, was put in the unenviable position of using the DEM results. Nichols was taken to task for using the information, and so he asked DEM to explain just what is going on.
He did this publicly during the Environmental Review Commission that met in Raleigh on April 10. Steve Tedder responded on behalf of DEM. Actually, Tedder danced in defense of the DEM data.
Tedder never said if the DEM data were right or wrong, stating only that both methods used are correct. Even though asked several times by Rep. Nichols and Sen. Tom Odom which results were correct, Tedder never answered the question.
When Sen. Odom asked Tedder why he signed the agreement acknowledging the veracity of the NRF's data if in fact Tedder didn't agree with the results, Tedder responded that signing the agreement meant nothing. Sen. Odom then asked why it was signed at all, and Tedder said that it was done to avoid going through a lawsuit.
Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly common for government agencies to not only use questionable data, but to do so knowingly if it supports some unspoken goal. Therefore, I can't help but wonder why DEM officials are not answering the question: Has the nitrogen level risen in the Neuse River over the last several years?
It has or it hasn't, and the public has a right to know. If the data are too incomplete to allow a definite answer one way or the other, then that should be stated and the work should be done to provide a realistic picture of what is happening to the state's water quality.
If the residents of this state want to dance, they can take shag lessons; if they want improved water quality, they can start demanding answers.
Sandy Semans
North Carolina Fisheries
Association Inc.
New Bern
No `third strike,' please
Responding to a March 23 headline, ``Drunken driver must pay paralyzed victim 15 percent of his life's pay:'' As a mother whose daughter is still recovering from an accident caused by another 18-year-old drunken driver being chased by police (speed in excess of 70 mph), I am thankful she will recover.
This was not this young man's first offense; he was driving on a suspended license from prior offenses. He was also on an assigned-risk policy, meaning the amount my daughter can recover will not even cover her doctor bills, let alone hospital bills. Would anyone care to know what 24 hours in a trauma unit and a medi-vac cost? This young man was punished, however: His license was suspended again. Will this second suspension mean anything to him?
My congratulations to those responsible for what appears to be a ``precedent.'' Let's hope their efforts will be put into motion and these young people will have food for thought.
When Mr. Jones watches his daughter go off to her prom to dance with her date or when he walks her down the aisle to greet her new husband, will he remember that Miss Gill will never have these pleasures?
Let me also add that I am a mother whose only son was brutally murdered at age 25. The two responsible received less time than if they had killed a deer out of season. They are free to enjoy all the beautiful things my son was denied, including watching his young son grow up.
If someone's ``third strike'' should become the third against my family, I pray I will not be around, as the heartache would be unbearable.
Maxine P. King
Kill Devil Hills by CNB