Comments | Eastern NC Now

When one is elected their, top job is to provide the political /governing voice for their constituents, and the key here is for the elected official to now their constituents as best they are able to do so.

That is why elections are so important: Elections can clear the deck, keep the deck, or what is wise, rearrange the deck by keeping certain favorites and bring in new political blood to support the needs of constituents, who are hopefully wise in their choices.

Whatever works mainly depends on the electorate's wisdom, and their ability to make wise choices that will immediately, and from a long term perspective effect their futures.

That is why the Free and fair Press, and the Public Square is extremely important in this adventure of the collective self-governed by keeping the electorate apprised of what is real, what is true.

Commented: Saturday, January 20th, 2024 @ 1:48 pm By: Stan Deatherage

Big Bob: This is where most reasonable people agree: owning land means that one has certain rights that must be respected.

Commented: Saturday, January 20th, 2024 @ 1:30 pm By: Stan Deatherage

BoCo Parent: I have sent a test to see if you have a real email.

I would bet that it will come back as a fake.

Until that time possible notification, and Charles Hickman does not need my defense, but I will fully vouch that this man can think on his own.

In that truth, Charles has my endorsement of his substantive existence.

Commented: Saturday, January 20th, 2024 @ 11:16 am By: Stan Deatherage

This tempest in a teacup reminds me of the line from Shakespeare, "The lady doth protest too much". Much of this is information they are required themselves to publicize but do not do so in a way that people will see it. Then they lose their cool when someone else does it. What more are they hiding? We need more transparency in government, not less.

Commented: Saturday, January 20th, 2024 @ 11:00 am By: Rino Hunter

One wonders how the Beaufort County school board ended up with an attorney who lives in Durham and practices with a Raleigh law firm? Even more so, why did a nominally Republican-majority board go with an out of town attorney who at least recently, and maybe currently, has been vice chairman of the Durham County Democrat Party, one of the most far left county Democrat organizations in the state. Looks like they have got some 'splainin' to do, especially for those incumbents running in Republican primaries.

That is not the only contract that the current leadership of our schools has taken away from a Beaufort County citizen and given it to someone outside the county, often at greater cost to the taxpayers/

Commented: Saturday, January 20th, 2024 @ 10:09 am By: John Steed

I have seen the fund raising letter that got the school board incumbents panties in a twist, and while it was not structured in the most effective manner, its content seems to be accurate. It is also interesting that the school board majority faction seems to admit that in its resolution by not disputing any of the facts presented.

Why are they so frantic about the public learning those things? Indeed, the letter's content about the county school's lousy scores on the state evaluations are something that the School Board itself is required by law to advertise itself. They do a deliberately poor job of meeting that statutory requirement. A link that goes to those scores is buried on the School Board's website, and even if you find it and follow it, there is still a lot more navigation of the state site necessary to find Beaufort County schools' scores. If the school board really had wanted to level with the public on the lousy scores our schools are getting, they would have taken some of the thousands of dollars they pay for puff piece ads in the Washington Daily News and buy a quarter page ad there revealing the scores. They don't want them revealed, so they don't do that and they get mighty upset when someone else reveals them.

Then there is the issue of local control of local schools which the majority faction on the school board clearly does not favor, based on the wording of their resolution. They clearly take the position that they should be subservient to the state DPI in Raleigh on curriculum, when the state law, on the contrary, gives the local school boards total control of what is in their curriculum. That was underlined when Rep. Kidwell introduced a bill to allow use of the Hillsdale College history curriculum, and the attorneys at the state legislature told him that was unnecessary because local school boards already had absolute control over curriculum and DPI had no authority to tell them what to do. Of course, the out of town attorney used by our school board is connected at the hip with DPI, so should he be expected to do anything other than sing DPI's tune?

With DPI being run by a Roy Cooper appointed majority on the state Board of Education, anything coming out of there is going to tilt to the left, often heavily. Therefore it is critically important to elect a school board that believes in local control of local schools. The current majority on the Beaufort County Board of Education clearly does NOT, and that is a huge issue IMHO.

Commented: Saturday, January 20th, 2024 @ 9:22 am By: Steven P. Rader

Charles Hickman is someone I will always vouch for doing what is right, simply because Charles already knows what is right.

If I had time for an ongoing "inner circle," Charles would be in it, and I would wager that he would have me in his "inner circle," should he likewise have the time for it.

Neither of us, for different reasons, have that time.

Many of the folks that revolve around Commissioner Hood Richardson, orbiting in his gravitational pull, do so because Hood truly expends the effort to hold that Conservative voice here in Beaufort County together.

Also, these people respect the Commissioner's integrity and honesty and wisdom to know right from wrong, Left from Right.

Charles is in that camp, along with myself, because we do not shrink from these ideals of finding the proper pathway to effective representation of integrity.

Speaking for myself, if I had more time I would offer more help. Since I have created this platform from nothing, it is something that people of integrity can use.

Commented: Saturday, January 20th, 2024 @ 8:53 am By: Stan Deatherage

Big Bob, if you are talking about an inner Republican Party in Beaufort County - its heart, its soul - there is none.

The "people" you speak of will ultimately decide what happens to their schools. That is how self-government works.

Commented: Saturday, January 20th, 2024 @ 8:47 am By: Stan Deatherage

I did have concerns with the resolution because it was framed in politics. This is precisely why I was so adamant about not signing on to it. I'm trying very hard to stay off the political frontlines during this primary season and most certainly do not want to add it to county business in an official meeting.

Despite my efforts, I do recognize how determined certain ones are to drag me into it. Some of the untrue charges directed at me and others in the comments here do need to be addressed. Several things to consider:
1. No one writes my words for me. Anything I'm reading is either written preparation by me or is from a relevant document I am reading from.
2. The only political committee I am on is my own individual candidate committee.
3. Not conservative?? Check my credentials.
4. Racist member of a hate group??? That is preposterous as well as highly insulting.

This is going to be a very spirited primary and election campaign season that may even spill over to those of us not in races this year. Don't believe everything you hear. Check your sources and the motives of those involved. The truth matters.

Commented: Saturday, January 20th, 2024 @ 8:40 am By: Charles Hickman

BC- For the love of God, don’t let MAGA lunatics destroy the public schools in the county.

Commented: Saturday, January 20th, 2024 @ 7:55 am By: Big Bob

Will: The Hillsdale Curriculum will probably never occur. It makes too much sense. That is its bane.

From what I have learned from Beaufort County politics, the RINOs have wrested control from the Democrats only to power share with the Democratic Socialists. This is the deep thoughtless hole, where good ideas go to die.

Commented: Friday, January 19th, 2024 @ 11:58 pm By: Stan Deatherage