It was not a valid check in any way, but it still had value. N.C. Rep. Kevin Corbin (R-Franklin) knows the state budget is not finished, but he wanted Cherokee County Schools to also know there is money waiting if the General Assembly can ever pull it off.
Corbin presented Superintendent Jeana Conley with an IOU of sorts Friday in the form of a decorated poster done by his daughter displaying the amount of $11,136,538 for future school renovations and construction. It’s part of a large package that Corbin helped secure for his constituents, including $11 million for Macon County and $10 million each for Clay and Graham counties.
However, the schools will not get the money until the budget is passed. Still, Conley expressed gratitude on behalf of the school system, adding that Corbin worked with local officials to bring small schools funding back to the county.
Corbin, a longtime school board member in Macon County, has made education a priority during his three years in the state Legislature. He said he is not done getting money for local schools.
“We’re going to do it again next year,” Corbin said at a town hall meeting in Murphy, where he also talked with local leaders about his efforts to battle opioids and bring affordable high-speed internet access to the region.
Corbin has done a fine job in the House making the voice of far-western North Carolina heard in Raleigh. Perhaps starting in 2021 he can do the same in the N.C. Senate.
Horsing around costs taxpayers
The court system has shown its many flaws again in the case of Janice Dockery, who has had many complaints against her for mistreatment of animals.
With the local resident’s seven-count misdemeanor case dragging on for more than a year, with one complete reboot of the charges, the real victims are the animals and taxpayers. While the animals have been rescued, the bill is still mounting for the county because the horses are controlled by the court system.
The District Attorney’s Office has promised to dispose of the case next week, but other cases have been continued far longer. The $25,000-plus spent caring for these horses could have bought Disabled American Veterans’ van a lot sooner or safer football helmets for student-athletes.
On top of it all, if Dockery is found not guilty, she will get the animals back – and this will all have been for nothing.
Helmets a good move for safety
How much is players’ safety worth on high school football fields? It should start at about $1,000 each.
That’s how much money just one new football helmet costs, but it’s much more than just fulfilling a regulation. The Zero1 is considered the very best helmet in head injury prevention and player safety. While nothing is guaranteed, Murphy head coach David Gentry said these helmets will help prevent concussions, which has become an even bigger problem in football from the amateur to the professional ranks in recent years.
That’s why the coach bought 25 of these helmets, and why the community is generously helping pay for them. If you can help, please call Gentry at 837-2279 or 557-0870. Even when these 25 are paid for, remember that the Bulldogs’ roster has twice as many players, and Andrews also may want to buy these kind of helmets for the Wildcats in the future.
If we want to enjoy the hard-hitting games on Friday nights, we need to make sure the players who sacrifice their bodies walk away afterward with all of their faculties still intact. They deserve nothing less.