Editorials - 04/17/03

County's volunteers deserve awards - and our gratitude

Most of the Jackson County honorees - some 250-plus dedicated firefighters and emergency responders - belong to the county's seven volunteer fire departments and two rescue squads. Other local award winners are the Good Samaritan Clinic and Pathways for the Future volunteers Howard and Janet Papke.

It's a group to make us all proud.

Our firefighters and rescue squad members are always on call. They make themselves available day and night, weekends and holidays, good weather and bad. When the call goes out, they answer it.

While they don't expect awards and glory, it's nice to see them recognized for the contributions they make to all of us. They stand ready to help as needed in any emergency, and their skill and dedication saves lives.

Thanks to all the members of the Balsam-Willets-Ochre Hill, Canada, Cashiers-Glenville, Cullowhee, Qualla, Savannah and Sylva fire departments, as well as those of the Glenville-Cashiers and Jackson County rescue squads.

Our other local award winners play a part in enriching the lives of segments of the population who need assistance.

Working through the Jackson County Department of Public Health, Good Samaritan volunteers are medical personnel who give of their time to serve certain populations in the area. Targeting adults (age 18-64) who don't qualify for other assistance, the clinic offers free medical care to those whose income falls below 150 percent of the poverty level.

Thanks to the vision of Good Samaritan's organizers, cost of treatment is no longer a barrier to seeking medical care, which could prevent a cough from turning into a life-threatening condition.

The Papkes, who have displayed consistent dedication to Pathways programs, have refurbished more than 200 computers for use in the homes of people with disabilities. Through the Papkes' efforts, these individuals can use technology that would otherwise be unavailable to them. Because the handicapped often experience limited access to the world outside their homes, these computers have opened windows to the world for many.

Volunteers are people who serve their community by investing their time to make it a better place. All of us are lucky to be part of a county that includes dedicated individuals willing to go the extra mile for those in need of help and protection.

We join Gov. Mike Easley in saluting our volunteer emergency personnel, the Good Samaritan Clinic and Howard and Janet Papke.

Thank you all for caring.

Taylor should not be above the law

During three days of testimony, former local car dealer Chig Cagle and Blue Ridge Savings President Hayes Martin chronicled Jones's role in the fraudulent bank loans Cagle obtained in an attempt to get out of debt.

Blue Ridge is owned by U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor, a Transylvania County republican. Cagle is a former Jackson County Republican Party chairman and frequent contributor to Taylor's campaigns.

Both Cagle and Martin have already pleaded guilty and gave testimony against Jones as part of their plea arrangement. While it is apparently true that Jones aided his longtime client in securing the funds, in reality he was a bit player in this drama, not the "linchpin" of the conspiracy as prosecutors claimed.

Jones prepared documents containing signatures he knew to be forgeries. But the signatures Cagle forged should not, in themselves, have qualified him for the loans.

Martin, the bank president, testified that Taylor was aware of all the loans and that he took special interest in Cagle's situation. Convicting Jones without also bringing charges against Taylor just doesn't seem right.

It was Taylor's bank that allowed Cagle to borrow more than the allowed limit, and Taylor's lawyer who introduced Cagle to the bank president who then authorized one large loan and helped Cagle illegally obtain others. When Cagle needed still more money, the bank president helped him refinance a loan he had obtained by forging the signatures of his daughter and her husband.

And Taylor, according to the testimony of Martin and Cagle, knew all about it.

All the conspirators, no matter how well-placed politically, should be treated equally before the law.

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