It’s on the agenda for the board’s 6 p.m. Monday meeting.
The resolution would establish the North West Moore district along lines similar to those taken to establish the East Moore Water District three years ago. The county plans to apply to USDA-RD for a grant and a low-interest loan to get started on the district.
HEARINGS — Two public hearings are also on the Monday agenda.
One will be held to consider a text amendment to the county zoning ordinance, a change requested by a group of Woodlake property owners.
The other hearing will cover a proposed local funding match for a One North Carolina Fund application.
Other agenda items include the 2002 tax settlement by Tax Administrator Eddie Parris and a series of appointments to boards, committees and counsels, including the social services and planning boards and the jury commission.
Meetings are held in the historic courthouse in downtown Carthage and are open to the public.
COBEY — Bill Cobey, chairman of the state Republican Party, may soon join the pack of GOP contenders for the gubernatorial nomination.
Cobey has issued a news release reporting that he is considering a run for the office and promising to make his decision known soon.
The field of Republican candidates hoping to unseat Democratic Gov. Mike Easley is crowded. George W. Little of Southern Pines was the first to announce his candidacy in early spring. Other contenders include Senate Republican Leader Patrick Ballantine of Wilmington and former Charlotte Mayor Richard Vinroot.
Cobey, 65, is a former athletic director for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has also served in Congress and in the cabinet of former Gov. Jim Martin.
TOBACCO BAN — The North Carolina General Assembly has passed a bill banning the use of tobacco products in public school buildings during school hours.
State Sen. Bill Purcell, a pediatrician from Laurinburg, introduced the bill, which is described as more symbolic than anything else, because tobacco is already banned in all public school districts.
“It doesn’t do a whole lot of new things, but it does make a statement that the state is concerned about North Carolina students’ smoking, and we want to really emphasize this,” Purcell said.
CITIZENSHIP — U.S. Sen. John Edwards went to bat for an autistic Cary teen who was denied citizenship because of his physical inability to recite the oath of allegiance.
“A physical disability should not stand in the way of someone’s dream to become an American citizen,” Edwards said in a news release.
Jeffrey Chai-Seong’s parents and two brothers became citizens in a June 6 ceremony in Charlotte. However, officials did not allow Jeffrey to participate because he could not recite the oath.
An anti-discrimination law passed in 2000 allows people with disabilities to become citizens without saying the oath. Edwards’ office reported that local officials apparently never received instructions on how to implement the new law and thus the Charlotte immigration people were unable to administer the oath to Jeffrey.
Jeffrey’s family contacted Edwards’ office, and he asked the Citizenship and Immigration Bureau to resolve the situation. The bureau responded by quickly drafting instructions and sending them to field offices on June 30.
Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Jeffrey’s parents met, married and had three children in Toronto before moving to the Triangle in 1995.
Edwards has established five offices in North Carolina where caseworkers help people to cut through federal bureaucracy and red tape.
