In a separate but related story, Joe Sam Queen and three other former Democratic state senators are suing their Republican opponents in the midterm elections for alleged violations of state campaign finance laws.

According to the lawsuit filed on behalf of Queen, Sen. Ralph Hise (R-Spruce Pines) failed to claim hundreds of thousands of dollars on at least one campaign report. Either that or he lied when he said he paid for a series of television attack ads against the Queen campaign. The money which was used to pay for the ads came from the state Republican Party, but those ads identified Hise’s political campaign committee as having paid for the ads.

Commissioners represent county’s interests at National Association of Counties DC Conference

Only two counties from western North Carolina were represented at this year's annual Legislative Conference of the National Association of Counties (NACo) held March 5 through 9 in Washington, D.C.: Buncombe and Macon.

Macon County commissioners Ronnie Beale and Bob Kuppers, as well as county manager Jack Horton, all attended the conference which Horton called “very educational and useful.” According to Horton, the conference is an excellent opportunity for county governments to learn and advocate about federal legislative issues which directly impact local governments.

Over 2,000 elected and appointed county officials from across the country attended the conference this year. Members of Congress and key officials addressed attendees during general session presentations.

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State Transportation Secretary Gene Conti announced the appointment of Becky Wallace as director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. Wallace assumed her new position on March 14.

“Becky is a recognized leader in law enforcement and a dedicated public servant,” Conti said. “Her firsthand knowledge, experience and coalition-building skills will benefit our partnerships across the state, and help us make traveling in North Carolina even safer.”

As director of GHSP, Wallace will oversee the daily operations of the organization to carry out its mission to promote highway safety awareness and reduce the number of traffic crashes and fatalities in the state.

North Carolina lawmakers will not be considering laws that would amend the legal age of adult criminal responsibility to 18 this year. So far, no bill on the matter has been introduced this legislative session, and it is likely no bill will be passed, say officials, as budget cuts in Raleigh are paramount for many legislators.

Currently, any person 16 years of age or older who has committed a crime of any kind is charged as an adult in North Carolina courts. Eleven states have set the age at 17, while the other 37 states have set the age of adulthood at 18. New York is the only other state to try 16- and 17-year-olds as adults for criminal matters.

Bills pushing for the age change have died in finance committees in the last two sessions, due to the high price tag that would come with them. Adding 16- and 17-year-olds to the cases handled by the juvenile justice system would require more case workers and funding. “In this budget year, it just doesn’t seem likely that that will happen,” said Chuck Mallonee, Chief Juvenile Court Counselor of the seven westernmost counties of N.C. Mallonee is in favor of increasing the age of adulthood.