Projected DHHS unspent funds will pay for enrollment spots

Last week, Gov. Bev Perdue issued Executive Order No. 128 authorizing the expansion of the NC Pre-K program to serve up to 6,300 additional children by Jan. 1, 2013. An estimated 1,000 of those children can begin being served immediately in Pre-K classrooms across the state.

On Aug. 21, the North Carolina Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed a lower court ruling mandating that the State not deny any eligible “at-risk” four-year-olds admission to the North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten program.

New law brings new plates by December 31

The N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles has introduced new permanent plates and a new process for their issuance. A new law passed by the General Assembly requires all currentlyissued permanent plates to be cancelled and re-issued under new eligibility rules by Dec. 31, 2012.

Vehicle owners, depending on their eligibility for permanent plates, must purchase either replacement permanent plates or standard “First in Flight” plates by the December deadline. New orange and black plates will replace the current silver and black permanent plates. Beginning Oct. 15, DMV will no longer issue silver and black plates. A one-time $6 fee is required for permanent plates; standard registration plates cost $28-$33.

North Carolinians turned in approximately 8.5 million doses of old prescription and over-the-counter drugs during Operation Medicine Drop events on Sept. 29, according to Attorney General Roy Cooper. That beats the previous record of approximately 7.7 million doses collected during a week of drug take back events held in March.

More than 150 prescription drug take-back events were held in 60 counties by 98 agencies across North Carolina last month.

Among the 11,000 pounds of drugs collected were painkillers such as Hydrocodone, Oxycontin and Fentanyl, all of which can be highly addictive and even deadly if abused.

The SBI gathered the drugs collected by local law enforcement and delivered them to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved incinerator in Alamance County for safe destruction.

North Carolina Speaker of the House Thom Tillis stopped in Macon County last Friday for a roundtable discussion to listen to community leaders concerning tax reform, education policies, and economic growth in Western North Carolina.

Friday's visit marked the second time Tillis has visited Macon County. Tillis is also the first Speaker of the House to visit Macon County while in office. Roger West, the House of Representative for the 120th District introduced the speaker. “Thom worked his way up through the ranks and first got elected to Speaker in 2011 and led us through some pretty tough times in the House,” said West. “Thom worked well with a lot of the conservative Democrats and got a lot of legislation passed. I can't think of anyone better to lead the House.”