PFAS Progress, Judicial Races, and School Board Candidate Transparency with the Cabinet

Peter Pappas: Well, everybody, good evening and welcome to the Carolina Cabinet. I'm your host, Peter Pappas in studio with the lovely Laura Musler. Hello, hello. Welcome, welcome. And you're okay looking, Mr. Glenn Adams, Mr. Commissioner Glenn Adams, thank you for joining us this evening. Hey, thanks for inviting me. So always gonna be a good time on the cabinet, and you know the cabinet is here to give a voice to the conservatives of Fayetteville Fort Fort Bragg and beyond. And with that, so how's everybody doing? I mean, just keep it simple. I'm good. You're good? Busy day at work. Busy day at work. I gotta go home and make blueberry muffins for tomorrow. We're everybody we're having loaf day where everybody brings some kind of bread. Loaf day. You should have told me. I'd have brought you some some of the blueberries that grow in my backyard. Yeah, had you known. I a lot of Got a green thumb. I like to get out in the yard. You gotta get out in the yard. You put your hand in the dirt and you feel a whole lot better. Okay. Self has been kinda hot though. Yes, another blueberry. Is it I did is it blueberry season? They're finished. You know, everything rolls. So you start with strawberry, mm-hmm and then you come with some blueberries. Now it's kind of peach season. Okay. Yeah. Well that's funny because they took away the peach shake from from God's chicken. Yeah, the Lord's chicken. I had that for lunch today too. I had the s'mores milkshake. Really? It's pretty good. Yeah. Yeah. Not as good as peach was. But didn't fill me up like it did over the weekend with the Greek festival. Good lord. Anyone so I know we you came out there and I had Dee and the Girls and Parent and Cousins and everybody and it's all about family. Did you get to visit? I did not get to go this year. where was I? I was I had like four things. I thought it was slower this year. It was very good. That would have been allowed. You'd have known I was there, Peter. It was interesting. Interesting. yeah. It was so apparently we hit a record number on Saturday. I don't know numbers yet, but I was told everybody's very happy. and it's just hopefully you saw yeah, it's a lot of work. For the community and you saw everybody, they weren't paid employees. Those are all volunteer from our church and our community. and it's a very, very big production now. So congratulations to Leah Hasapis and her co chair, Spiro, a non gonna stop listener. He he kinda w ferrets himself away into the kitchen. He's a kitchen guy. That's all he is. He's gonna be a kitchen guy. He's a kitchen guy and he but he's you know, that's his that's his thing. Leah is the desserts you said you're gonna bring the pot the the I you know, you know how we get desserts. So like Dee wanted to go in line. I said, What what do you want to go in line for? My mom's working back there. Just tell her. Right. We'll just she'll bring us a plate. Right. And she did. So we have a whole plate. They went with Dee and the girls. I do not need them in my house. I but I was very specific that I was there for the dessert. So where's my pastries? There's plenty. Well I have my mother, trust me, d just let Mrs. Pappas know. She's not they cook in abundance. yeah. I know, I saw. This is so this is the first year they ran out of So we ran out of Souflaki, I know on Saturday and Sunday. We did it again and ran out. the desserts, this is the first time they have sold all the desserts. So those ladies got a lot of work to do between now and the spaghetti dinner in November. Greek spaghetti dinner being scrolling and people understand. You know, I my my biggest observation was I was happy to see everybody enjoying life again. That's right. You know, all that new normal crap and all that stuff we've been through, people are just out. And they're looking for things to do and God bless. Well, you know, anytime you got food, it it it mellows people out when they have food. And good food. My my favorite thing was the grilled cheese sandwich thingy. The grilled cheese. The grilled cheese sandwich. you mean I don't know what it was. So you're speaking of Okay. There is spana copata, which is spinach pita. Okay. Spinach and feta. And then your grilled cheese was the tiro pata, which is just the cheese. That was good. Yes. So for everybody watching, Laura is the plain Jane person. Cannot I think if I if we order fried rice for you, it has to be no vegetables. Right. That's you. You know, you're you she's just that kid. That's you that kid. She got away. So and so let's get to tonight's part of the live. The first segment I have here is about PFAS. Now we fortunately have and this isn't even your segment, this is just you're in the room. So yeah. so last week, Let's see, for years, you know, the fight was legal, but did the county really win? I mean, w would there be a trial? The fight is over. The county got 161 and a half million, but that's not the same fight as the one still going in federal court. a judge has already ruled Keymoor's responsible. They trespassed on your property, and in March the jury says die. So that's the jury trial for Keymour's in March. What did the county just settle? Okay, so there are a number of lawsuits with the PFAS. Okay. So the county had ours that we started, golly back actually when Charles Evans actually signed the complaint. So here's what happened. After we ended up finding out there with PFAS, we went into a long, probably too long, but we did negotiations with Camors and thought we were getting toward a settlement. And that's when they did the American Rescue Funds. Okay. And Camores looked us in the face and basically said, Go use your money from that. We're not giving you anything. no. And so that's when we said, okay, that's fine. And we sued them. and so that's the lawsuit that we actually concluded last week. so in that lawsuit, so the state had a lawsuit also, but the reason most of this settled for all of those small cities, Bladen County, Robinson County, all the way down to Brunswick and all of that, is because we actually were in court. we were supposed to have a trial last Tuesday. Last Tuesday. the judge had already ruled. and so we were looking at some damages and some other things. So one of the things that we had to worry about, and one of the reasons kind of pushed us to this settlement a little bit, is that when they were in West Virginia and when they were actually got here, it wasn't Camores, it was DuPont and all of that, and their subsidiary, and they went bankrupt and then they started Camors. So if you go bankrupt, you don't get any money. So in this lawsuit, though, that we settled with Camors, we've got in the settlement, it was 161 million. But that if Camores goes bankrupt, that DuPont, which is a huge corporation, along with Cervetus, will pick up for that default. Okay. And so we will get our money. It's like a year period of We got an insurance policy against the collection almost, is what it feels like. So there was also a federal lawsuit that settled About a couple of weeks before ours, that's the one that Mike Wardis went up to Raleigh. He says, I'm going to look at the trial and he got there and found out it had been settled. But they haven't released any of the settlement terms. So we don't know what that was. That was like But what was that lawsuit about? Okay. So those were individuals in the Grays Creek and the Cedar Creek area that sued for their injuries from the PFAS. Okay. So they settled that. That was a whole separate lawsuit that they had. Okay. So there's a lot of and that's I think that's the problem of trying to just you you try to put this all on the plate. It's like look, you've got the federal government, you've got the state, you have this thing now with the county, it looks like because they damaged our natural resource. Right. We had to go through ours was always a health concern. and that's what the lawsuit was based on is the health of that community. So that's what ours was based on. So what happens with the money? What what is the county going to do with all that money? Are they going to hook up the people that are there to the the city water or what are they going to do or are they just going to stick it in the general fund and spend it on God knows what? Well it would be actually and and we're talking about that. I'm of the equation that this money was for the PFAS contamination area, which is basically Cedar Creek, Grace Creek. And that's where that money should be used for. Okay. Specifically what? well, to run water, however way we run water to those individuals and to be able to hook up to the water system. Without a cost to them. Well, hopefully without a cost to them. As always a cost down the road. But here's the problem. Okay, here's the the big problem. Is that we're looking right now at wells, deep water wells, to be able to run the lines out to Gray's Creek. Okay, to be able to get it out there. One of the problems with Grays Creek and Cedar Creek is the density. So PWC is an enterprise fund. All right. They gotta make money. And basically it's not enough people out there for them to run their lines to to be able to flush it, to run it through there, to be able to get that. So even when you remember Amy Annie McCann was our A C at that time. She was our county manager and we had done a system For the county to build it out and then give it to PwC. and that they would because the county doesn't want to be in really in the water business. I mean, that's a business business. We've got a couple of districts now that's probably driving us crazy. and that's what they do for that's what they do. but it's our intent, or at least my intent, that these folk who were harmed by this, they shouldn't have to pay. And that was one of the reasons we were talking about they are gonna pay. See, when you hook up to P W C we went from well water that we don't pay for. Right. To now we're gonna have a water bill every month. So we were gonna pay. And then they wanted us originally to pay like thirty thousand dollars. I'm like, yeah. See that's that's where the point of contention is. Okay even if the municipality lays in the lines, Laura or Peter would still have to pay to get it from wherever the tap to our house. It would it would it would be my belief with a hundred and sixty one million dollars Okay, 'cause let me tell you what I think on the hundred and sixty. When you ask this question, Laura, you can't spend and it's over eight years. So the first year's forty million, about forty one million, forty one million, forty one million. You can't spend forty million in a year. Okay? I could. No, I'm just joking. I thought it was a conservative talk radio. Hydrolet around this one. Yeah. Yeah. Hydraulic. But think about think about this. This is what I told my bo our board the other day. Y'all remember the tobacco fund when they had the big lawsuit with the tobacco fund and every state got all of this money. You know, there's only two states now that still have tobacco money. And this other state and North Carolina. North Carolina put theirs in the Golden Leaf, right? And invested it so they could pay out. So if you get $40 million, you have to look at the the Golden Leaf model to be able to invest this money that you don't lose it. That's that's our commissioner, excuse me. tell us about that. Well, you know, Golden Leaf was when there was a federal lawsuit against the tobacco industry. Right. it settled all across the country, and every state got money from the tobacco fund to be able to do that. So in the wisdom of North Carolina, even they don't always have this smart move, but this time they did. They created what they call Golden Leaf, which is a a corporation or organization, not a nonprofit kind of deal, to be able to use those tobacco funds in the rural area. to be able to do infrastructure, to be able to do some of the rules. Not necessarily to get kids to quit smoking. It was other things. It was other things. And they even do scholarships like that was what the idea of the tobacco money was supposed to come for smoking cessation and stuff like that. And I think they do a little bit of that, but they've used these funds over this long period of time to be able to invest into those kids and all of that in especially in rural North Carolina, 'cause that's where the tobacco was done. And so I think these funds you don't want to invest anything you lose, but forty million dollars goes a long way and then another forty million, another forty million. I mean you say that, but see now you and I were both at the same school announcement back in Grace Creek about two years ago when we announced putting the lines down there. Now it took two years and twelve million dollars for two and a half miles or so. No no what I'm saying it's not that forty million is is a lot of money, but you can't you spend that forty million. How long it took two years to get that twelve million. So if you take forty million for two years, and then that means you got eighty million, because that's the second year, think about what you can make off of that to be able to do this. You can't do it all at one time. This build out, this is the it's always the problem is that some of those folk may not even see the end of this because of the fact of how long it's gonna take to run those lines out there. True. It's it's Well, it's already been what, twenty years. yeah. No. It wasn't really discovered 'cause it was fifteens, right? Right. Because well I came on in fourteen so somewhere around the sixteen. Yeah. Well that's when I think Wilmington first said, Hey, we got something wrong and then we all started looking up river. Right. and you know, one of the things that is that they're not the only ones polluting the river. There's a corporation above Greensboro that dumps into the river all the time. and they DEQ or slap them on the wrist, they'll stop for a minute and then they'll do it again. So we've forever gotta be vigilant about the Cape Fear River. We really do. Absolutely. Well, so to my understanding, municipal water for the county, we're looking at like a half a billion. Is that not more appropriate? You're talking about for the whole county? you were because I think aren't didn't you all separate the county into districts for to attack different problems in different parts of the county? Have you have y'all done that? much yet. Okay, so so you know we got a couple of water districts already. Yes. Okay, we've got a couple. we're when then we created one down in Grace Creek, 'cause you gotta have a water district. And we're in the process of creating one over in Grace Creek. Okay. But you know the top part of I guess the northeast part, Garwin and and East Over and all those, they get their water from Dunn. Yeah. Same deal as Spring Lake, Summer Spring Lake gets some of their money water from Done, but they also get some from PWC. The lower part of Cumlin County gets some water from Bladen County down near Beaverdam and those. And then another part gets it from Robinson County. So just because county doesn't mean you don't have any kind of water. Like there is there are municipal water supplies in our county and not necessarily from PWC. Not all from PWC. you know, when I got on the board, it was so funny because they at one point the county had gone out to Grace Creek. about running water out there and they got ran out. Yeah, eighties or nineties because they didn't want their water. Well, they didn't want to be annexed by the city of Fairville to be able to get PwC water, so they ran them out and said we'll stick with our will. And there's still some people who want their wells. They they don't want to Well I w I wanna I want my well water but I just can't have it. Well you can have it you'll just get sick if you can No, but you know what? H here's the here's the thing that nobody asked though. You probably don't have a deep water well. Right? probably not. Probably not. Most people don't have a deep water well. Most people are not down into the aquifer. If you get into the aquifer, you may not have PFAS water. So you may want to say, Hey, okay. I don't want to be on that too. But what I'm saying is the county settled this. What happens if you say, Just dig me a w a well down to the aquifer and I'm happy? There is a fly that hurts. It's like a horse fly or something. you're so sweet. And and but you know, the and that's the whole thing. Most people are drinking surface water. That's why you got the PFAS because these are not deep water wells. But if you go down into the aquifer, not necessarily you have PFAS water. Okay. That's true. I've heard that. I just I don't know. I think first starting Start knows what's in there and then we can dig deeper. But still we have to get them to stop polluting up top. D EQ has to do their job. Yeah. that was kind of you know, a little slap on the wrist back then and Even when we were talking and attorney general came down, are you gonna hold their feet to the fire? Because they still have to even though we settled this, it's gonna be years before some of these folk get water. So are you gonna continue to make Kamores do what's in that consent agreement to be able to provide that water to those residents and those citizens? Well, we're looking at we're looking at you, kid. You're the elected, so you're the ones supposed to be going after. Well, we gotta hold their feet to the fire. So we're gonna switch now. so in March, there was a sheriff's deputy, Adam Bean, was shot to death. this week, a highway patrol sergeant was indicted for his murder. Now, this wasn't a snap decision. The grand jury looked at first degree murder back in August, a full month before the indictment actually came down. The responsible question isn't what's in years of text messages. It's why did this take as long as it did and whether either either agency's closeness to the case slowed it down? I I would tell you, let me go up, put my attorney hat on a little bit. The system moves slowly. It really does. And because it happened in Cumlin County, it would have fallen up under Billy West. And Billy West basically, because of all the people that's involved, decided to bring in, I think it's they've probably got the conference on DAs. that came in and saw it. Brought in an alternative. Which means, yeah, somebody that's not from this county who then had to go in and reconfigure, do it from the beginning. So, you know, that takes time. And so that's where some of the delay is. But I think families are grieving on both sides of it. That's right. this is a bad situation. The most important new fact here isn't the relationship history. It's that there was a deleted screenshot from the day of the shooting and it's reportedly part of the evidence. So we can state that plainly without turning the rest of it into entertainment. Yeah. I mean, we I don't want to dig into the obvious love triangle that was going on there. I mean, look, there's all kinds of allegations floating around out there. You know, the the state troop the state trooper that shot him was de I think the lady was a affiliated sheriff's deputy or something. I mean, they're all law enforcement people. Okay. So for the public, I think there's always that perception that, well, the blue backs the blue and they always looking out for each other. And that's why this took so long, because if he was some Joe Blow off the street, Easter Boulevard, we would have done had him in handcuffs. But he was just on administrative leave, which means we were paying this guy. Nice. To sit and wait. I he's still on administrative leave. And I think he's still on administrative leave. Yeah. You can do it with pay or without pay. Okay. If you do it without pay though, that puts into effect that you gotta start termination and and separation. If you do it with pay, it stops that that that process from going forth. And that's probably why until all of that evidence comes out or whatever from the highway patrol they probably just put him on administrative leave to the end of the of that was referenced in City View I believe that they were the the Highway Patrol hadn't done their investigation to determine about the administrative leave. But I I just look, at the certain point this is not a trooper that shot a deputy. This is a guy that shot another guy over a woman, whatever happened. So he should be treated like a guy that shot another guy. I agreed. It doesn't matter if he wore the badge or not. I that but that's not the way that it works. And it's certainly not the way it appears. And that the perception there is doing favors. Well, even though and the first thing but see, Commissioner, the first thing you said was d district attorney Billy West had to recuse himself to get up out of it because he he basically he doesn't run those agencies, but they definitely interface a lot. Yeah, well, you know, the state trooper's gonna be in there and his his DAs are trying cases with him. The sheriff's department is bringing over their f felony files in every day. And so, you know, you gotta interra you got interaction with all of these folk. Right. I I think it was the right call for him to make, to be able to do that and get a the you know, independent party in here to be able to do that. when it comes to what he did now, I agree with the district attorney's decision. I just you know, 'cause you can't you can't have your own guys trying your own people. That's right. You just can't do that. That's not a great idea. So Onward and upward here. So let's go to the school board. Okay. state law made so this year your child can leave school for an hour a week for church, but not for anything else. The board just voted eight to zero to allow it, and one of the people who publicly questioned it beforehand is running for reelection in the same race as tonight's guest. We have another guest for the school board later. okay. I'm about to say it but we're not running for school board. No, we're not demoting you. So demote here's the thing about that though. First of all, state law made it mandatory anyway. Cumberland County's real decision was one hour versus four. but the wrinkle to me, the board member who publicly asked whether this was planting a seed toward more religion in public schools, this is the only incumbent running for reelection in the 16 candidate field airing on this show, which we try to get a hold of everybody. I just think people need to know that you've got an incumbent that maybe has a problem with kids going to prayer for an hour. I think that's insane. But what does that actually look like for a ten-year-old when half of the friends leave to go to group religious instruction and he stays in class? Does that's gonna start alienating people? Well what was that guy from Homeland Security said we can send them out together? Then he needs to have a craftier parent, I guess. Which but here's here's the issue I have. And this is we all have to understand that everything rolls down a river, right? And so When the state makes a law, you've got to abide by the law. I mean, they do some things that I don't agree with, but because county commissioners are creation creation of the state, when they say you're gonna do this, I mean you don't really have a choice. Right. I mean, it you you can you can enlarge what they do, but you can't shrink what they do. So if the law is this is the law, then you gotta abide by the law. And then you have to basically what you're trying to do. It's make sure that it's done equally and fairly to everybody. So it's the law four hours or is so I guess they agree. I think it's one hour. Yeah. Okay, one hour. Which it allows the kids to I I don't know. I I nobody's coming on campus to teach religion. That's what I think a lot of people need to understand. We're not bringing pastors on to school campuses. We're letting the kids be checked out early or go to church activity. So I I don't I don't I I never got worked up over this very much, but the thing about it is you know, just having somebody she votes for it, but then but is this gonna bring religion? It's like w first of all, what the hell are you afraid of? Number two, I think we could use a little more of that. I do think we could use a little more religion in school. However, this is bringing religion in school. What if it was one hour to go to mosque? Would they have as big would they say anything about it? Or is it just because generally you're talking about kids going to a Christian thing? But Because I just there's a lot of not Islamophobia but Christianophobia. Right. But but you know, it's our it doesn't tell you what which which religion. But here's what happens. Sometimes we're scared of things we don't know. Mm-hmm. What we don't understand. There's nothing to be afraid of with God. Well, you know, but you know, everybody has a different religion as to how how they do it. I mean, and so that's what scares people, you know. Well, it's not opening the see, I don't think it's gonna end up like in Texas, we're gonna put Ten Commandments in the school hall. Why not? We should. Dude, look, stop because then you you you are doing We should have the Ten Commandments now. You know, I I I believe we should have religious history and we need to teach everybody how this stuff developed and then they'll learn about certain religions that they're not really religions, like you know The whole guy Adam Smith and the whole gold. Did you not see the South Park on that? Yeah, just in the gold plates that nobody else could see? Yeah, come on. when you got South Park doing an episode on your whole religion and the the this the song is dum dum dum dum dum the whole way. Anyway, all right. I'm twelve years old and let's get off the school board. let's get to our But you know what? It it it you talk about school board, even though you talk about that. It's a lot of people running for school board. Way too many people. I mean, it's a lot of people. Some of them I've never heard of. three or four of them don't even have phone number or email address with the Board of Elections. So are they running just I thought we had to have that. You needed to. I thought so. I don't think you can hide it if you're running for Besides that, why would you? Right. You want everybody to be they could t contact you and talk about whatever it is. I mean, you know we've been routinely We listen, I've done a lot of outreach with them. you probably saw a bunch of emails from me. I I've you I browbeat everybody to come on, you know. But you want to browbeat me out to come on. I that. That's a fine thing. But the thing is, you know, we want to hear from these guys. Right. Because they're sixteen for crying out loud. I mean, I only know three or four that are running just because I know they've run before or maybe they ran for a different office and they just they seem familiar. But here's what I ask you though, because I don't know. And I just sometimes I don't know. I guess I should ask. Is it who had the three highest vote givers or do you have to get a certain percentage? No, three highest It's just the highest three highest vote gives. It's like a primary and a general had a baby. Right. That's I it's that's one of the few that doesn't have to do that then, because everybody else has to get a certain percentage, otherwise you go into a runoff. I don't know whose area of expertise that would be, but I with this kind of field of people. Now Mr. Hatch did say that that's routine for the at-large seats, though. He said in other elections it has been that wide of a field, and he's looked into it more than I have obviously. Obviously, but but so maybe we're accustomed to just having a big large field. But that's maybe so I don't feel like anybody can make an informed decision. It just walking into a ballot box and you got sixteen and it says pick three. Right. What are you doing? That's a lot. Yeah. I don't pick three. I pick the one that I know. Yeah. But you got three seats though. I don't care. Okay. The best way that you can the your the way the strongest way that you can have vote is vote for the one or two that you know. You don't have to vote for three. But I think you do your homework. And then if you do your homework and The problem is though if you can't call them, that you know, the you're not gonna be to ask them any questions. So they're out already. So that narrows your feel down. But I do think that you we should do the homework as to why you're running, what you're running for, and what are you trying to do. you know, we've had people in the past who ran one to get rid of a superintendent. You remember that? yeah. so people run for different reasons, but I would wanna know why you're running? That's the very first question. And they're not coming on here. Or anywhere to tell you that's a issue. So if you're not willing to talk before the election, I'm definitely not going to I mean, who likes their cell phone company or their utility, their kind of commissioner, their mayor, their whatever you know, everybody's pissed off and it's like I'm gonna and but I I do applaud them for putting their name on a ballot. I appreciate that because I know that can be a stressful proposition, but I don't respect that. We wanna know But not if you're not doing anything. I was gonna say there's people that put their name on the ballot and then don't do anything. I don't respect that. Yeah, you just put I mean then you kept somebody else out of the race who might have gotten to the race. You're wasting people's votes because they don't know and they're just gonna check off just because I like the way that name sounds and you could affect somebody. Let me rephrase. I appreciate they did it if they do something right there. but because that's stressful. I mean that's that's a lot of commitment. Now running is more than a notion. It is. That is that is true. That's a good way to put it. Commissioner, I like that. So time for rapid fire. Okay. You ready? So yeah, we're we're already there because then we gotta get to Miss Commissioner Adams segment. It should be Hey, I did all the organization. I know. Segment one. The more organized I get, the less I feel. Hey, well I swear. So how's business? It's going good. Yeah. Yeah. You know, the the the I'm an attorney, I'm I'm an attorney in in real life. Yeah. And thank goodness the police chief has decided if you break the law we're gonna arrest you. my goodness. And so when that happens, when that happens, all the attorneys are happy. It's about hell. One man's pain is another man's game. Nice. and I take it you're a defense attorney. Is that what you're saying? That's exactly right. All right, all right. A rapid fire. Let's get to it. So first story, local, steel fabs, they bet $19 million on Fayetteville. North Carolina Commerce confirms that the expansion will add 38 jobs, averaging $70,106, which is 50% above the county average, backed by a $125,000 one NC grant. So that's coming from the state. Okay. they say and now they say seventy per job? Seventy thousand one hundred and six dollars per job, which is basically fifty percent above our see, and this is where is it the average or the median? Well see, here's here's the thing. That's why I was asking you, is that per job? Because if the CEO makes five million dollars and then everybody else is making fifteen thousand, you know, every time they come into a Republican here, quit that. When they come No, no, seriously. When they come in, when these companies come in, I asked the question, you know, is it average? Because average doesn't get me there. Because like I said, if the CEO is making all of this and everybody else is down at the bottom. So that's why I always ask, well, what is it? Is it per job or is it a average? And so So I would be glad to you my source on this, but I do have to note that there is thirty eight jobs with seventy thousand dollars average. So Well, I'm pretty sure because Robert Van Giens knows that and and we rotate off in terms of the economic development part. But you know he then that wasn't one that came to us because I guess they did that with North Carolina. Yeah. But I've always we always asked the question that and I think Robert knows that. So I think he's Well, if they move here, it does. A little bit, but what I would like to see is a a a minimum amount of people that that we're gonna if they're not up to par to train them to become up to par so that we can the peop take care of the people that are here. Usually when these companies come, they really do do a lot with Fev. Okay. and they they basically they have these grants and Favo Tech's and it's all over the community college system is one of the best. So when the company comes and says, This is what we're looking for Can you train them? Because it takes them a little while to build whatever they're gonna build. And by the time it's built, we can train them. But I understand what you talking We gotta get out of tier one. We gotta be graduating kids that can freaking read because you don't have nothing to train at Fable Tech if they can't read. All righty, but you know that's the Tier one has so many other It deals with your tax thing, it deals with your your median income. There's so many interconnected pieces, is what I'm saying. It's like we want these jobs. We need these jobs. But how the hell are we gonna get It's like the chicken and the egg. We gotta have better schools. Well, we need industry. Well, we need industry, they need better schools. It it's for more than So let's change the subject and say that the council pulls the parking vote that they have city council delayed a vote. On a six hundred and seventy eight thousand three hundred and six dollar downtown parking contract at a September ninth work session. No new date has been sent and while trying to close a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar deficit, it created itself in June. So the shouldn't they the city should not have cut funds in the first place. But, you know, they're positive. I agree. I mean there It's got a big hole. It's had a big hole ever since they in introduced it. It's been losing money ever isn't your office on Pon Pay Street. I see it every day. Do you have to pay for parking? Or no, because I'm in PWC, in the building, we've got spaces through PWC. Okay. The problem is though, it it's I don't know how they solve it. If you don't have some paid parking. People come and park all day who work down there. And then the people who want to come shop down there have no have no parking. so that's that's a major problem. I sit and watch it every day in terms of the parking, because I basically can see most of where AC. You watch Mr. Yellow shirt going up and down the street. I watch him go up and down the street. and but you know, most people pay. It's a dollar an hour. the first hour in the parking deck is free. I don't think they tell people that enough. If people knew that and they can walk right through The P W C building on Hay Street. Wow. it's a dollar an hour in the f and over there it's the first hour's free. And most people only be they're coming downtown to eat. Yeah. That's what they're coming down there for. Well, I don't think the fees have ever been really the problem. It's just if it's costing us, costing us six hundred thousand payers. You we lose a quarter of a million, why are we doing it? And I'm sorry, but Fayetteville, North Carolina, y'all can use some walking. Well everybody wants to be at the front door here. That just isn't that's not that's not real life. Well, you're talking about the downtown event center? We got two more. So let's see. well we told you last month that the sixty day deadline on Cumberland's nine one one consolidation had arrived. The task force still hasn't signed an interlocal agreement and meets again September sixteenth. Correct? That's correct. Okay. Well We're still watching it, aren't we? Yes, we are. Well, it's the same nine member board on paper, so still no signature. All righty. Well, four judicial races officially set. The State Board of Elections Office Judicial Voter Guide confirms all four Republicans versus Democrat appellate matchup. Stevens Earls, Bern Arrowwood, Bell Hampson, and Collins Wall I Walchick. Walchick. I gonna say I know to say that. Judges should read the law, not make policy from the bench. Judicial independence and civil right protections are what's on the ballot. So I've spoken to Mr. Hampson. His Judge Hampson, his episode went on I think Saturday or Sunday it came out. and we do have Justice Earl's coming on. I got to actually What about Michael Byrne? Byrne is scheduled. a lot of these all a lot of these folks have, but you know, the judges make the worst guess. Because they're very boring. Well they don't say anything. No, they're boring. They can't because I I ta I kept joking with Judge Hampson. I'm like, look, this isn't a Senate confirmation hearing. I'm not going to ask you how you'd vote on the Roe v and No, but maybe we could do a little personality and you know some background type stuff. Watch watch Judge Hampson. He he had he had a good episode, I feel like. Okay. He was down-to-earth guy, seemed like. So yeah, he's a Democrat, but you know, he's all right. Everybody's gotta have a flaw. Lord. Lord. I got a flaw over here. Yeah, we gotta be old flaw. So the last thing I want to bring up, because we've discussed this before on some other shows, Representative Richard Hudson's bill to transfer twenty acres of Fort Bragg to North Carolina for a new state veterans' home is replacing the one that closed in twenty twenty four, but that's still in committee with no vote yet. So I guess no news is not bad news here. that's true. Because we have spoken to Senator McGuinness and I know it's an effort to get this thing. I think they decided to renovate what they had. I think the state did. I think the state veterans home. And that's what they're gonna put money towards because it was gonna be a ridiculous amount and like ten years or five years to rebuild one. So anyway. Well, everybody, that is the live block. Here's what's behind the door. Two more names on Cumberland's ballot. Sit down with us tonight, back to back. A sitting county commissioner defending his seat unopposed, and a school board challenger making his case in the county's biggest local race. I'm gonna tell them both. To their face where I think they're wrong. Then I'm gonna shut up and let them answer because that's what this show is for. It's free, it takes four seconds. Like the page, follow us on Facebook, subscribe on YouTube, newsletters at the website, doors are open, see you there.