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Kelly McCullen: We asked voters in Central North Carolina, “What's on your mind?”
regarding the issues facing this region as we close out 20-12.
Vancine Sturdivant – Jobs. We really need jobs and we need funds for education. We really
need jobs to come back to Anson County. We were a county of textiles and most of the
companies have closed and we need jobs and we need education. We've got a bounty of young
people but they need to be educated.
Kelly Mc: Vancine Sturdivant is an Anson County Commissioner we met in downtown Wadesboro.
Kelly Mc: Which comes first, the education or the jobs?
Vancine Sturdivant: Education. Education. If we educate them – I was telling a gentleman
the other night. He was talking about somebody has to sweep the floor, and that's true. But,
let it be my choice to sweep the floor or let me get an education where I can own that
floor and I'll sweep it if I want to.
Kelly Mc: Citizens in Central North Carolina's largest area – Raleigh – said the economy
is the top issue.
Kelly Mc: How do you feel about the jobs situation in central North Carolina?
Doris Williford: Well, it's sad, particularly for younger people. We're both retired. There's
just a lot of insecurity because of the jobs situation. It's scary for the parents. It's
scary for the kids. Then the prize is you go out there and work and is my salary going
to be cut? Am I going to lose my home? Various things.
Kelly Mc: Doris and Billy Williford are retired. They aren't worried about THEIR jobs but say
they feel sympathy for younger, working families.
Billy Williford – I just feel sorry for people, you know? Their life is wasting. My
life savings is just staying there. If anything, it's coming down to make ends meet. These
people that don't have the savings is what's hurting in the world, you know, the economy
right now. They don't have it. If you don't have it, you know, you have to lose things,
you know?
Kelly Mc: Billy Williford was working during the last so-called “big” recession during
the late 19-70's and early 19-80's. We asked him to compare that experience with the current
economic tone.
Billy Williford – What you make now, it takes that to live now. By in the Seventies
and Eighties, it seemed like you could save a dollar or two here and there, but it's hard
to do that now for the working people.
Kelly Mc: Lindsay Haynes works to pay her college tuition. She attends Central Carolina
Community College and isn't sure when the degree she's paying for will pay off.
Lindsay Haynes – Longest– For the longest time, I was like, “Oh, I want to be a psychologist.
I want to be a psychiatrist.” Then, people were like, “Okay, what are you going to
do, open your own practice?” because there aren't going to be – all of those jobs that
you want, they're going to go to the people who've spent more, they're more qualified
than I am, because I'm just getting out of college. But, yeah, I'm really worried about
that.
Kelly Mc: Lindsay says she needs an economic upturn so there might be more job openings
available than workers, in her field, to fill them. Add that worry to her college debt load
and she's not optimistic right now.
Lindsay Haynes – The jobs there are now, thinking about how old I am, by the time I'm
done, all the people will have already snatched up all of those jobs and there aren't going
to be more opportunities for me.
Kelly Mc: Do you think things can change so that by the time you're truly done with your
degree, that the economy will be roaring back and you'll have a job or do you think this
is a permanent situation?
Lindsay Haynes – I think that, from what I've seen, I think there's no getting out.
I think that we're slowly going down.
Kelly Mc: Economic issues may be a prevailing concern for the Central North Carolina residents
we met, it wasn't the only issue.
Kelly Mc: Do any other issues even come close in this environment than the economy and jobs
and education?
Vancine Sturdivant: Health. Health. We have a lot of people who can't get their medications
or they may have diabetes and not know, but if they had health insurance, where they could
be regularly checked out, they could find out during the early symptoms.
Kelly Mc: No matter which candidates the local, state and federal elections in 2012, these
will be the issues they'll face if they represent Central North Carolina.