North Carolina Now; North Carolina Now Episode from 08/01/1995

It's Tuesday August 1st. Tonight forging new links between police and communities in North Carolina now. Good evening I'm Robin media Thanks for joining us this Tuesday evening. We have another great edition of North Carolina now planned for you tonight. We'll have a report from Charlotte on a program that's helping some neighborhoods see police officers as friends instead of foes. From the Queen City to the coast we'll be talking with the linguistics expert who's trying to

save the unique language of some residents of the Outer Banks. And if you're planning to travel through Raleigh Billy Barnes says Be sure to bring your appetite. He'll take us to the Farmer's Market Restaurant for some true country cuisine. But first increased cooperation between cops and communities. It's National Night Out tonight and across the state neighborhoods will be holding special events to increase knowledge of crime prevention. Many cities are also trying different approaches when it comes to law enforcement. In Charlotte a program called Community policing is aimed at putting police officers in closer contact with the people they serve. And as Kathy Merritt reports it seems to be working. Before we would ride through a community it would just be just that you drive through and you'd see places the police officers become a habit and a regular part of the school. It's not a surprise any longer to have a police officer come in in uniform or out of uniform. Just tell it like it is. You know exactly what I found online and you know they say there's a Dr.

house next to it out there tell our you know if they know the person then they would even tell a person they may even tell the address and community policing is changing the way Charlotte think about law enforcement. It's the 90s version of the cop on the beat. Now when a patrol car pulls up in a neighborhood like this doesn't necessarily mean trouble could just be a visit from a police officer. The community policing is more than that. It's about coordinating resources helping community organizations and attacking the causes of crime. Let me you're free to come and get it done. You know anybody you know. Yeah that is right. Yes and so it is developing partnerships with the community and having working together with the community to solve problems that affect quality of life. And that's the bottom line for us the bottom line is to improve quality of life within our communities neighborhood by neighborhood. But he values the CSA. I help them get flyers made up. I would put

that door to door just chillin out. How do you 8 year old Abby Goodson has been a community police coordinator in Charlotte's Hidden Valley neighborhood for the past year. The kids see me now they say they don't thank all the high here she comes down take some I guess jail the kids you know I like that comes out savvy one way she's got it for us today. You know something that I have to run back to back. It's hard to be trying to grant this. So I just feel like this and I just read that Abby is part of the community are on call 24 hours a day. She makes regular visits to schools and daycares and she seems to know everybody. Is this your mama live off of and she works at a daycare. Oh she does care Nancy. Oh yes the 17th three 12 is with me capital so we'll take that for those two units. So when you go out into the market she went through so she went to an errand

before Abby came into the community. You didn't know when you call nine one of on a person who was coming out whether they would take you seriously or not. And at a company just the opposite. Abby's enthusiasm and openness have encouraged the Hidden Valley residents to hold together the leaders of the community. They know where to find her you know if she if they beat her if she's you know in their crowd which she didn't call my back in time exactly where she is which is you with me here. Yes in 1993 there were five homicides in Hidden Valley in 1904. There was one overall violent crime is diminishing but reporting of other offenses is up. That's normal though when community policing comes into a neighborhood the residents begin to trust the officers more and that means they call on the more for help.

We're on our way out to the Bel-Air hole Taylor tail that's just located 60 300 block on the trial and we've been trying to work with management out there Abbi knows the Bellaire. She's been here often to answer calls of violence and suspected drug dealing with this is not a bust. She's taking a more creative approach calling in the fire marshal and the building inspector there trying to find ways to close down the hotel or make the owner clean it up. Haven't found everything that I want to find where I so I like to have some coke or even some marijuana. But as far as code violations found so many code violations this is and I've been there like the inspector had to stop and give some more forms that fill out these gathering information every day. I don't values trouble spots laying the foundation for a safer community affair much better than when I used to just come to work and write tickets and answer calls and go home because I really don't feel like I was doing too much stuff or felt like I was actually

a problem in this sense until I became a community place else and now what can you replace and feel like I'm helping people. So I do feel good I can respect and I know generally OK. Officer Goodson is just one of 900 coordinators assigned in Charlotte in the past three years. Federal funding for the project has been supplemented by the city for a five year effort and crime rate reduction in Charlotte it's paying off especially in terms of attitude. There are high hopes in Charlotte's neighborhoods that this is a long term investment that will make a difference. Coming up in a few minutes we'll talk about saving a special part of the Outer Banks Culture. But first let's check in with Michel Louis for today's news weather and business information. Hi Mitch. Hello Robin. Good evening everyone. Governor Hunt is already implementing his Work First program to reform welfare even though it has not received federal approval. Starting today hunt will have AIDS pass out his personal

responsibility contract to welfare recipients. That contract requires them to outline their plans to get off the welfare rolls. But until one gets the federal OK to implement his reform program the contracts have little meaning that approval is not likely to come until Congress acts on its own welfare measure. Local legislators could not agree on welfare reform before they adjourned. They're expected to hold a special session to deal with the matter this fall. There's been another major fish killed in a North Carolina river. Hundreds of thousands of dead catfish bass and carp have been found along the Roanoke River near Hamilton. Officials blame low oxygen levels in the water for the kill nutrients flushed from marshes coupled with the recently reduced water flow from a series of dams may have caused the problem. Both Weyerhaeuser and Purdue have agreed to stop discharging waste until oxygen levels rise. Officials in Virginia have agreed to increase the amount of water flowing out of a dam in Roanoke rabbits for a few days as a way of increasing the amount of oxygen in the river. North

Carolina public schools could lose millions of dollars in federal funding if a bill before Congress gains approval. The bill expected to be voted on today in Washington which set the budgets for the Departments of Labor Health and Human Services and Education. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Bobby Etheridge says proposed spending cuts could cost the state 31 million dollars and colluding eighteen million dollars earmarked for the neediest students. If approved the bill would also decrease money for math and science instruction vocational education and the drug free schools program. Efforts by some Republican state lawmakers to block a Democratic nominee to the State Board of Education appear to have been in vain. Attorney General Mike Easley released an advisory opinion today saying Cathy Taft was confirmed by a joint session of the General Assembly in July. Even though the House vote went against her easily sense that the Constitution requires the votes of the Senate and House to be counted together in which case Taft was confirmed in 91 to 68. No word yet on

whether Republicans plan to take further action to try to keep Taft off the board. President Clinton is coming to the Tar Heel State next week. The White House confirms that the president will speak in Charlotte on Wednesday to the Progressive National Baptist Convention. Clinton aides have not disclosed what subject the president plans to address in his speech to the predominantly black to nomination space will be tight for those hoping to see the president. About 15000 people are expected to be in Charlotte for the convention but the Charlotte convention center seats only 7000. The nation's second oldest poison control center is moving from Durham to Charlotte the Carolinas Medical Center has won the state contract for the center and will begin operations September 1st for the past 41 years the center has been located at Duke Medical Center in Durham. But Duke had requested an additional one hundred seventy five thousand dollars in funding to keep the center operating. Taking a look at tomorrow's weather temperatures will be slightly cooler than today and the mountains highs will range from 79 in the Boone area to the upper

80s in the Asheville region the Piedmont will have highs varying from the upper 80s to the low 90s highs in the coastal region will be in the lower 90s. The forecast statewide calls for partly cloudy conditions with a slight chance of afternoon thunderstorms. In business news a Charlotte business group has a new idea for how to attract filmmakers to the Queen City. The Carolina's partnership stands it will invest $150000 of the money it receives from the state each year to lure film projects. The partnership receives the money from the state economic development funds the new enterprise will be operational by January using the name the Charlotte Regional film division. Meanwhile the microelectronics center of North Carolina is trying to make do with less state money. MC NC censer will cut 15 jobs from its staff of 250 in Research Triangle Park. It also estimated it also eliminated rather two vacant positions. The General Assembly cut one million dollars from the center's budget in the current fiscal year and ordered the center to prepare a

plan to operate without state support. By 1999. While Glaxo Wellcome isn't talking some workers are they say another 106 employees have been given pink slips as a result of the merger between the two pharmaceutical giants. The workers were part of the basic research division Glaxo won't be specific about the numbers but an announcement is likely to come when the company finishes its restructuring in the Research Triangle Park this fall. A down day on foreign exchanges and a lower bond market drove prices lower on Wall Street today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost a little more than eight points to close at just over forty seven hundred decliners lead gainers by 43 trading was moderate with three hundred thirty two million shares changing hands. The Standard and Poor's 500 index ended the day down two and a half points while the Nasdaq composite index tumbled nearly 11 points. And now for some stocks of North Carolina interest. North

Carolinians native to Oak or Coke Island speak in a dialect unlike any other in the world. However their way of speaking is threatened as development and tourism encroach on coke. Our guest this evening is working to preserve their native tongue. He is Dr. Wald with a socio linguist from North Carolina State University Dr. welcome. I think you know when most of us think of dialects we think of foreign countries. How unique is it for dialects to exist in North Carolina and throughout the states. Well actually North Carolina is one one of the richest dialect there it's in the United States we have a

variety of dialects. It's coming to North Carolina and studying dialects is sort of like dying and going to dialect. It's really a treasure. What is it. Coke's dialect so unique. Well it's been isolated for a couple of centuries and before World War 2 when there wasn't a paved road and there wasn't a ferry service to the island it was essentially isolated so in isolation people tend to become endemic in their dialects that is they develop a dialect and isolation of other dialects and so they developed a very unique dialect over the years. You played some of that chorus earlier and I'd like to take a listen to it now it's a fascinating sounding dialect and we are going to be listening to Rex O'Neill here. We've got back last year 12 years and usually just write it later just right after that New Year's all in all just take a long weekend.

You Zero most by standing right now six of those you know. And we take it will take a bushel was the shot was taken but it really seemed right you know and you know. Now if I had to place that I would only say that sounds English. A lot of people say that a lot of people say it's English a lot of people say it's Australian. In reality a lot of the dialect has a close affinity to dialects in the southwest portion of England as a matter of fact. I had a linguist from England last year who visited it and he said if I took this tape and took it to the west southwestern part of England to Devon people would think this was a native of death and of course there are a lot of differences when you really get into it but it does certainly have some similarities with me. Where did the similarities come from.

From where the people came from to begin with. A lot of the people came from the southwestern part as well as the south eastern part of England. And because they were isolated they didn't homogenized as much as other colonialists. How protected is that dialect now on the island. Well I would consider it to be an endangered dialect you know people think about endangered species but nobody thinks about endangered dialects. But the fact that the younger kids are not learning the dialect for the most part puts it into a category of what we call a moribund dialect that is nobody is learning that dialect as a first dialect anymore. And therefore we consider it to be endangered. And we consider that a serious problem. Why are the kids learning it. Too many doing better or as they say outsiders. Right now even as we talk the outsiders are being betters outnumber the native Islanders by 10 to one. So there are more outsiders in the schools. They interact with tourists. It's easily accessible everyone comes there is a quaint place. People can make a buck there.

And so it changes it's that this is there a stigma attached to this dialect for the Islanders historically there has been somewhat of a stigma which is one of the things we're trying to work with. We've developed a curriculum for the schools so that we go into the schools teach the kids to appreciate their dialect appreciate the history where it comes from where it's going so we're trying to combat that stigma. It's a tough it's a tough task really it's one of the things you do in fact is work on research projects where you spend send researchers out to do oral histories essentially and I'd like to take a listen now to one of your researchers doing some work in the field with another of the islanders. Oh yes just been passed around online. Well I first I didn't we didn't play the hand you played in the woods. People in plane has I mean he's you've got you have like say before all this was great at. Yeah you know people that played on Sundays and

holidays. I don't think I mean let's go in and just take a fish botching position paper on top of Coca-Cola crates and sell go go. What's the what's the significance of the poker game there. Well the poker game is a local game played primarily by men and it's a kind of solidarity thing. It's only Islanders. They have a separate house that they collect and it signifies this is us as opposed to them the outsiders who come on the island. So it has considerable symbolic significance. That's not necessarily how it's viewed by Islanders it's just a fun we get together play poker. But from our perspective it means little more than that. Now you talked about the islanders calling the outsiders bad is that part of a kind way to reinforce their own culture by making that most of them that basically it's basically it's an us them thing.

The term better itself is fascinating because it shows a lot of people tend to think and typically Welker Coke is Shakespearean English Elizabethan English being better is a term that was introduced in the 978 by Archie Bunker all in the family where he called his wife unfortunately a dingbat. They took it and applied it to outsiders who basically are naive a little ignorant of island ways of life and therefore shows how the island takes something old Take something new something borrowed something blue. What's the single most important thing that islanders can do to protect this dialect. Learn to appreciate it themselves because if it's the GMA tell lies they're going to want to get rid of it and it's going to naturally vanish. But if they come to appreciate it they'll realize look. Language is culture. This is as much a part of the culture as the roarin way of life as fishermen. As

all the quaint things and once they see that it's an integral part of their culture then I think it has a chance to survive. At least have a celebrated funeral. Well Dr. Wolfson thanks very much it's a fascinating way to think of language in a new way for many of us to think of the island. Appreciate your coming tonight. Thank you. Summer time is travel time and our notion of the perfect driving brake is a stop at a

country style restaurant. Billy Barnes takes us to his favorite place on the big road near our capital city. What this country needs is less happy meals and more blue plate special. I'm talking about friendly country style restaurants where you can go and get a meat to they just scratch biscuits on the side. Well good news today I'm taking you lunch at the Farmers Market Restaurant south of Raleigh. Thank you for your chair seat even gets warm. A waitress is handing you a mug of dark sweet tea and a handwritten menu on the menu there's a promise that everything you put in your mouth will be fresh and homemade.

The farmer's market restaurant serves no food that is frozen and we constitute an irradiated or otherwise mist with today's menu barbecued chicken pork backbone filet of North Carolina raised trout and head down home country ham and for the missionaries among us Country fried bologna. If you're one of those people who claim to hid the specials include chicken stew on Tuesday chicken wings on the other hand as for you must fill a veggie freaks. For me we have a list of a dozen items including squash an onion collared sliced tomatoes corn on the cob sliced cucumber coleslaw make a big potato salad alongside the veggies you get a plate of big fluffy biscuits so tasty they'll make you say you're green. Seven bucks brings you a plate with meat 2 veggies. This gets to eat dessert to work in something like homemade blackberry cobbler or alone or put off for the same

seven bucks you can celebrate clean living with a huge plate of four veggies with biscuits and a bottomless cup of tea or fall in between bites of collard greens look around at the titans of state government in their white shirts with strike iPad and mini skirts were planted by those dignitaries are mixed in with crinkly ad farmers wearing baseball caps and their hard working wives who know good country cooking when they taste it I mean this place attracts a crowd that doesn't even seem to mind standing in line at the farmer's market restaurant open for breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Breakfast only served from 6:00 until noon. Get off the South Raleigh beltline. See this sign. Drive north on like Wheeler Road they are sheared the biscuits are in the oven. When you finish that plate light you'll know you've had a real meal and you won't need to worry all that much about what it's doing to you know I don't even

look forward to my stop at the cash register. The lady home away says something like Thank you you can not stand on the mat. So you don't want that. Did you do it every time. The Farmer's Market Restaurant is right across the street from the state farmer's market an open air bonanza of North Carolina grown fruits and vegetables. And we want you to come back here again tomorrow night for another edition of North Carolina now. Here's what we have on the menu for Wednesday. Well look at the impact of proposed federal welfare reform on our state the General Assembly recently passed legislation dealing with victims rights. And we'll talk with one of the leaders in the Victims Rights Movement. Well also have a profile of a very special North Carolinian Minnie Evans who became a much sought after artist despite the fact that she never had any formal training. We have to see then good night everyone.