Hello again!

No, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth - I have just been VERY busy with my job and other activities. Quite a few people have expressed disappointment at my absence and have urged me to return to blogging. My time is limited, but I will try to check in more frequently. No discussion of politics, though -- that would not be wise in my current position.

I spend my working hours here and am finding the job to be rewarding and challenging. My sixteen years of experience on the policy side of local government is serving me very well in this position. I'm expanding my knowledge base here along with 89 other county and municipal staff persons from all over North Carolina. So far, I have resisted the urge to wear my "Wolfpack Red" while on campus. {smile}

Birthday Time!

Today (September 21) is Garrett's first birthday and we helped him celebrate in style. At one year old, he already outweighs his cousin Kammie by 5+ pounds and is the biggest kid in his toddler daycare class. I think he enjoyed the afternoon!

Two-year-old Kammie jumped right there with him having fun.

It's official!

Thus begins my latest venture! Friends in elected office are joking that I have "crossed over to the dark side" while friends in administration are saying I have "seen the light." I'm excited and eager to do a good job.

Shuttle launch description

My brother Lee down on Oak Island sent me this email description of the nighttime shuttle launch earlier this week.

"Almost 3am. I walked over to the beach around 2:20 to try to see the 2:28 launch. "Guess-timated" from my watch on the countdown, and sure enough, about a minute later: there it was. Even more impressive (I'm easily impressed) than last time. A red dot coming straight out of the ocean. The brightness and intensity was similar to seeing the red light on top of a water tower in the distance, but steady instead of flashing. Was visible for 30-45 seconds. Was bright enough to cast a "moon-beam type" glow on the water all the way through the surf. It then re-appeared in the northeast , like a bright star, moving quickly and visible for probably another 4-5 minutes before I lost sight. (Last time , we left as soon as the initial red dot disappeared, but someone told us it would re-appear, as it did). Like I said, I'm easily impressed. Was 43 degrees, but calm winds, so quite nice on the beach, although I was alone..."

A Lesson Learned -- The Garbage Truck

A former colleague emailed this to me today and I thought it was well worth sharing.

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.

So I asked, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!" This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, "The Law of the Garbage Truck."

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so..... "Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't."

1943 Guide to Hiring Women

My brother emailed me this "gem" he came across recently. This may have been acceptable in 1943, but it sure wouldn't be tolerated today! Talk about stereotypes and sexism -- unbelievable!

1943 GUIDE TO HIRING WOMEN

The following is an excerpt from the July 1943 issue of Transportation Magazine. This was written for male supervisors of women in the work force during World War II.

Eleven Tips for Getting More Efficiency out of Women Employees: There's no longer any question whether transit companies should hire women for jobs formerly held by men. The draft and manpower shortage has settled that point. The important things now are to select the most efficient working women available and how to use them to best advantage.

Here area eleven helpful tips on the subject from Western Properties;

1. Pick young married women. They usually have more of a sense of responsibility than their unmarried sisters, they're less likely to be flirtatious, they need the work or they wouldn't be doing it, they still have the pep and interest to work hard and to deal with the public efficiently.
   
2. When you have to use older women, try to get ones who have worked outside the home at some time in their lives. Older women who have never contacted the public have a hard time adjusting themselves and are inclined to be cantankerous and fussy. It's always well to impress upon older women the importance of friendliness and courtesy.
   
3. General experience indicates that "husky" girls -- those who are just a little on the heavy side -- are more even tempered and efficient than their underweight sisters.
   
4. Retain a physician to give each woman you hire a special physical examination -- one covering female conditions. This step not only protects the property against possibilities of lawsuit, but reveals whether the employee-to-be has any female weaknesses which would make her mentally or physically unfit for the job.
   
5. Stress at the outset the importance of time, the fact that a minute or two lost her and there makes serious inroads on schedules. Until this point is gotten across, service is likely to be slowed up.
   
6. Give the female employee a definite day-long schedule of duties so that they'll keep busy without bothering management for instructions every few minutes. Numerous properties say that women make excellent workers when they have their jobs cut out for them, but that they lack initiative in finding work themselves.
   
7. Whenever possible, let the inside employee change from one job to another at some during the day. Women are inclined to be less nervous and happier with change.
   
8. Give every girl an adequate number of rest periods during the day. You have to make some allowances for feminine psychology. A girl has more confidence and is more efficient if she can keep her hair tidied, apply fresh lipstick and wash her hands several times a day.
   
9. Be tactful when issuing instructions or in making criticisms. Women are often sensitive; they can't shrug off harsh words the way men do. Never ridicule a woman -- it breaks her spirit and cuts off her efficiency.
   
10. Be reasonably considerate about using strong language around women. Even though a girl's husband may swear vociferously, she'll grow to dislike a place of business where she hears too much of this.
    
11. Get enough size variety in operator's uniforms so that each girl can have a proper fit. This point can't be stressed too much in keeping women happy.

Letter to the City Council

I sent the following letter to the members of the Greensboro City Council regarding the recent adoption of "Plan Q." Let's hope I get a posititve response!

March 2, 2008

Mayor Yvonne Johnson
Members of the Greensboro City Council
PO Box 3136
Greensboro, NC 27402-3136

Dear Mayor and Councilmembers;

I am writing to express my displeasure at the recent adoption of a City Council redistricting plan that the public had not had an opportunity to review and submit comments. This last-minute surprise certainly did not uphold the theme of “openness and transparency” that most of you stressed during your 2007 election campaigns. The many citizens who are directly affected by this significant redrawing and dismantling of the former Greensboro City Council District 5 should have been notified and given a chance to voice their opinions. I certainly did not learn of “Plan Q” until the morning after the vote had already been taken, and many other District 5 residents with whom I have spoken were not aware of it either.

There are a number of reasons I believe the redistricting is not in the best interests of the citizens of current District 5.

• While the other four council districts encompass an identifiable, relatively compact section of the city (southeast Greensboro, northeast Greensboro, north Greensboro, etc.), the “new” District 5 sprawls from the extreme southern section of the city all the way past the airport into northwestern Greensboro. Neighborhoods with their needs and issues in the northwest section differ significantly from those in the southernmost section, leaving little commonality between them.
  
• Southwest Greensboro struggled for many years after the creation of the district system – as did the southeast and northeast – to gain the political power to receive equal treatment and services perceived to be disproportionately enjoyed by more affluent northern sections of the city at the time. That carefully nurtured progress is now likely lost with northwestern precincts of the city composing a large portion of District 5. Will the voice of southwest Greensboro will be lost again?
  
• An unnecessarily large number of voters will be represented by a different person on the city council than the one they had the opportunity to help select. While this circumstance is unavoidable when redistricting becomes necessary, more citizens are being forced to change than many of the other plans would have otherwise required. I view this as unfair to those citizens, myself included.
  
  Based on the reasons stated above, I respectfully request that the Greensboro City Council reconsider the City Council redistricting plan adopted on February 19, 2008.
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  Sandy Carmany
  Greensboro City Council, 1991-2007

[UPDATE: As of March 15, only two councilmembers (Robbie Perkins and Dianne Bellamy-Small) have even acknowledged receipt of this letter. So much for good communication with citizens!]

Incorrect "news" report

As a councilmember who participated in the process of hiring the current city manager and can speak with complete knowledge of what occurred, I say without hesitation -- the information supposedly reported in a local weekly (I haven't seen it for myself) about other applicants turning the job down before it was offered to Mitchell Johnson is absolutely 100% wrong. That did not happen!

Catching up

Here I sit on a Saturday night after a very BUSY week with my duties with the Town of Pleasant Garden (three long 11-12 hour days this past week with evening meeting responsibilities). Plus I've had 'grandma duty' and a weekend of catching up on neglected housework and yardwork. My Inbox is overflowing as well as quite a few comments awaiting moderation. So what on earth am I doing sitting here blogging? Some folks would probably say "Get a life, Sandy!" {smile}

I like my position as Interim Town Administrator/Clerk and the councilmembers for whom I am working, but doing the job of two persons is getting a bit wearing (the Assistant Clerk position is still vacant). Working in the small town where I grew up is still fun -- ran into one of my many cousins while making a bank deposit one day last week plus the fireman who conducted a walk-through in preparation for our upcoming yearly fire inspection of Town Hall was a cousin's son. Everyone seems to know everyone in town.

"Little" Garrett is not so little any more -- weighed in over 18 pounds at his four-month check-up in January! He's at that adorable stage now -- making all sorts of sounds and noises, learning to express his likes and dislikes, and a smile that would melt an iceberg. Here he is playing with Grandpa Friday afternoon.

My brother sent me this tempting picture of an Oak Island sunset he snapped while walking on the beach last week -- makes me want to get down there for another visit as soon as I can.

He also sent me some renderings on the new bridge under construction that will connect NC211 to Middleton Street and cut a good half-hour off the trip. Coupled with the recent opening of the Ellerbe Bypass on US220 and I-73/74, that drive will be around three-and-a-half hours or less when everything is complete. Maybe one day soon...

Better get going -- I need to tackle those emails and comments as well as a two-week-old memo from the City Manager asking us 2007 councilmembers for any files/emails, etc. for a public records request that needs my attention.

I'll try to do a better job of keeping up in the future, work permitting.