EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA'S MINORITY VOICE - SINCE 1987APRIL 1-8, 1994Information highway project for rural schools announcedEast Carolina University andSprint/Carolina Telephone an-nounced a new partnership to seekinnovative ways of using NorthCarolina Information Highwaytechnology to improve educationalopportunities for rural children.Participating in the introduc-tion was Gov. Jim Hunt, who spokethrough interactive video fromRaleigh, showcasing the type oftechnology thatis part of the infor-mation highway Ts capabilities.Through the partnership, knownas LearningNet, ECU is workingwith two elementary schools ineastern North Carolina to create apilot program that will generatenew products, techniques and pro-cedures to meet the educationneeds specific to rural areas.LearningNet will be the first ef-fort to draw upon the full spec-trum of information highway tech-nology to address the educationneeds of young children.The project will be directed fromthe ECU School of Education.University faculty and graduatestudents will work closely withlocal administrators, teachers andparents to develop the productsand procedures.The participating elementaryschools are Riverview in HertfordCounty and Roberson inEdgecombe County. Officials fromboth school districts have identi-fied parent and community in-volvement in schools and overcom-ing their schools T social and cul-tural isolation as crucial to theirfuture success with the childrenthey serve.Sprint/Carolina Telephone andSpring Foundation will provide$60,000 in grants over two yearsto finance the project. Spring/Caro-lina Telephone also will volunteertechnical assistance forLearningNet, and the partner willbe seeking additional resources.The announcement was made toabout 600 educators gathered inGreenville for ECU Ts annual tech-nology and teaching conference,this year titled oLinking the Class-room to the World. � oThe real purpose of the NorthCarolina Information Highway isU.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Espyhighlights Democratic celebrationU.S. Agriculture Secretary MikeEspy, the first African-Americanand the first Southerner to servein that post, was the keynotespeaker for the Democratic Party'sannual Jefferson-Jackson Day din-ner on March 19.During a speech before 1,000North Carolina Democrats, Epsydelivered a fiery message andstrongly supported President BillClinton Ts domestic achievementsand warned against Republicanswho have been oreduced to littlemore than name-calling � in theirattempt to undermine the nation Tsconfidence in his administration.he 0 bpeint Khare makethrow us off our game, � Espy said. oWees blet them divert us fromourAssecretary of agriculture, MikeEspy presides over one of the larg-est and most diverse agencies inthe federal government. He ad-ministers broad programs tomain-tain America Ts safe, abundant, andreasonably pes supply of foodtruly fortunate to have the Secre-and fiber, while protecting andpreserving the nation Ts soil andwater resources,In addition to managing tradi-tional farm programs, the U.S.Department of Agriculture Ts mis-sion includes domestic food assis-tance, research and education,agricultural marketing, meat andpoultry inspection, forestry, ruraldevelopment, and many other ar-eas Vital to the lives of all Ameri-cans.Espy told North Carolina Gov-ernor James B. Hunt, Jr., Speakerof the House of RepresentativesDaniel qT. Blue, dr., and State icials qoine a visit to the NorthCarolina Farmers Market that hecan Tt guarantee the federal tobaccotax. won Tt increase. But he vowedto stand behind tobacco quotas,price supports and the other fun-damentals on which farmers rely.. oIn light of agriculture Ts impor-tance to North Carolina, we weretary of Agriculture to speak at theJefferson-Jackson dinner, � saidGov. Hunt. oHis visit.gave NorthCarolina Democrats an opportu-nity to show support for our farm-ers .. . who always seem to beunder siege from one direction oranother. �Espy said the Department ofAgriculture is committed to com-modity programs, increasing ex-ports and continued support tosmall farms. oYes, there is a futurefor the small farmerin American, �hesaid. oThey are vital to the mix. �North Carolina State AuditorRaioh dr. saidthat hess| ged. showpi ae ~economic eetment and agricultural issues thatare extremely important to ourregion. �Espy was first elected to theU.S. House of representatives in1986, where he served on the Agri-culture and Budget Committees.He was chairman of the Domestic(Continued on page four)| the $64 billion Farm Credi_ tem, the nation Ts oldest and larg-to help bring our state "and all ofour resources "closer together, �Hunt said. oNot only does this ini-tiative by ECU and Carolina Tele-phone help equalize opportunitiesbetween urban and rural areas, itwill also help strengthen our state TsSmart Start program by buildingon our work with pre-school agechildren. �Smart Start is Hunt Ts initiativeto build public-private partner-ships that will eventually ensurethat every family across the statehas access to quality affordablechild care and health care. It iscurrently being developed as a pi-lot project in Hertford and 17 othercounties.Information highway technologywill provide communication linksthat allow the transmission of sig-nals " data, video and voice " atspeeds currently unavailable overany existing network. Forexample,the contents of an entire set ofencyclopedias can be transmittedin 4.7 seconds; and full-motion TVwill allow video and audio interac-tion among viewers at multiplesites.The LearningNet team expectsto implement its first efforts inAugust, when the initial sites ofthe North Carolina InformationHighway go on line. oWe have long taken prideinourinfluence on elementary and sec-ondary education, � said ECUChancellor Richard Eakin. oWebelieve that LearningNetis a greatopportunity for ECU because itwill help us expand our leadershiprole in education by being a pio-neer in the development and imple-mentation of innovative uses ofinformation highway technologyin education. This follows the ECUModel Clinical Teaching Program Tsrecent recognition by the Associa-tion of Teacher Educators as bestin the country. �Bill McDonald, Sprint/CarolinaTelephone president and chief ex-ecutive officer, said, oThe schoolsbrought to the table their dreamsfor rural education. Our companyand ECU have told them that theinformation highway can lead tothe realization of those dreams. oOur, vision of this partnershipis to approach the educational pro-cess at its very foundation. Wewant to use technology to ensurethat our young children acquires.the reading and math skills that.are essential building blocks forsuccess in life. oAs they develop they will bebetter prepared to take full advan-tage of the marvelous opportuni-ties that are coming in their life-time. With LearningNet, we areinvesting in a better tomorrow formany of our children. �Rural Development Bill IntroducedBy Representative Eva ClaytonOn March 24 Rev. Eva Claytonintroduced legislation that wouldenhance rural development by pro-moting private-sector investmentin rural business, housing andin-frastructure. The Rural Credit andDevelopment Act of 1994 (H.R.4129), would provide new sourcesof credit for rural residents, publicservices and business enterpriseswithout spending governmentmoney or adding to the federala SLO aage the aie of" this de-cade, almost a quarter of all farmhouseholds had incomes below thepoverty line " more than twicethe national average. In my rural1st District of North Carolina, theaverage poverty rate is 26 per-cent, � Clayton said in a statement. on the House floor March 24 intro-ducing the bill. oCongress mustact now to adapt, public policy tomeet the challenges facing ruralAmerica. �Clayton also noted that experi-ence has shown the most effectiverural development efforts are lo-cally based, using ospecific plans_ tailored to unique local resources. �_ Her bill owill provide local leaderssome of the resources they need tofight this battle " at no cost to theU.S. Treasury, � she said. oThe economic well-being of ru-ral America has reached a criticalpoint and deserves our immediateattention, � Clayton said. oItis timefor Congress to take action to un-lock the potential economic powerof rural America. In a time of lim-ited federal resources, we in Con-| gress must seize upon the oppor-_ tunities available to leverage pri-vate resources and ensure thatprograms are used to theirClayton's bill would broaden thepercep weeh endear anteaterYES seeks ~epsest financial cooperative, to moreeffectively serve rural residents.Created by Congress in 1916 toprovide a reliable source of creditto agricultural producers, FarmCredit has limited authorities tofinance rural water and sewer sys-tems, electric and telephone sys-tems, some farm-related busi-nesses, and certain ruralhomeowners. H.R. 4129 wouldupdate Farm Credit Ts charter toprovide its sPy iti raland % EPR A ges I ual an Crnesses, rural infrastructure needs,and rural homebuyers.The bill owould employ this es-tablished delivery network to bringthe resources of Wall Street torural businesses, rural infrastruc-ture, rural housing stock, andmuch-needed rural communityfacilities, � Clayton said. oThis leg-islation can help rural Americarealize its potential by providing itwith the necessary capital for jobcreation and economic diversifica-tion.Clayton is a mae of the Houseittee on En-it, relit and ~Rural De-velopment which will be consider-ing this legislation in the nearfuture.Funds still availablefor minority farmersBert M. Hall, County Supervi-sor of the Farmers Home Adminis-tration (FmHA) serving PittCounty has announced that fundsset aside for the purchase and op-eration of farms by minority farm-ers are still available. Also, recentchanges in FmHA regulations nowallow the agency to considerwomen applicants as minoritiesand makes the special targetedfunds available to this importantand emerging group of farmers.Hall encourages minority farm-ers who wish to purchase farm-land or who need loans for farmoperating purposes to contact thelocal FmHA Office to talk abentthese programs. The local office islocated at 403 Old Creek Road,Greenville, North Carolina.In addition to offering direct farmloans to minorities, FmHA pro-vides loan guarantees for loansbeing made by other agriculturallenders in the area. oWe are mak-ingaconcentrated effort to be surethat all minorities are aware ofFmHA Ts direct and guaranteedprograms so we can serve as manycredit worthy farmersin these spe-cial groups as possible �, Halladded.