I enjoyed the opportunity to join friends and neighbors at the
Swain County Agricultural Fair
this past weekend. It was a beautiful day to gather and see local farm families and farming organizations to learn about the work they do.
Thank you to the Swain County Cooperative Extension, the Swain County High School FFA, the Swain County Chamber of Commerce, and the Swain Soil and Water Conservation District for your hard work to make this event a success!
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It was great to see the Jackson County Beekeepers Association's Vice President David Massengill, Director Rose Mary Achey, and President Larry Cooper. The Swain County Beekeepers were at the fair as well. Pollinators were very well represented!
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The local astronomy club gave Chairman Ben Bushyhead, his wife Gwen, and me the opportunity to look at the sun with their special telescope.
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I am always proud to join my friends at the
Equinox Ranch
to call an old fashioned square dance in support of their efforts to provide a treatment and rehabilitation center for our combat veterans. We had a hoppin' string band, the Boll Weevils, wonderful food, and a great crowd to make the event a success.
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I joined Dr. Margo Capparelli (in the cowboy boots), director of Equinox Ranch, to lead the Big Circle.
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This past weekend the NC Justice Center awarded Jane Hipps a posthumous Champion of Justice Award. These awards are given to individuals who made generational differences in their work to eliminate poverty and create an equal playing field for all in our state. Jane dedicated her life to making her community, and our state, a better place to live, and she will be remembered for her lifetime of service.
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A good crowd of folks supporting the NC Justice Center gathered at the home of Julia Buckner to honor Jane Hipps. Thank you to everyone who attended this beautiful reception.
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Breakfast with Governor Cooper
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Last week I attended a breakfast with Governor Cooper to discuss our strategy for dealing with the ongoing budget stalemate.
We are dedicated to negotiating a budget that will benefit ALL North Carolinians.
This means expanding Medicaid for
500,000
of our friends and neighbors, creating
40,000 jobs
and
saving thousands of lives.
It means passing a balanced budget that invests in teacher pay instead of more tax cuts for corporations, that has a
School and Infrastructure Bond
instead of a slush fund, all while giving hard-working North Carolinians a tax cut and saving money for our Rainy Day Fund.
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We're holding firm with our Governor. There is a lot at stake, and creating a budget that works for everyone in our state is our top priority!
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At the breakfast we were all on the same page: we need to end this budget stalemate quickly and responsibly, but
Republican Speaker Tim Moore said that his strategy is to continue to delay, pushing any meaningful action off until October or later.
Every day that we remain in session while Speaker Moore blocks a budget vote, nearly
$50,000 taxpayer dollars are wasted.
By the time we get to October, Speaker Moore will have wasted somewhere between
$2 and $3 million of our tax dollars.
What a waste!
We must have a vote on the budget veto and get to work on good-faith negotiations for a responsible budget that works for all North Carolinians.
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Recovery Alliance Summit
This past Friday I joined government officials, healthcare providers, community advocates, and more at the 7 County Western North Carolina Community Summit in Bryson City. Our Haywood County Sheriff, Greg Christopher, led the event.
This summit had a fantastic turnout, with more than 200 in attendance to discuss the importance of recovery from addiction, the hard work we are doing to help those who suffer from addiction in Western North Carolina, and the work that still needs to be done to ensure that everyone has access to the resources they need to live happy, healthy, productive lives.
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Left to right: Myself, Patti Tiberi with Mountain Projects, Jackson County Commissioner Gayle Woody, and the Attorney General's Senior Counsel Steve Mange, all participants in the day-long summit.
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We discussed many important steps we need to take to ensure that our citizens can access the resources they need to recover from addiction, and importantly, to avoid addiction in the first place. As I have said many times, and was echoed by many summit leaders, the single most effective step we in North Carolina can take
today is to accept
Medicaid Expansion.
If we really want to address the opioid crisis, we have to expand access to care and resources.
Not only would expanding Medicaid provide insurance for 500,000 hard-working North Carolinians, but it would create good, much needed healthcare jobs here in western North Carolina, and it would give our healthcare providers and law enforcement officials the tools they need to help those who suffer from addiction.
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The facts are in, folks. In Dayton, Ohio, opioid overdose deaths were
cut in half
in the first year of Medicaid Expansion. Our neighbor to the north, Virginia, has seen a
31% drop
in ER visits related to opioid abuse in just their first year. Medicaid Expansion is working across our country. It is providing quality healthcare to those who need it most, and it is making a significant impact on the opioid crisis. We deserve these benefits here in North Carolina.
It is time.
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Please
share
this with your friends!
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P.S. check out our legislative web page at
www.joesamqueennc.com
. You can find all of my previous newsletters and more!
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