It's not blackmail, Stephen LaRoque insists - but he said there's no better way to get his anti-annexation point across to the city of Kinston than to protest the All-America designation the city seeks.

"We're not blackmailing or bribing anyone," LaRoque said. "We're just putting out facts - that there shouldn't be forced annexation."

Kinston Mayor O.A. "Buddy" Ritch vehemently disagrees, though; he thinks LaRoque's effort to keep Kinston from attaining All-America status for a second time.f

"This is pure blackmail," Ritch angrily said Sunday. "They are torpedoing this community."

The movement

LaRoque and former Kinston/Lenoir County Economic Development Director Ronald D. Baker have started a grassroots movement to protest the potential selection of Kinston as an All-America City. Ritch and a group of nearly three dozen representatives will descend upon Tampa, Fla., during mid-June to give a presentation outlining why the city should be selected as an All-America City by the National Civic League for a second time.

Ten cities will be selected out of a pool of 30 finalists - but LaRoque and Baker are determined to make sure Kinston isn't one of the winners if the city continues to try to forcibly annex Crestview and other communities.

The pair has organized a group it said numbers nearly 1,000 residents of potential Kinston-annexed areas in Crestview, Briarwood Terrace, Hickory Hills, among others. LaRoque's group is attempting to match the $30,000 to $40,000 the city has raised to send more than 30 Kinstonians to Tampa so LaRoque's group can send a few dozen of their own.

The group is also preparing informational packets to send to members of the All-America selection committee, which will include a professional documentary film LaRoque was conducting interviews for Friday.

The rest of the money raised by LaRoque's group is going to be used for a set of billboards throughout Kinston blasting the city for attempting to forcibly annex the communities. LaRoque said he's also going to try to rent a billboard beside the Tampa hotel the All-America City selection committee is staying in.

"Forced to fight"

For his part, though, LaRoque said he isn't pleased to have to be part of the effort.

"I'd rather not fight the city, but the city picked this fight," he said. "The only way I know to do is fight back. I'm not defaming anyone - I'm just putting facts out there. I take no pride in going after Kinston; I want Kinston to grow.

"But I don't want Kinston to grow when they're hurting people. When you're going out there and violating a founding principle of this country, it's time to say no."

LaRoque and Baker said they're certain Kinston won't attain All-America status if the protest continues.

"We're going to bring them to their knees," LaRoque said.

Baker added, "They're wasting their $35,000 or $40,000 they've raised; they're throwing their money away."

The mayor reacts

Ritch isn't happy with the effort by LaRoque and Baker.

"It doesn't do anything for the ego of the people who've made all these preparations for the past year," Ritch said. "It hurts their morale and puts a dark cloud over the whole situation of celebration and jubilee and what this great city means.

"What they're doing is shooting their own foot off when they do something against the city. It's not going to hurt Buddy Ritch or the City Council. What they're doing is hurting the city when it comes to job and industry recruitment."

Ritch said he has already notified the leader of the All-America City selection committee there might be protests against Kinston in Tampa.

 "It's not going to be good for Kinston," Ritch said.

Ritch said the city is currently "riding the crest" of new industries being recruited into Kinston. He said that potential billboards denigrating Kinston can do nothing but hurt the city.

"They're putting billboards up that call Kinston an Un-American City," Ritch said. "That's the worst thing I've ever heard in my life. No one I have talked to can believe there is a human being in this city who would do something like that."

Ritch said he couldn't understand why LaRoque's group would try to tear apart the All-America effort since, in his opinion, it has nothing to do with annexation.

"Annexation has nothing to do with trying to be an All-America City and is not one of our topics (that are being presented)," Ritch said. "There's nothing illegal with (annexation); we've been doing it for the last 75 years. Every city in this state is doing it."

Ritch said that, for example, Charlotte annexes "at least 3,000 people every year." North Carolina and Nebraska are the only two states that allow forced annexation.

"Raleigh and all the other cities in the state do it," Ritch said. "You have to get water and sewer out there to make the place sanitary. ... If we don't grow, we're going to be stagnant and die on the vine - it's that simple."

Baker: Annexation is going to be painful

Baker, who served in his local position for 16 years until 1999, now lives in one of the areas that is going to potentially be annexed.

"We're weak brothers and sisters, where they're annexing," Baker said. "If they were serious about annexation, they should take in Falling Creek and its golf course or go to Felix Harvey (Parkway) down (U.S.) 70. They could go to the industrial park and take Electrolux, which would give the city $1.3 million in city taxes."

Baker said the annexation is going to hurt many retired people who chose to live outside the city limits to avoid Kinston's high electricity rates. With tap fees to the water and new sewer costs - in addition to new city taxes on homes and cars - Baker said residents in his community can't afford to be annexed.

"I know a lot of families who have a grandchild living with them because their kids are somewhere else, so they're raising their grandchild," Baker said. "They're making $1,000 to $1,200 a month on Social Security and those people can't pay any more because they don't have it."

Baker and LaRoque stressed that the effort to deny Kinston All-America status isn't just their idea.

"They think this is a Stephen LaRoque thing and that it's his mission," Baker said. "Steve is just one of a thousand who are against this."

A simple solution

LaRoque said this battle could be easily solved.

"If they voted not to annex Monday night, then after that vote, I'm their biggest supporter for All-America City," LaRoque said. "I will do everything I can to help them win it."

 

Bryan C. Hanks can be reached at (252) 559-1074 or at bhanks@freedomenc.com. Check out Bryan's blog at http://bhanks.encblogs.com.