Does An Admission Fee to Climb A Lighthouse Belong to the Taxpayers?
Should the money people pay to climb a lighthouse, thinking their dollars will go to be used at the lighthouse for restoration and maintenance, be confiscated by local polititians?That's what Rep. Walter B. Jones is telling his constituants! He's looking at $180,000 and saying it belongs to the taxpayers and has to be returned.
If we stand back and look at this as a problem for one tall brick lighthouse in Currituck County NC, then we could very well see other lighthouses having to turn over admissions that have been earmarked for restoration.
As for those lighthouses that have already transferred...they could see their money taken away as well.
Rep. Jones has managed to ruin the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act by abusing his power. Are we going to let him continue on his mission...because we see it as a local issue that can't touch us?
Please read on! It is definitely time for the entire lighthousing community to take action. Call your congressman. Write letters. Email.
http://snurl.com/2jav Rep. Jones is so determined that he is getting Homeland Security involved. Never mind that it takes taxpayers' dollars to pay Homeland Security for it's time. A reasonable person might even say that Homeland Security has more important things to look after.
But wait...Is this the same Rep. Jones who had the following to say back on March 6 of this year?...
"I came to Washington to try and fight excessive spending. If I can't get the Government to stop this spending, then maybe I can at least help direct it somewhere beneficial," said Jones in a press release dated March 6, 2003. This was to introduce legislation that would transfer the money that Congress appropriated on pork projects in the recent omnibus appropriations bill to a reserve fund for defense and homeland security.
"We as a Congress must remember that this is the money of the taxpayers. It is our responsibility to spend it wisely, especially in a time of war. How do I justify this budget by saying, 'Sorry about that, we had to appropriate those funds to the Grammy Awards, the Please Touch Museum and National Cowgirl Hall of Fame.' It just doesn't make sense."
Well, Mr. Jones, how do you warrant using taxpayers' dollars to send Homeland Security on an investigation/witch hunt, already cleared by the Coast Guard, to feed your own personal vendetta?
John Wilson of OBC, Inc. has disputed all the un-truths in the newspaper article noted above with the editor of the paper, and it is obvious that the reporter was fed information from Rep. Jones.
Folks, if you think this only affects one tall brick lighthouse in North Carolina, it is time to look at the whole picture. This has ramifications that could reach every lighthouse in America. It could affect lighthouses which have already been turned over to non-profits as the new stewards under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act.
After a very long seige, OBC Inc was granted the deed to Currituck Beach Lighthouse on Oct. 17th, 2003, but obtaining the deed came with a high price. $180,000 had to be transferred to an escrow account.
Rep. Jones is still playing his deck of cards and has laid his next hand on the table...the claim that this money belongs to the taxpayers.
That amount has come from admissions money, from people who climbed the lighthouse, thinking their dollars would be used at the lighthouse for restoration and maintenance.
Will the OBC ever get that money back to where they can use it as earmarked?
Not if Rep. Jones, 3rd District, North Carolina can help it.
For everyone who cares about the future of lighthouses, it's time to get on the phone, write letters, send email.
Rep. Jones has finally managed to make this a battle for every lighthouse.
Judy
. It boggles the mind 
. But then again, they probably wouldn't get it 