Elections Director Glenda Clendenin said she has offered to host a regional training session for treasurers serving candidates for municipal and county offices.

The law passed in the 2006 session of the General Assembly requires training for treasurers for all candidates with campaign committees. Clendenin says full details of the measure have not yet filtered down to the local level.

Candidate training sessions are nothing new to the Moore County elections office, which has long provided special assistance to candidates.

In fact, state Sen. Harris Blake told fellow senators this year that the Moore County elections office was already doing what they were considering enacting into law.

Under new legislation, the State Board of Elections is authorized to hire an additional 11 employees to work in the campaign finance field, handling audits and other issues relating to campaign finance reporting. The state board's campaign finance section previously had only two employees.

SECOND CHANCE -- The U.S. House Judiciary Committee has approved a bill designed to address the problems of prison overcrowding and repeat offenders.

The bill had the backing of Congressman Howard Coble, who represents Moore County in the 8th District.

"One of my top priorities as chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security has been the issue of overcrowded prisons and the increasing rate of recidivism," Coble said in a news release. "That's why passage of The Second Chance Act is so important.

"As the old saying goes, 'only a fool repeats the same activity and expects different results.' Each year an estimated 650,000 people are released from state prisons and approximately 9 million are released from jails -- 52 percent of whom are expected to head back behind bars."

Coble also said that the legislation would protect the public and save taxpayer dollars by reducing recidivism. The bill does not include mandates or directives to state governments. Instead, it reauthorizes state demonstration grants, using small amounts of federal dollars to encourage innovation in measures to help released prisoners into a successful re-entry into society.

A Greensboro Republican, Coble said he expects the House to study the bill when it reconvenes in September.

FUNDING -- Coble also announced the release of more than $2 million in federal funding for construction of a transportation terminal to serve thousands of visitors who annually attend the International Home Furnishings Market in High Point.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is releasing the money to the city of High Point for Phase 3 of the Downtown Transportation Terminal.

McNEILL -- W. David McNeill Jr., former Moore County manager, has been named interim manager for Guilford County.

McNeill resigned in 2003 after serving Moore County 16 years. Shortly thereafter he accepted the position of assistant manager in Guilford County.

McNeill is a member of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners.

Florence Gilkeson can be reached at 947-4962 or by e-mail at florence@thepilot.com.