No action was taken Monday night when the Moore County Board of Commissioners returned to open session after closed sessions on unrelated subjects.

The board went into closed session to discuss an economic development issue with Ray Ogden, executive director of Partners in Progress. The state Open Meetings law allows government bodies to exclude the public when discussions pertain to location or expansion of business in their areas.

The other closed session dealt with personnel matters. Board Chairman David Cummings indicated earlier in the week that the board would be discussing the qualifications of two candidates for the position of interim county manager. Those discussions may also have included an interview with one candidate.

MANAGER -- Moore County will lose its interim manager, David Cotton, on Oct. 6.

Cotton, who has accepted the position of Haywood County manager, has served as county manager since the resignation of Steve Wyatt earlier this year. Wyatt left to become Henderson County manager.

Cummings said the board plans to hire an interim manager to administer county affairs until the new Board of Commissioners is organized in December. The board will have three new members, constituting a different majority, and Cummings said that board should then be in the best position to employ a county manager.

COBLE -- Congressman Howard Coble joined the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Chamber at a Monday forum covering issues of copyright and trademark infringement.

For six years, Coble chaired the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property. During this period he was instrumental in enactment of sweeping changes in the nation's copyright, patent and trademark laws.

"Counterfeiting is estimated to cost the U.S. economy more than $250 billion a year and hundreds of thousands of jobs," Coble said. "The counterfeiters have become more sophisticated and have penetrated virtually every market, including replacement auto parts, golf clubs, cigarettes and prescription drugs. This should alarm everyone, because fake goods do not meet U.S. safety standards and are of shoddy quality."

Coble expressed concern about prescription drugs that do not meet Food and Drug Administration standards and are manufactured in unsanitary conditions.

"The pictures I've seen are horrifying," he said. "Folks, I don't mean to cry wolf, but this is scary stuff. I've seen counterfeit goods, and I can't tell the difference, and I wouldn't expect you to either."

SCHEDULE -- Coble was back in the 6th District for the weekend.

He was the speaker for a POW/MIA memorial service at a VFW post in Greensboro Saturday. In addition to the forum on Monday, he toured the New Breed Corp. plant in High Point.

Coble was in Elon Tuesday morning for the Elon University convocation and in the afternoon attended the dedication ceremony for the Elon University Law School in Greensboro.

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