Moore County Democrats will hold their county convention Saturday, April 10, at the Agriculture Center on Pinehurst Avenue in Carthage.

Party Chairman Jim Heim will call the convention to order at 10 a.m.

Although only delegates are authorized to vote on business before the convention, all Democrats are invited to attend, according to Heim.

FIREHOUSE - ACS Government Inc. will provide Firehouse software to standardize countywide emergency agencies with state agencies.

The new Web-based system will ensure that each emergency agency in the county will be submitting data in the approved format.

The Moore County Board of Commissioners voted to award the $182,200.75 contract at its March 15 meeting. The contract was on the March 1 meeting agenda, but the board decided to defer action until the next meeting.

The original bid was $297,025, but county officials negotiated the total to the accepted bid, representing a 38.6 percent saving.

Funds for the purchase will mostly come from the EMS capital budget, with the remaining $5,688 coming from the Department of Planning and Community Development to cover the fire prevention code enforcement billing and inspection modules.

TAYLOR -- Dr. James Taylor says that the U.S. Congress needs more physicians in its midst now that the health-care reform bill has passed.

A Southern Pines physician, Taylor is a Republican candidate for the 6th District seat in Congress, now held by veteran Republican Congressman Howard Coble of Greensboro.

Taylor is one of three North Carolina doctors running for seats in Congress this year. All are Republicans. The three are holding a series of statewide summits to discuss "true health care reform and ways in which providers can restore and protect the sacred doctor/patient relationship," according to a news release from his campaign office.

The first such summit was held Thursday in Asheville, and the next one is scheduled in Morrisville on April 1. A third summit is planned in Greensboro later in the spring.

"For over 40 years, since the federal government involved itself in our health care, the quality of health care has declined while costs have skyrocketed," said Taylor. "This latest power grab by the government under the guise of reform further erodes the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship.

"The winners are the insurance industry, which will benefit from millions of new customers mandated to buy insurance, and elected representatives who won special favors through legislation but will not have to abide by (the) very legislation they created. The losers are patients and providers."

COBLE - In the meantime, Congressman Howard Coble is back in the 6th District for the congressional spring break.

He joined all other Republicans in the U.S. House in voting against the Democrat-sponsored health-care reform bill.

Coble attended the Centre Friends Meeting breakfast in Pleasant Garden Saturday, then returned to Greensboro to address a meeting of the N.C. Alliance for Transportation Reform. He attended the Rowan County GOP convention in Salisbury at noon, then rode in the Easter Parade in Welcome. Later he attended Eagle Scout Courts of Honor in Stokesdale and Greensboro.

His Monday schedule includes an underage drinking forum in Liberty, appointments with constituents, a speech at the Connect a Million Minds program at the Natural Science Center in Greensboro and the Sunset Film presentation in Asheboro.

Contact Florence Gilkeson by e-mail at florence@thepilot.com.