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Supervisor Says Soil & Water Info 'Not Hard to Find'

July 16, 2007

HUDSON—A Caldwell Soil & Water Conservation District supervisor, on a personal campaign to help citizens become better informed, says public documents and studies detailing government conservation programs are “not difficult to find.”

Dennis A. Benfield of Hudson, elected in 2006 on a promise to keep the public informed about district projects, pointed out that “a myriad of brochures, reports and formal studies about ecological problems are available directly from government agencies.”

“Some government programs and agencies,” Benfield said, “are just not necessary. But in the area of soil and water conservation, there’s a three-way partnership among state, federal and local government units that really works. The internet offers an easy way to stay informed.

“Alone, I’m not sure any one of these units of government could be nearly as effective as all three working hand in hand,” Benfield added.

On the federal level, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides most of the financial resources for the district through the Agricultural Cost-Share Program laid out every few years in what’s commonly called “the farm bill.”

One of the largest state agencies in North Carolina, with some 3,500 employees, is the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR), which offers even more financial assistance and specialized personnel resources through a state cost-share program.

The county portion of the partnership includes the provision of local office space and supplies, plus vehicles and travel expenses to implement the state and federal programs. The local board also directs its resources to tackle local conservation priorities.

Each government level, Benfield noted, has its own website which can be “googled” simply by typing in the name of the agency, NRCS or DENR. The Caldwell County website—co.caldwell.nc.us—has a page devoted to the Caldwell Soil & Water Conservation District.

“Anyone who’s even remotely interested in soil and water conservation can go to any one these websites and find a way to get detailed information on virtually any national, state or local program,” he said.

“Even if you don’t have a computer or internet access at home, you can go to a public library or to an institution like Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute and use their facilities to pull up all the information you need.”

Local soil conservation efforts began, Benfield said, 70 years ago this year during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt in Anson County, NC. Topsoil from the “Dust Bowl” darkening the skies over Washington, DC, helped to convince Congress of the need.

The partnership at all three levels of government has been in place since the beginning, he said, even through occasional agency restructurings down through the decades. North Carolina has 96 soil and water districts, designated almost exclusively by counties.

In Caldwell County, a major area of focus is the 99-square-mile Lower Creek watershed, which drains into the Catawba River and Lake Rhodhiss, which is the primary source of drinking water for the county. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), however, rates the lake as “impaired.”

A number of recent and future projects on Lower Creek are designed to restore the stream’s natural banks, prevent erosion of topsoil from agricultural land and reduce pollution. Livestock, for instance, are being fed and watered from central locations and fenced out of the creek.

Becoming a major area of focus is the upper basin of the Yadkin River, which rises from the Eastern Continental Divide at Blowing Rock and provides drinking water and recreation to dozens of cities and towns as it flows through North Carolina on its way to South Carolina.

A recent study group of western NC officials, foresters and others interested in preserving the Yadkin met in early June to provide input for a plan of action to use and conserve the river. Caldwell County also plans a future reservoir for drinking water on a Yadkin tributary.

Benfield added that he has posted “a number of information pieces and photos about local soil and water conservation projects” on his personal website, “dennisbenfield.com.” Also, the county is said to be redesigning its website and the soil and water page.

“I’m not hugging trees, preaching about global warming or yelling ‘the sky is falling,’” Benfield said. “But we do need to stay informed about ways that man can use natural resources without harming them for future generations.

“The internet, today, makes that pretty easy.”

Benfield to Offer Information on Caldwell Soil & Water Projects

June 27, 2007

HUDSON—Dennis A. Benfield of Hudson, elected last year as a Caldwell Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) supervisor, is starting a personal publicity campaign to make Caldwell County citizens aware of some of the district’s projects.

“The only promises I made in the campaign were that I would work hard to be a good supervisor on the soil and water board, and that I would try to help keep people aware of the kinds of projects the district is sponsoring in Caldwell County,” Benfield said.

“It’s been about six months since I joined some very dedicated people on the board,” he added. “I’ve learned an awful lot and I have so much more to learn, but I have begun to see how this board uses its funds as ‘seed money’ to cause some very important conservation efforts.”

Benfield said the most frequent comment he heard in his 2006 campaign was that people had never heard of the Soil & Water Conservation District before, or had heard of it, but had no idea what the board does.

“I promised to keep them informed. I focused as much as I could on learning the job for the first several months, then in May, I started trying to inform the public about what we do.”

In the last six weeks, Benfield, with the board’s approval, has tipped off the news media about projects being sponsored by the Caldwell SWCD, or sent them news releases with photos, and started speaking at interested civic clubs.

In the last two weeks, the new SWCD supervisor has revamped his old campaign website from 2006—“dennisbenfield.com”—to include a number of SWCD news stories, links to several related SWCD sites and a special SWCD “photo gallery.”

Benfield said he plans an automated telephone call to at least 10,000 Caldwell County households to advice recipients to look for SWCD news on the county website—“caldwell.co.nc.us—or at his personal website which also offers a “contact me” page.

Anyone interested in contacting supervisor Benfield about the Caldwell SWCD, especially how it might help with a specific land improvement project, can email him at dennis@dennisbenfield.com or call at 828-396-5453.

Caldwell Soil & Water Supervisor Urges 'Three-Front War' On IBT Law

January 16, 2007

HUDSON--Now that the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission (EMC) has “awarded” Concord and Kannapolis a 10-million-gallons-per-day Inter-Basin Transfer (IBT) from the Catawba River—over the objections of a coalition of local governments and citizens from the upper Catawba basin—what’s next in this “water war?”

Caldwell Soil & Water Conservation District supervisor Dennis A. Benfield, who has been active in the water fight, has suggested "that IBT opponents respond aggressively and attack the transfer on three specific fronts: in court, in the General Assembly and in the political “appointments process.”

First, the coalition has more than $1 million in a litigation fund and has hired Raleigh attorney Charles Case, who is well-known and well-versed in court battles over water. Case was one of the attorneys involved in an interstate battle lasting more than a decade as Tidewater Virginia communities sought to transfer water from Kerr Lake/Lake Gaston, which straddles the border.

"Unfortunately, I don’t see an immediately effective alternative better than going forward with litigation to stop the actual Concord-Kannapolis water grab. Interestingly, the South Carolina attorney general’s office—representing thirsty communities south of Cabarrus and Mecklenburg counties—has threatened to sue immediately if not included in a 'multi-state regional compact' to handle future water distribution decisions," Benfield said.

"One question also might be whether the upper Catawba coalition could actually pool resources with the South Carolina folks to battle the water transfer on common grounds. Finding those 'common grounds' could prove to be the difficult part, but it would be an interesting meeting," he added.

"Number two, the current IBT statute of 1993 is a cumbersome law with many ambiguities, and leaders from Cabarrus County along with members of the EMC—none of whom anticipated the firestorm of opposition from the upper Catawba—kept saying they were 'only following the law.' Concord mayor Scott Padgett was particularly effective, whining that his community had spent over six years and $500,000 on the plan, blah-bl-blah-bl-blah…," Benfield said.

"From what I can see, lawyer Case is very well respected among both North Carolina state legislators and environmental agency managers for his 'water law' expertise. He has already put forth dozens of specific changes for legislators to consider, and even the EMC chairman agrees changes must be made. I noticed in December that legislators Sen. Austin Allran (R-Catawba), Sen. Jim Jacumin (R-Burke/Caldwell) and Rep. Phil Frye (R-Avery/Caldwell) were paying close attention to Case’s presentation."

If ever there was an issue that legislators from North Carolina’s western, piedmont and eastern sections, both Democrat and Republican, can coalesce around, it would be distribution of water from the state’s major river basins. Politically, it’s a fact that there are many more small and medium-sized communities in North Carolina than there are big cities. It’s another fact that the big cities will almost always be the “takers” and the rest of us, the “givers.”

Attorney Case is the key player now. He’s the one in the best position to push the buttons on litigation and to direct legislative changes in IBT law, Benfield observed.

"A third attack should focus on the makeup of the EMC itself, the group that voted 12-1 on Wednesday to grant Concord and Kannapolis the IBT. I couldn’t help but notice that only three members live in western North Carolina, two from Asheville and one from Shelby. Ten had home addresses from Chapel Hill, Raleigh and points east. For residents of the upper Catawba basin, that’s like trying to play 3-on-10 football! With odds like that, they’ll never get a fair hearing!" he said.

He asked rhetorical questions: "What needs to be done, politically, to change the makeup of that commission? Who appoints those people, and why is representation on such a critical body so geographically one-sided? It’s time for Republicans and Democrats to set aside partisan differences, and focus on something that’s really important for our common future."

"In general," Benfield concluded, "we need to realize that this 'war' isn’t over yet, unless we just surrender. We’ve only lost one battle."

Benfield Speaks to NC Legislative Group on Changing IBT Law

December 21, 2006

RALEIGH—A group of 40 civic leaders and elected officials from the upper Catawba River basin flew to Raleigh on Wednesday to address legislators and regulatory managers on changes they believe necessary in North Carolina’s 1993 law which determines how Inter-Basin Transfers (IBTs) are granted within the state.

Other than the legislators and regulators themselves, 14 public speakers addressed changes they wanted to see. Only one, Concord mayor Scott Padgett, spoke in favor of the proposed 36-million-gallons-per-day IBT that Cabarrus County towns want from the Catawba. All the others opposed provisions of the current law.

Leaders on both sides of the issue agreed that “the process has as lot of room for improvement,” but they disagreed sharply whether the current Concord/Kannapolis proposal should be included in any changes that might be passed by the 2007 General Assembly.

Dennis A. Benfield of Hudson, the only speaker from Caldwell County, called the law “unwieldy” and “awkward” and reminded the legislative study committee that IBTs approved under the measure “don’t go into effect for 30 years,” meaning that “the generation that really feels the pressure of this legislation are our children and grand-children. Who’s here to speak for them?”

“Most of the ‘political generation’ represented here in this room, arguing vehemently for and against this law will be dead when the effects of IBTs are actually felt. What kind of law is it that requires a 30-year minimum planning period for IBTs, and then locks in those regulatory decisions permanently, ignoring future advances in science and technology that might offer better solutions?”

“In their zeal to remove ‘politics’ from the process,” said the newly elected member of the Caldwell Soil & Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors, “I’m afraid your colleagues also removed the ‘common sense.’ The General Assembly needs to revisit this statute immediately, this time remembering which generation is really affected.”

Benfield held up his personal 20-year-old copy of the U.S. Constitution, asking the legislators if they remembered the Preamble’s “promise to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity? Or the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee that no one will be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law? Where’s the Due Process in these deliberations for the unborn generation?”

He said the Caldwell Soil & Water Conservation supervisors are “on record supporting (Hickory) Mayor (Rudy) Wright and other elected leaders of counties and municipalities in the upper Catawba River basin who are standing up to this proposed IBT with a promise to take any approval to court.”

The Caldwell County portion of the delegation included some 10 citizens, political leaders, business leaders and government employees.

The legislative study committee included Rep. Phillip Frye (R-Avery/Caldwell), Rep. Ray Warren (D-Alexander/Catawba), Sen. Austin Allran (R-Catawba) and Sen. Jim Jacumin (R-Burke/Caldwell).

An attorney representing the upper Catawba basin local governments, Charles Case of Raleigh, pointed out that “to take away from one area which uses water to opt for a different lifestyle is just wrong.”

Case urged the legislators to “let the free market system work—let economic development go naturally to the water it needs—don’t create artificial ‘water economics.’” He said “IBTs that don’t have the approval of the area where the water is being taken from should never be approved.”

Case handed out a four-page summary of dozens of changes he recommends in the 1993 law, including several already acknowledged as needed by chairman David Moreau of the N.C. Environmental Management Commission, which is charged with implementing provisions of the current law.

This is the group that must decide on Jan. 11, 2007, the merits of the Concord and Kannapolis request. Duke Energies, which manages the Catawba River lakes and dams under a 100-year state charter, has already recommended that the 36-million-gallons-per-day request be denied. The NCEMC itself is recommending lowering the request to 10 million gallons per day, starting in 2035.

Three speakers from South Carolina pleaded for inclusion into North Carolina’s IBT process, suggesting a “bi-state compact” and promising litigation if a regional approach is ignored again by the legislature.

Afterwards, Mayor Wright of Hickory said simply, “well, we’ve been heard. We don’t expect any more news until Jan. 11. We’ve seen the recommendation significantly reduced. If they decide to go with that, the hard part for the upper Catawba communities will be deciding whether or not to actually go to court. We’ve got three years to do that.”

Benfield A Rare Republican Elected Tuesday to Soil & Water Board

November 8, 2006

HUDSON—In Tuesday’s election, Dennis A. Benfield of Hudson became one of only a few Republicans ever elected as a Caldwell Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor, according to party veterans.

Bill Stone of Lenoir, former Republican county commission chairman, said he could “never remember” a Republican on that board before. Soil & Water Conservation District chairman Shawn Haigler named four other Republicans who have served as supervisors over 69 years.

Amid mixed results for Caldwell Republicans, Benfield’s victory in the seven-man Soil & Water free-for-all emerged as a bright spot for the local party, especially since he led all candidates in the race.

In unofficial returns, he polled 6,305 votes, some 830 votes more than Democrat Michael Willis and Unaffiliated incumbent Jeff Rash, who were in close contention for the second seat available in Tuesday’s election.

“I am humbled by the outcome,” Benfield said, “and particularly in gaining some credibility, by a Republican, on environmental issues. Although technically a non-partisan race, everyone knew the party affiliations of the seven candidates.”

“I expected to win, because I worked hard, I think I had a clear message, I tried to educate people about what this board does, and I had some invaluable help from my friend (school board candidate) Rob Bratcher. We also had some great workers at the polls today.”

“A major goal for me in this campaign, besides finishing first in a field of seven, was to increase my name recognition in my home county to at least 5,000 votes,” he added.

As a first-time candidate in last spring’s Republican primary election for Caldwell County commissioner, he attracted just 410 votes in an eight-person field. He felt his 35-year career, almost all in Hickory, meant that he wasn’t known in Caldwell, even though he has lived in the county for almost 32 years.

Since the spring, Benfield has been named Public Affairs Director for the Caldwell Republican Party and was elected president of the Caldwell Republican Men’s Club.

He hammered hard at two main issues: (1) his opposition to the proposed inter-basin transfer of water from the Catawba River to benefit Concord and Kannapolis and (2) his view that pollution in local streams is killing marine life “and can’t be beneficial to humans.”

He was the only one of the seven candidates who attended a hearing in Valdese in September, waiting 5½ hours to speak for two minutes opposing the Cabarrus County water transfer.

He also stated early in his campaign the importance he placed on “having plenty of clean water to attract new jobs and new communities to Caldwell County.”

A 1971 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill school of journalism, the 57-year-old Benfield has had a 23-year career in corporate and institutional public relations.

In 1976, he earned a master’s degree, summa cum laude, in political science at Appalachian State University in Boone, concentrating in public administration and minoring in junior college education.

The last 13 years, his career has been in sales, insurance and higher education. A Nationwide Insurance agent now, he’s spent about 10 years teaching part-time at Catawba Valley Community College, Lenoir-Rhyne College, Appalachian State University and Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute.

Beginning in January, he will become a political science instructor at Cleveland Community College in Shelby.

World Journal Finds Pollution Killing Much Marine Life

November 3, 2006

HUDSON—A candidate for the Caldwell Soil & Water Conservation board in next Tuesday’s election says a report in this week’s international journal, Science, “makes it clear that pollution is killing marine life throughout the world, including right here in Caldwell County.”

Dennis A. Benfield of Hudson, an outspoken opponent of the recent proposed inter-basin transfer of water from the Catawba River to benefit Concord and Kannapolis, said the current trend of worldwide water-borne pollutants “could cause the collapse of most major populations of seafood species by mid-century.”

An international team of marine ecologists and economists has studied a series of 32 major experiments the last four years in the oceans, the Great Lakes and “other lakes, rivers and freshwaters,” Science reports in Friday’s edition.

Besides pollution, the worldwide disappearance of seafood species is made worse by over-fishing, the scientists found.

“At this point,” the journal said, “29 percent of fish and seafood species have collapsed, that is, their catch has decreased by 90 percent. It is a clear trend, and it is accelerating,” one scientist said, predicting “all fish and seafood species…to collapse…by 2048.”

“To even the casual observer,” Benfield added, “the ponds, lakes, small streams and large streams in Caldwell County are now missing many species of minnows, spring lizards, crayfish and other marine life that were plentiful only a few decades ago, when I was a boy playing in a creek behind my house.

“Pollution by industry and agriculture, mostly in fertilizers and herbicides moved along by storm-water runoff, is a serious problem throughout our area,” he said, “and we’re not doing nearly enough about it.”

“Lake Rhodhiss already is classified as ‘impaired’ by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—and at this time, that lake is Caldwell County’s primary source of drinking water,” Benfield pointed out.

“I’m not a scientist, but I do have eyes—so I know our own streams are losing some forms of marine life. I have many friends out there, too, who report the same result in their local streams.”

The Caldwell Soil & Water Conservation District encourages local land users and landowners to voluntarily use wise soil and water conservation practices in their agrarian pursuits. In some cases, funds are available through government agencies to help with the changes needed.

Duke Energy Takes Sides in IBT Water Dispute

October 27, 2006

HUDSON—For those who think speaking out at a public hearing is probably a waste of time, the multi-county dispute over the transfer of water from the Catawba River has taken an encouraging turn. After two rambunctious public hearings in the last six weeks, in which scores and scores of speakers voiced pointed opposition to an inter-basin transfer (IBT) of water from the Catawba River, the “other shoe” may have dropped Wednesday.

Shortly after the second hearing, in Charlotte, where opponents vastly outnumbered those who favored the IBT for Concord and Kannapolis, officials of the N.C. Environmental Management Commission said they would delay their decision “to allow more time for public comment.”

The real effect of that delay also would have allowed time for the N.C. General Assembly to revisit existing laws on IBTs, probably early next year. But this week, opponents of the transfer of up to 38 million gallons of water per day from the Catawba to the Yadkin-Pee Dee River basin picked up a major ally when Duke Energy told the Environmental Management Commission that it is opposed to the IBT as well.

Caldwell County officials, including those in Granite Falls and Lenoir, have joined a fight led by Hickory and Catawba, Burke and McDowell counties, which have built a proposed legal-action fund already totaling some $2 million.

“This whole episode should encourage our citizens to understand that their involvement in democratic processes like public hearings can, indeed, yield good results,” said Dennis A. Benfield of Hudson, a candidate for Caldwell Soil & Water Conservation District supervisor in the Nov. 7 election.

“First, the overwhelming wave of opposing voices in those two hearings just shocked the other side, which may have thought the IBT was a slam-dunk. Then the announced delay for making the decision—and now Duke Energy’s opposition….”

“All of a sudden,” Benfield added, “what was going to be a rubber-stamp approval for Concord and Kannapolis is now crumbling pretty fast. State officials realize now that thousands and thousands of people in this part of the state want to protect their water from a bureaucratic raid by two larger cities.” “This is, in fact, how democracy is supposed to work. It’s also how ‘politics’ works.”

“State government, plus Concord and Kannapolis are controlled by one political party, while the towns and counties in the Catawba River basin are controlled by the other party. The ruling party in Raleigh made an ‘adjustment’ to stay somewhat in the good graces, so-to-speak, of the other party.”

Duke Energy actually sent a letter to the Environmental Management Commission this week stating the company’s opposition to the IBT plan for two major reasons: (1) the overwhelming public opposition and (2) the “substantial amount of water” involved in the request by Concord and Kannapolis.

Benfield pointed out that “Duke Energy is the E.F. Hutton of the Catawba basin—when they talk, people listen.” The electric company has managed the Catawba River and its system of six North Carolina lakes for almost a century, generating hydroelectric power under a license granted by the state.

For the local governments and citizen groups fighting Concord and Kannapolis over the water transfer, Duke’s timing may be fortuitous.

“It probably occurred to Duke Energy that it would make fewer enemies to go ahead and oppose the IBT—especially since it is in the midst of its relicensing negotiations with the state,” Benfield noted.

Benfield waited 5½ hours on Sept. 7 to speak for two minutes at the Valdese public hearing in opposition of the IBT proposal. He was one of only three speakers from Caldwell County that night, all of whom opposed the transfer. A rural landowner along Big Gunpowder Creek in the Hudson area for 32 years, Benfield was the only one of seven candidates for the Caldwell Soil & Water Conservation board to speak at either of the public hearings on the proposed transfer.

The 57-year-old insurance agent, college instructor and public relations operative has stated many times in his campaign this fall the importance of Catawba River water in the future of economic development in Caldwell County. “We need that water to serve new industry and new homes right here,” he said. “I don’t want to seem calloused to the needs of Concord and Kannapolis, but I really don’t care about the expansion of Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Our people need jobs.”

“Cabarrus County has other options in finding water for its future,” Benfield said. “I’m working hard to see that pursuing those ‘other options’ is exactly what it must do.”

Lenoir News-Topic Has New Questions for Soil & Water Hopefuls

October 16, 2006

(1) The proposed transfer of water from the Catawba River to Concord and Kannapolis will be decided soon. Whatever the decision, it has brought to light the importance of this natural resource. What actions can be taken on a local level to protect what we have and ensure an adequate water supply for the future?

The proposed water transfer, under state law, is decided by the state’s Environmental Management Commission—not local government. That’s the main problem. It’s a water quantity issue, too. The Soil & Water board’s focus, also by law, is water quality, or stopping pollution at the source. We need, for instance, to reduce storm water pollution of our primary source of drinking water, Lake Rhodhiss, which the EPA now calls “impaired.”

What ordinary citizens can do is to speak out in all possible ways—voicing their opinions at any public meetings related to water issues. On September 7, 2006, for example, I was the only one of seven Soil & Water Conservation candidates to speak at the Valdese hearing against the proposed water transfer for Concord and Kannapolis—the only one.

County Commissioners should also continue to develop the new Yadkin River reservoir in the northern part of the county.

(2) As Caldwell County's economy changes, agriculture and ecotourism could play an important role. What actions as a soil & water commissioner will you take to protect our natural resources?

Residential growth in Caldwell County brings the very problems we see in heavier populated areas like Concord and Kannapolis, although hopefully at a slower pace. Families moving here expect to be able to find jobs and careers to match their educations and work qualifications. Others came here to retire. Besides jobs, they all expect to find attractive, affordable housing, including appropriate drinking water and sewer services. We must also have land resources and adequate water and electricity supplies for new industries and other employers seeking to locate here.

The Soil & Water Conservation District, naturally, should work well with all other boards and commissions in local, state and federal governments—as well as private citizens—to promote prudent residential, industrial and economic growth. “The main thing” is to remember “the main thing,” and that’s soil and water quality.

(3) Caldwell County is experiencing unprecedented residential growth. What opportunities and challenges does this present for Caldwell County? What should be done to address those issues?

Again, the Soil & Water board is about preserving water quality. As a member, under the district’s lawful mission, I will visit landowners, farmers, dairymen, landscapers, timber men, homebuilders—anyone who might disturb or add chemicals to the soil—to convince them to use proven conservation practices. This means educating and persuading people to do what’s best for all of us.

People need to know there are consequences to making bad decisions about soil and water quality, just as in any other aspect of life. We know, for instance, that “dirty” water can be cleaned up for drinking. We also know that, the dirtier the water, the longer and more costly the cleanup. So, any time we avoid polluting our soil, water and air, the less time and money it takes to clean it up—and that means saving taxpayer resources. I’ve not met anybody yet who likes to pay taxes.

(4) What is the one thing, if elected, that you want to be sure to accomplish?

What has amazed me, as I have campaigned, is that the great majority people I meet have no idea what the Soil & Water Conservation Districts in North Carolina actually do. Even people who have been involved in politics for many years, working for their own causes and candidates, look at me like I’m green and come from Mars for actually campaigning for a job they never heard of, and which pays nothing.

For more than 35 years since college, I have been a professional communicator, with a career in public relations, sales and education. As a part-time college instructor for about 10 of those years, I’ve been privileged to teach—to reduce the ignorance of my students regarding the world around them. The one thing I’d like to be sure to do is to help the public at large understand what the soil & water board does for them.

5) What's the most important decision you ever made and what was the outcome?

The “most important decision I’ve ever made” is how I choose to live. I am a Christian, a child of God who’s been blessed with many gifts, most notably, my family. Much is demanded of me. I have hundreds of friends and, hopefully, not as many enemies. I’ve worked hard to get an education, through universities, yes, but more importantly, just from seeing the world around me. To know me better, check my website: dennisbenfield.com.

I’ve worked hard in my career, but even harder with my wife, to encourage our children to get their educations and to be “assets,” not liabilities, to their communities. I think they’ve done that pretty well. I’m mostly retired now, and our children and grandchildren live far away. I’m trying to “give back” to my community. The “outcome” of my decision is still being judged, by those around me and, ultimately, by my Lord and Redeemer.

Soil & Water Candidate Benfield Addresses Catawba River Hearing

September 8, 2006

VALDESE—Dennis A. Benfield of Hudson was one of only three speakers from Caldwell County to address a public hearing Thursday night, opposing an inter-basin transfer (IBT) of water from the Catawba River.

Benfield, a candidate for Caldwell Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor, waited some 5½ hours to speak to a crowd of some 2000 attending the hearing held by the N.C. Division of Water Resources on a proposal by the cities of Concord and Kannapolis to divert up to 38 million gallons of water per day from the river.

More than 170 people signed up to speak at the Old Rock School community center in Valdese—the large majority against the IBT proposal—including N.C. Sen. Jimmy Jacumin (R-Burke/Caldwell) and Caldwell County Commissioner Dr. John Thuss.

“Make no mistake,” Benfield told the crowd, “This IBT is about ‘haves’ and ‘have nots.’ It’s about wealth and political power, about who has it and who doesn’t.”

“In Caldwell County, our furniture and textile industries are gone. It’s awfully hard for us to care about economic development in Cabarrus County or to get teary-eyed over Pillowtex employees who lost their jobs.”

“We have a number of times had the highest unemployment rate in North Carolina,” he stated.

“What are we doing about it? We are working very hard to bring in new industries, new jobs, new communities, tourism, and retirees. We need that water for economic development, too.” “Some of the industries we’re recruiting now are massive users of water. Is it fair to ask us to give up the natural resources we have left? We’re fighting for our economic survival.”

Benfield added that the IBT for Kannapolis and Concord is “only the first of many such requests to come” from cities south and east of Caldwell County which need more water.

“Where’s the common sense here?” he asked.

“Rather than moving the water to the people and the jobs, why not let the people and the jobs move to the water? Send those jobs to Caldwell County!”

Benfield challenged the Division of Water Resources, which conducted the hearing on behalf of the N.C. Environmental Management Commission (NCEMC), to “listen to the voices of the majority here tonight. They’re telling you they’re against this transfer.”

Speaking just before 10 p.m., Benfield said “it is shameful” that only one NCEMC commissioner was still in the audience. “What kind of message does it send when you don’t attend your own hearing?”

Earlier, Benfield pointed out, “if every city south and east of us gets all the water it wants, the Catawba River will be dry. Mountain Island Lake and Lake Norman already pump out more water every day than flows in.”

A number of speakers questioned “the science” behind the Division of Water Resources assessment of the Kannapolis and Concord IBT request.

The Catawba River basin, it was noted, is only half as large in square miles as the Yadkin River basin, which serves Concord and Kannapolis. The Yadkin basin takes in more than twice the ground water runoff as the Catawba basin.

Benfield, 57, is a semi-retired insurance agent running against six other non-partisan candidates for one of two seats as Caldwell Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor in the Nov. 7 election.

The candidate also owns a wooded tract around his home which borders Big Gunpowder Creek in southern Caldwell County, which flows into Lake Hickory.

Lenoir News-Topic Questions Soil & Water Candidates

August 16, 2006

NEWS-TOPIC QUESTIONS FOR SOIL & WATER BOARD CANDIDATES

NAME: Dennis Allen Benfield OFFICE SEEKING: Caldwell Soil & Water Conservation District supervisor AGE: 57

HOMETOWN: Born in Cleveland County, I lived in Hickory until age 26; I’ve lived in southern Caldwell County the last 31½ years.

OCCUPATION: “Semi-retired” Nationwide Insurance agent and community college instructor, sole employee of “Wordwizard Enterprises,” a one-man public relations company.

WHY ARE YOU SEEKING THIS OFFICE? WHAT MAKES YOU A QUALIFIED CANDIDATE? Leaders in my party wanted to see me stay active after my race earlier this year and suggested offices they wanted me to consider. One race would have complicated things for a friend of mine in the same race, so I chose Soil & Water. I’ve done a lot of homework, and I’m enthusiastic about preserving our most basic natural resources.

I believe I am as qualified, or more, than any other candidate. I grew up respecting the land and using it without detriment, spending my youth camping. I am a charter member of Essau Huppeday Lodge of the Order of the Arrow camping fraternity. I am an Eagle Scout, I have soil and water conservation merit badge, and I continue camping today. I own some wooded acreage, I’m building a greenhouse and I’ve taken college courses in plant propagation, greenhouse management and soils and fertilizers.

WHAT EXPERIENCE WILL YOU BRING TO THE BOARD? Besides growing up “on the land” and my college studies as an adult, I think my management style and experiences are important. I have more than 35 years in public relations and sales, “persuading” people to do what’s best for them. I have a good analytical mind, two university degrees and a “consensus” management style. I define a problem, seek a consensus and then move forward to the solution. If you hear people out, let them offer their solutions and let them become part of a greater consensus, then they have a “stake” in the agreed-to outcome. They’ll help make it happen. What I do is whatever “falls through the cracks,” “little things” that might be the difference between progress and inaction.

WHAT ARE THE GREATEST CHALLENGES FOR THE COUNTY RELATED TO SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION? Caldwell County is rural and mountainous. We must be ever-vigilant with farming, ranching, dairying, landscaping, nurseries, field crops, timbering and home construction. Our mountain slopes exacerbate the runoff of soils, herbicides and pesticides into our streams.

Our primary source of drinking water—Lake Rhodhiss—was recently declared “impaired” by the EPA. We’ve got to get serious about controlling storm water runoff there, adopting state standards and local ordinances, and working with other lake users. Cleaning up Lake Rhodhiss from its proven concentrations of pollutants is a priority.

Another major challenge will be a lower water table, due to our extended drought, while growing cities downstream require even greater quantities of water. If all the cities got all the water they want from the Catawba River, it would be dry. Two of the lakes around Charlotte already are pump out more daily than comes in.

WHAT ARE THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE COUNTY RELATED TO SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION? Our commissioners already are developing a huge new drinking water source in the Yadkin River basin in the fast-growing northern part of the county. We have approvals from seven environmental agencies for a model, high-tech reservoir on a 400-acre tract containing a natural aquifer producing some 6 million gallons a day. We’re about half-way in a 10-12 year process, designing and building being next, and it’s important that we finish.

Good water is vital to our future—jobs, population growth, tourism—so we must continue work along other major streams like Wilson’s Creek and Johns River. More than 10,000 visitors annually come to the new welcome center on Wilson’s Creek, and several, major “high end” retirement and resort communities are planned near Collettsville. If we can get voluntary compliance by farmers and others disturbing the soil to keep our streams clean, we can change the face of our county.

Instead of being known as the area that furniture abandoned in a global market, we can have great new industries that don’t pollute, new tourist and recreational opportunities along our streams and lakes, and beautiful mountain communities. All it takes is good planning and management, and everybody being willing to work together.

WHAT DO YOU OFFER THAT NO OTHER CANDIDATE CAN? My background—childhood experiences, physical handicap, two college degrees, communications and sales careers, management style—are all unique to me. I’ve tried to be humble in successes and smart enough to learn from failures. I try to live by the grace of God and by the gifts He gave me, including the challenges. That said, I believe my professional communications skills are an asset my opponents may not have.

I am probably the only Soil & Water candidate with a website, “dennisbenfield.com,” so I invite anyone who wants to know me better to visit there.

What's in a Name? Two Dennis Benfields?

March 23, 2006

HUDSON—“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet….”

With apologies to William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Caldwell County has not one, but two, Dennis Benfields. One is running for a countywide political office; the other is not.

The personal hygiene of either may not rival the sweet smell of a rose, but politically, they both seem to be on the same page, singing from the same hymnal.

“We’ve known each other, or at least known about each other, for decades,” laughed Dennis A. Benfield of Hudson, 57, who’s a first-time candidate in an eight-person field in the May 2 Republican primary for the Caldwell board of commissioners.

A 31-year resident of Caldwell County, the candidate said he and his counterpart only recently talked long enough to discover that they are, “probably, third or fourth cousins.”

No one, they say, seems to want to believe there are two Dennis Benfields around—or that they live less than five miles apart.

“He’s the older one; I’m the more handsome one,” added Dennis A. Benfield, only half joking, about Dennis M. Benfield, 59, of Granite Falls.

“I expected to have some ‘name recognition problems,’ as all first-time candidates do,” said Dennis A. Benfield, “but none of my opponents faces this. My career has always been around Hickory, so there are probably more people in Caldwell County who know him than know me.”

To assist with his name recognition in the campaign, the candidate has established a web site, “www.dennisabenfield.com.”

The elder Benfield is a senior master mechanic of some 14 years at Armstrong Ford in Hickory. He’s also a reserve deputy for the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Department.

He’s spent his entire life in Caldwell County, first picking up a wrench in his dad’s Granite Falls mechanic shop at age 15. He’s been in law enforcement, too, for more than 31 years, including 15½ years full-time.

Dennis A. Benfield, the candidate, who grew up in Hickory, is semi-retired. He’s a part-time instructor at Catawba Valley Community College and an associate agent for a Nationwide Insurance agency in Hickory.

Ironically, the pair even worked together at the same employer for more than two years.

At Armstrong Ford, Dennis A. was in sales as assistant fleet manager, while Dennis M. was a senior shop mechanic.

“Frankly, we had some fun with that,” smiled the candidate. “People would call the dealership looking for him, and I might get the call by mistake. The caller would ask me some detail about rebuilding a transmission, and I wouldn’t have a clue.”

Dennis A. Benfield left the dealership in the fall of 2000, looking to “slow down a bit” and find a way to earn his income without so much wear-and-tear on arthritic knees.

“Dennis is a pretty smart guy,” said Dennis M. Benfield, “and he did well at the car dealership, because he was straight-up with people and he talked about facts. Too many politicians don’t do that.”

“Seriously,” added Dennis A. Benfield, “as we got to know each other, we found that we shared the same opinions about how things ought to be—and as I talked to people about Caldwell County’s problems, Dennis helped me to realize that we both were hearing people say the same kinds of things.”

The elder Benfield is actively supporting his namesake’s campaign for a seat on the Caldwell County commission.

“The people on that board are going to have to get more jobs into this county to help relieve the tax burden on people. We’re a poor county, and the politicians don’t seem to realize it,” offered Dennis M. Benfield.

“We’ve had a lot of industry, mostly furniture, move out of our county to foreign countries, and at the same time, our people are having to buy Chinese-made stuff at Wal-Mart.

“For a decent job, our people have to drive to neighboring counties—that, or lose their home, ‘cause they don’t have the education to get a better job here. That’s the legacy of the furniture industry in Caldwell County.”

Not surprisingly, Dennis A. Benfield thinks at least part of the answer is to do a better job selling the county’s attributes.

He pointed out that “other North Carolina counties are attracting new, non-polluting industries to provide economic growth and stabilize the tax base. Why can’t we?”

“We need to sell Caldwell County for what it is—a beautiful place for people to live and raise families, with lots of clean air, clean water, available land and a dedicated work force that now must drive 30-40 miles for the best jobs.”

“We can’t expect the individual property owner to continue to take on more and more of the tax burden, while millions of dollars in the industrial tax base evaporates with all these plant closings,” Dennis A. Benfield said.

“We’ve got about 22,000 tax-paying families supporting some 78,000 people. But, our two incumbent commissioners are running for reelection, patting themselves on the back because our tax rate, they say, is so low.

“I hate to be the one to wake them up to the fact that the people here don’t give a happy hoot about what the tax rate is, or what rate people are paying in Wake County.

“Our people don’t live in those 70-some other counties; our people live here. What our people care about is, from 2004 to 2005, their taxes went up big-time in dollars—some by 30 percent or more—and those dollars are harder than ever to find!

“Maybe, if we cut back on the scope of what government tries to do—just maybe, we could lessen the need to tax, tax, tax.”

“In my household,” the candidate said, “we clip coupons and look for discounts before we buy, we work hard to eliminate waste, and we take advantage of competition, to control our costs and save dollars. That’s the attitude I would take to the Board of Commissioners.”