Charge No. 2: Mr. Wheat says

that the land use plan has not been updated.

Fact: The current county commissioners

have reviewed the plan and updated it in each of the last four years.

Again, the "Truth Meter" registers a "0".

Charge No. 3: In last week's

"Win-Win" article, the Wheat campaign staff implies that legal

dispute between the cities and Fayette County has somehow caused 800 people

to lose their jobs in the past year and also resulted in 1,000 people

filing for unemployment benefits.

Fact: I think the writer evidently

slept through Sept. 11, the near collapse of the stock market, and the

fact that the airline industry was especially hard hit. To imply that

our county commissioners, in any way, contributed to folks losing their

jobs hardly merits a response, but it does deserve a "0" on

the "Truth Meter."

Next week, we'll take a further

look at various Wheat allegations. (Confirmation on the facts in items

one and two are available in the county office.)

A "Truth Meter" really

does seem more important than an attack meter and it tells us more about

the real tone of the campaign.

Darrell McKinney

Fayetteville