WASHINGTON  – Someone spray-painted a swastika on a sign outside the office of a Georgia congressman who had a contentious community meeting on health care last week.

A spokeswoman for Democratic Rep. David Scott of Atlanta said staffers discovered the graffiti Tuesday morning at Scott’s Smyrna, Ga., district office. The Nazi emblem covered a sign bearing the congressman’s name.

Scott’s spokeswoman, Jennifer Wright, said local police were notified along with the FBI and U.S. Capitol Police, who have warned lawmakers about potential threats stemming from the increasingly emotional debate over health care reform.

Scott engaged in a shouting match at a community meeting last week with opponents of Democratic health care proposals.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Senators say former Gov. Bob Scott served North Carolina by promoting civil rights in a turbulent era and by caring about the average person.

The Senate passed a resolution Thursday honoring Scott’s life. He died Jan. 23 at age 79.

Scott served as governor from 1969 to 1973 and lieutenant governor before that. He later served as head of the state community college system.

Sen. Floyd McKissick of Durham County recalled that Scott came to his predominantly black church in the 1960s. McKissick said such a visit could have hurt Scott politically.

Scott was a member of one of North Carolina’s most famous political families. His father, Kerr Scott, also served as governor and U.S. senator. His grandfather and an uncle served in the Legislature.

From the Winston-Salem Journal
Former Gov. Robert W. “Bob” Scott, who died Friday, once joked that he “thought a megabyte was something you eat,” but he helped set the stage for 21st century education in North Carolina.

Scott, a Democrat who was governor from 1969 to 1973, was part of a well-known political family that hailed from a Haw River farm. His father, Kerr Scott, served as governor from 1949 to 1953, and also served as a U.S. senator.

Bob Scott, educated at Duke and N.C. State, was a popular governor with a self-effacing sense of humor. He and his beloved wife, Jessie Rae Scott, once hosted a black-tie ‘possum dinner at the governor’s mansion, complete with menus printed in French.

Scott laughed hard and he worked hard. He was delightfully unscripted, a trait that’s missed in today’s slick politics. He was among the last of the good ol’ boy politicians, but he was progressive in many ways. Like his father, he improved the state’s roads. The son pushed for an increase in the state’s gasoline tax to pay for expanding the state’s highway system.

He also helped push for the state’s first retail cigarette tax – to help pay for the first public kindergartens in the state. And he helped lead the consolidation of the state’s universities into one system.

But perhaps Scott’s greatest legacy is his service to the state’s community college system. As the president of the system from 1983 until 1995, he expanded it and helped build community colleges into centers for promoting literacy and economic development. He made people realize that community colleges are crucial for improving the state’s quality of life.

“Scott has always been the champion of the students who depend the most upon community colleges: working-class North Carolinians upon whose skills and training the state’s economy depends,” we said on this page 14 years ago.

Now, as factories close and farms give way to developments, community colleges are even more important. Laid-off workers depend upon them to train for higher-tech jobs, as do high-school graduates. Scott laid the groundwork for today’s strong community-college system, but did little boasting about it. As he left the presidency of the system, he joked that someone more computer-literate should lead it as the 21st century approached. “On the information highway, I’d probably get on the wrong bus,” he said.

But in many ways, Scott was on the right road, both in leading North Carolina and the community-college system. And the state is the better for his service.

MEBANE, N.C. – Former North Carolina Gov. Bob Scott’s funeral is being held near his family farm in Alamance County and a delegation of former governors will attend.

The 79-year-old Scott died Friday after a period of declining health. The funeral is scheduled Tuesday at 11 a.m. at Hawfields Presbyterian Church.

Gov. Beverly Perdue will lead a delegation of former governors: Mike Easley, Jim Hunt and Jim Holshouser.

Scott served as governor from 1969 to 1973 and was state community college system president from 1983 to 1994. He was the son of a former governor and U.S. senator.

During his administration, Scott helped push through the first retail tax on cigarettes at a time when tobacco was still king in North Carolina. The tax helped finance the first public kindergartens in the state.

RALEIGH, N.C. -– A condolence book will be available for North Carolinians to sign in memory of former Governor Bob Scott, who served as Governor of North Carolina from 1969 to 1973.  Citizens can sign the book at the State Capitol Rotunda through the close of business on Friday, Jan. 30. 

The funeral is set for 11 am Tuesday at Hawfields Presbyterian Church in Mebane.

Last week, Gov. Bev Perdue ordered all North Carolina state flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of former Governor Scott who passed away Friday, Jan. 23.  

Flags will be flown at half-staff until sunset Jan. 27.