Gary Bartlett, the executive director of the state board of elections, said “Normally, the correct procedure is to disclose the information during the period in which it takes place. This is an infraction. Certainly he (Goss) had the ability to loan his campaign the money and to be reimbursed at a later date. He did not provide the information during that specified campaign reporting period. “It’s my information that Senator Goss has detailed records, and there is no question it (reimbursement) is allowed under the law.” Bartlett added, “This (reporting errors among candidates) happens a lot. This involves a lot of money because it covers a longer period of time.” 

Senate President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight has announced that he has appointed Senator Steve Goss as Senate Co-Chair of the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee. This powerful committee is comprised of 18 members, nine from the Senate and nine from the House of Representatives. The Committee is charged with overseeing the Department of Transportation (DOT) and all state transportation policy on behalf of the General Assembly. The Committee receives regular updates on all functions of DOT, including transportation planning, road construction, paving, rail, and mass transit. Senator Goss also serves as Co-Chair of the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee. The House Co-Chair is Representative Nelson Cole of Rockingham County.

Visitor's center operations funded
by Jule Hubbard, Wilkes Journal Patriot, September 4, 2009
Local business and government leaders attended a "networking" gathering at the Wilkes County Airport Thursday night planned by the Wilkes Chamber of Commerce where State Sen. Steve Goss announced that he had secured $100,000 in state funding for the operation of the new visitor's center in Wilkes. The event was called "Soaring to New Heights in 2009."

N.C. Sen. Steve Goss of Boone has secured $100,000 for operating the new state visitor's center and rest area east of the Wilkesboros on U.S. 421.
It's scheduled to be completed Sept. 15 and open with a ceremony that starts at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 1.
Goss, chairman of an appropriations subcommittee of the Senate Transportation Committee, announced the allocation during a Wilkes Chamber of Commerce-sponsored meeting of about 100 local business and government leaders at the Wilkes County Airport late Thursday afternoon. The meeting was called "Soaring to New Heights in 2009."
Goss said the money was from a special contingency fund in the office of Senate Pro Tem Marc Basnight. The $100,000 is to be administered by Wilkes County government for operating the visitor's center and rest area until the next legislative session starts in May.
"Sen. Basnight, who has visited the area three times in the past couple of years, told me he is excited to be able to help our folks in Wilkes County and the surrounding region," said Goss earlier in an email. "In the next legislative session, we will work on recurring funding for the center."
The visitor's center and rest area are important to the entire northwest region "as we welcome visitors and potential residents into the area," he added.
Goss called it the first glance at the "Gateway to the Mountains" for tourists and potential residents visiting the foothills and mountains.
Wilkes County government officials had counted on getting $150,000 annually from the state for operating the visitor's center and rest area because the state allocates that amount annually for operating each of the other visitor's centers statewide. However, it wasn't included in the budget approved by the legislature.
Wilkes County government is responsible for the center's operations, which includes providing staff. County Manager John Yates said that under a proposed contract between the county and the Wilkes Chamber of Commerce, the chamber would operate the center. He said the contract would soon be brought before commissioners for approval.
Wilkes Chamber of Commerce Executive Linda Cheek said proposed hours for the center are either 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week.
Mrs. Cheek said there would always be at least two people working there, including volunteers.
She said the center's proposed budget included salaries of Regina Koons as full-time visitor center manager and Ronda Latterell, who would work 20 hours a week as coordinator of volunteer staff.
Ms. Latterell's pay for an additional 20 hours each week as the new Wilkes Vision 20/20 director is from the Vision 20/20 budget, said Mrs. Cheek.
She said the center would have a part-time position for a senior citizen, funded by the Winston-Salem Urban League.
The DOT is responsible for interior and exterior maintenance, including cleaning bathrooms.
Mrs. Cheek said requests for center operational funds were sent to the county managers of other counties to be served by the center, which are Alexander, Ashe, Alleghany, Avery, Caldwell, Iredell, Surry, Watauga and Yadkin. She said similar requests also were sent to the towns of Wilkesboro and North Wilkesboro.
She said these other counties were also invited to supply materials for rotating displays on area attractions.
Wilkes is the only county or town government that provided funds so far, she added. The Wilkes Chamber of Commerce is donating staff time.
Mrs. Cheek said local businesses donated furniture, materials for graphics and displays and other items.
J.R. Vannoy & Sons Construction of Jefferson, with a bid of $9.9 million, was the project's general contractor. Several Wilkes subcontractors also worked on the project.
It's on the north side of four-lane U.S. 421 and just east of the Edgewood Road overpass, with access directly off westbound lanes of U.S. 421.
Eastbound traffic on U.S. 421 will access it by turning around at the N.C. 115 overpass about a mile away. It's the state's first rest area and visitor's center built to meet the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.
The governments of Wilkes, North Wilkesboro and Wilkesboro each paid one third of $285,000 for purchasing 21.54 acres for the facility. The state agreed to reimburse county government the cost of an additional acre for better access.
Wilkesboro paid for extending a water line and North Wilkesboro paid for extending a sewer line to the project.
Mrs. Cheek said Gov. Bev Perdue and other state officials, as well as government officials in Wilkes and other counties served by the visitor's center, have been invited to opening ceremonies for the facility on Oct. 1.
 

“The State of Healthcare in the High Country:
A Local Cost Conundrum Story”,
by Justin Grimes, High Country Press, July 16, 2006.

The President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina Senate, Marc Basnight, has appointed 45^th District Senator Steve Goss Co Chair of the Legislative Ethics Committee of the North Carolina General Assembly. Goss, a second term Senator, fills the position vacated by the death of long time Senator Vernon Malone.