RALEIGH-Last week, State Rep. Wayne Goodwin (D-Richmond) praised the N.C. Industrial Commission for continuing its work outside after being forced to evacuate its Dobbs Building offices because of a bomb threat. In subsequent remarks delivered on the floor of the House of Representatives, Goodwin explained that he had slipped away from the General Assembly on Wednesday, August 12, to argue an appeal before a three-member Full Commission panel. "In the midst of my rebuttal argument an all-too-familiar sound as of late-a bomb threat siren-began ringing," said Goodwin. When asked how his argument went, Goodwin noted that the commissioners "had an answer [for the bomb threat], an answer that showed their hard-working and dedicated nature." While law enforcement personnel searched the building, the Full Commission panel reassembled across the street, under a shade tree a safe distance away, and continued the arguments. "When the North Carolina Constitution mandated that the courts be open everywhere in the state," Goodwin said, "never did it consider court might be held out in the open."
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