BOOMERANG: As stunts go, the Republican Party's "Conservative Voter Survey" ranks right up there with some of Evel Knievel's work. A wheelbarrow full of surveys was meant to show how many people don't like Gov. Beverly Perdue, a Democrat. Over at Perdue's office, staff members sifted through the surveys and found plenty of irate voters upset with Republicans as well as a campaign contribution that was intended for the Republican Party.

I LOVE YOU, MAN: Republican Sen. Richard Burr's economic development summit in Durham will be remembered as a great moment in political reconciliation. Burr and the man he beat almost six years ago, UNC system President and Democrat Erskine Bowles, traded fawning, appreciative comments about each other. Whoever wins the Democratic nomination next year to challenge Burr will surely be seeing lots of Bowles' comments in TV ads.

PRO, CON: In Washington, Burr decried the stimulus package. In North Carolina, at a fire station that was getting a grant from stimulus funds, Burr celebrated it.

IN OTHER NEWS: Sen. Kay Hagan and U.S. Rep. Brad Miller are pushing for a coin to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Greensboro civil rights sit-ins. Perdue says a 20-year old affair by the head of the highway patrol is irrelevant to his job qualifications. The Gallup Poll has found that John Edwards’ standing in the minds of Americans has dropped further than Sammy Sosa's image after the slugger was discovered corking his bat.

Gov. Beverly Perdue said today she did not disclose that her choice for state Highway Patrol Commander had been moved from his post early in his career after being caught in an extramarital affair because it wasn't relevant to the job he could do "for the people of North Carolina."

Patrol Commander Randy Glover earlier this week admitted to The News & Observer that he had been transferred when he was a trooper based in Harnett County 22 years ago after his supervisor learned he was having an affair with a sheriff's dispatcher, Dan Kane reports.

Glover, 49, was moved to New Bern, where he spent much of his 29-year career with the patrol.

Perdue, Glover and his direct boss, N.C. Crime Control Secretary Reuben Young, had declined to explain the transfer four months ago when Perdue appointed Glover to lead the patrol.

In a telephone news conference from China, where Perdue is seeking to drum up business for the state, the governor said the affair was not news.

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CHARGE ON: U.S. Attorney George Holding, saying he believes it is "outrageous" that the state overlooked laws requiring it to release 20 violent offenders with life sentences, said he will look for federal charges that could keep the inmates behind bars. (N&O)

NOT BORED: A year after losing re-election, former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole spends her days working through her foundation and caring for her ailing husband, former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole. (N&O)

AFFAIR TO REMEMBER? The head of the highway patrol, who is charged with ending a string of sexual misconduct cases involving troopers, had an extra-marital affair in 1987. Commander Randy Glover says he has paid his dues and corrected his 20-year-old mistakes. (N&O)

Whoever thought you'd have to tell an 80-year-old to behave?

The Highway Patrol apparently has joined Hugh Heffner and Anna Nicole Smith's late-husband among octogenarians who were having too much fun. So it must have seemed to patrol leaders like a good time to reflect on past, um, accomplishments.

Following disclosure this week of a Highway Patrol sergeant's dismissal for having a drunken sexual encounter with the wife of a trooper under his command, administrators sent an e-mail to all employees Wednesday.

Reminding the recipients that this year is the 80th anniversary of the patrol's founding, secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety Ruben Young and patrol commander Col. Randy Glover urged troopers to remember that their on-duty and off-duty behavior reflect on the force as a whole.

As we celebrate and reflect on the organization’s many accomplishments, we ask you to remember that everything we do, whether on- or off-duty, is a reflection not only on our organization, but also on those who have gone before us.

Let us always seek to honor their legacy and the reputation of the Patrol with our actions. In the final analysis, we are all public servants and we must answer to the citizens of North Carolina.

The full e-mail is available after the jump.

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The head of the state agency that oversees the Highway Patrol is calling for an investigation into missing records detailing former Gov. Mike Easley's travels. 

State Crime Control Secretary Reuben Young has requested an independent investigation of missing flight records and he has ordered the patrol captain involved in their disappearance to go back on administrative duty.

On Friday, the patrol confirmed that Capt. Alan Melvin had been returned to duty. This was after an internal inquiry, followed by an internal affairs investigation, determined that Melvin had not intended to remove or destroy the records.

Newly appointed patrol Commander Randy Glover had made that decision last month, but Young took Melvin off the job again Monday. Patrol spokesman Capt. Everett Clendenin said Young was concerned about new information that a patrol secretary had given to The News & Observer about the missing records.

The secretary assigned to the governor's security detail said in the internal inquiry that Melvin had told her to download flight records onto a computer disk and then give it to him. He told her to then delete the files to "free up space on the computer."

The secretary said in an interview with The N&O that she had never expressed a problem with the computer that would require the need to free up space.

Young "had not heard that information before," Clendenin said.

The computer was turned over to federal investigators in May. The patrol has found flight records for 2003 and 2004, but they have been unable to find them for 2005.

Republicans respond after the jump.

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Col. Randy Glover was sworn in as the 24th commander of the N.C. Highway Patrol this morning in a formal ceremony at the Old State Capitol.

Gov. Beverly Perdue praised Glover, 49, as a dedicated trooper she had watched rise through the ranks for years, from the time he was assigned in 1987 to patrol the roads around her hometown in New Bern, reports Michael Biesecker.

"He can lead by example," Perdue said. "The standard to be a state trooper is so high. I believe Randy Glover will maintain that high standard."

Glover is a 29 year veteran of the patrol, which has been beset in recent months with questions over trooper conduct and controversial personnel decisions. He has already ordered a review of the patrol’s management practices and new ethics training for all supervisors.

"I will not be swayed by special interest," Glover said. "I will not yield to personal agendas, private vices or political pressures. I will not embarrass the governor’s office, the department that I work for, or the citizens of this great state. My promise is to instill a sense of pride I hope will spread throughout this organization. If my flame dims and I am not capable … I will step aside and relinquish my position."

Glover replaces Col. Walter J. Wilson Jr., who announced his retirement in June after only one year in the top job.

State Highway Patrol Commander Walter J. Wilson Jr. has cancelled his retirement dinner.

Wilson sent a brief e-mail to Sgt. Clarence Stephens on Tuesday that offered little explanation for the cancellation. Stephens had sent notice to invitees the previous Friday.

"After further consideration, I have decided to cancel the retirement dinner on 24 July," Wilson wrote.

The dinner was supposed to have been held at the downtown Raleigh Sheraton at a cost of $28 per person.

Wilson announced last month that he was retiring to spend more time with his family after a year leading the 1,800 member patrol. Within days, Gov. Beverly Perdue appointed Lt. Col. Randy Glover as Wilson's successor. Glover takes over Aug. 1.

Last week, Wilson's brother-in-law, Michael Madras of Raleigh, said the retirement was not planned. He said that Wilson had been forced out so Perdue could replace him with someone she wanted. Perdue, Wilson, Glover and other officials have declined to discuss the change in leadership.

Wilson could not be reached. Patrol spokesman Capt. Everett Clendenin said Wilson will not be in the office much this month. He is using accrued vacation days to finish out his remaining time.

The official story is State Highway Patrol Commander Walter J. Wilson Jr. decided to retire after a year on the job to spend more time with his family. That created the need for a successor, and Gov. Beverly Perdue appointed a lieutenant colonel, Randy Glover, to the post this week.

But Wilson's brother-in-law said in an interview that story is not true. Wilson was forced out, Michael Madras said, because Perdue had someone else in mind for the state's top cop.

Madras said he learned this from Wilson himself minutes after Wilson attended a meeting with Reuben Young, whom Perdue appointed to run the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. Young told Wilson at that meeting June 22, just after Wilson returned from Disney World in Orlando with his family, that he needed to step down.

"He went on vacation and came back, and his boss says, the governor wants you gone," Madras said.

Wilson works at the patrol's headquarters, but he lives in Greenville, so during the workweek he often stays at the home of Madras and his wife, Penny, Wilson's sister. They live in Raleigh.

The alternative version of events leading to Glover's promotion raises questions that Perdue, Young, Wilson and Glover would not discuss. All declined through spokesmen to be interviewed.

Chrissy Pearson, Perdue's press secretary, would not say whether Perdue wanted Wilson out. Pearson also declined to say whether Perdue had sought to promote Glover into the job. (N&O)

The N.C. Highway Patrol will have its first female major and section head next month.

Commander Walter J. Wilson Jr. is promoting Capt. Jennifer Harris to lead the patrol’s training academy, Dan Kane reports. She currently is commander of Troop D in Greensboro and has been with the patrol since 1989.

The promotion is among several moves that Wilson is making as he settles in as patrol leader. Some have taken effect; the rest are set for Sept. 8.

Other moves include transferring Maj. Wellington Scott from the Technical Support Unit, which handles information technology and troop logistics, to the Office of Professional Standards, which includes internal affairs. Capt. Randy Campbell is being promoted to major in charge of motor carrier enforcement and special operations.

Patrol spokesman Lt. Everett Clendenin is being promoted to captain and he is also taking over the patrol's Traffic Safety Information Unit. Others being promoted to captain include Lt. Tim Belch in internal affairs, Lt. Chris Phillips in administrative services and Lt. David McCoy, who will lead Troop D.

Earlier this week, the patrol had confirmed that Maj. Gregory Hayes had been transferred from Troop Operations, which oversees much of the patrol’s day-to-day duties, to lead the Technical Support Unit, and that Capt. Mike T. James, who leads Troop G based in Asheville, is being promoted to major and will run Troop Operations.

Maj. Randy Glover has been running Troop Operations in the interim, but he is being promoted to lieutenant colonel.