This dog ‘rescue’ turned into a needless tragedy
The writer is referring to an April 18 story, “Dog turns violent before being shot.” Paul is the dog.
Paul died a tragic death, people were injured and the public was put at risk, all by irresponsible acts of the trainer who adopted Paul. It was done for advertisement, documented on the Facebook page the trainer created to showcase her “training” ability, and to insult the shelter experts who deemed Paul aggressive — some of whom have 20 plus years experience handling scared and/or aggressive dogs.
Any expert in dog aggression could have watched the videos posted on the trainer’s page and observed the lack of control over Paul, and the signs of unpredictability in him. These events can’t be blamed on the dog. The trainer/owner alone is responsible.
As a professional trainer, you have a responsibility to your clients and the public. And if a trainer, a rescuer or anyone else is going to rescue a dog with documented aggressive attacks towards people, with the intention to put that dog into another person’s home, they should be held liable.
Many adoptable dogs had to be put down at the shelter while Paul’s rescue campaign played out. As sad as it is, the only humane thing for Paul was to put him down at the shelter. Even if Paul could be rehabilitated, in what universe could you adopt him out and guarantee this behavior was gone? What person or child would you sacrifice to prove his rehabilitation?
My professional advice for choosing a dog trainer: stay away from people who “guarantee” they can fix every dog as this trainer did. An overconfident trainer won’t think twice about putting you, the people around you and your dog at risk.
When we no longer have to kill adoptable dogs, then we can figure out how to rehabilitate dogs in the level of misery that Paul was. But based on the numbers that we put down every day, that isn’t something we have to figure out anytime soon. And we certainly can’t blame the dog for that either.
— Nina Dix
Salisbury

Vote for collaboration
It is refreshing to see that democracy is alive and well in Rowan County! We have a robust slate of primary candidates, unaffiliated candidates collecting signatures to make the November ballot, political organizations actively engaged, significant voter registration activity and public forums for the candidates to share their positions.
I haven’t seen this much enthusiasm about the election process in a very long time.
The citizens of Rowan County have suffered through several years of ineffective and dysfunctional government, and now the time has finally come to begin to right the ship and get us back to a collaborative form of government.
I doff my beret (literally) to the efforts of La resistance to unite all of the citizens of Rowan County, irrespective of their political affiliation, in this endeavor. The May primaries are our first and best opportunity for making this change; for a candidate defeated in the primaries cannot make the November ballot. This will require that we:
1. NOT vote for ANY incumbents running for county commissioner. This is true for this election year and for 2016 as well.
2. Choose our top three candidates wisely by evaluating them carefully and by considering endorsements by La resistance, if made. If we spread our votes too evenly across eight candidates, it will make it easier for the incumbent to finish within the top three vote getters.
3. NOT make matters worse by choosing candidates who seem to be like-minded with the majority of our current county commissioners.
If we fail in this endeavor, we will have squandered the effort with the highest probability of success and we will have to revert to Plan B in November. And don’t forget that we will still need to repeat this process again in the 2016 election year to complete the sweep!
— Alvin R. Park
China Grove

Warren makes impression
I am writing to lend my support to Harry Warren in the Republican primary.
I have served with Harry and have been highly impressed with his skills and ability as a legislator. Harry is a tireless worker who puts a lot of time and energy into studying each piece of legislation that comes before the House. I have been impressed with his committee work and how quickly he is able to comprehend and digest very complicated bills. When he votes, he always puts the best interest of the people first.
Harry has impeccable character and has earned a reputation of being completely honest. The citizens of Rowan County are fortunate to have Representative Warren serving them in Raleigh, I whole-heartedly endorse his candidacy for re-election.
— Edgar V. Starnes
Hickory
Rep. Edgar V. Starnes is majority leader in the N.C. House of Representatives.

Here’s resistance history
Recently Tripp Edwards wrote an article chastising people in our community for relating “La Resistance” to Che Guevara. He asked, “Do these people not know history?” Yes, Mr. Edwards, I do know my history.
Here are some historical facts you might have missed.
In France, the French Resistance was known as the The National Front (Front national or Front national de l’indépendance de la France). It was created in 1941 by Jacques Duclos and Pierre Vioutllon, both members of the French Communist Party (PCF) Its name was inspired by the Popular Front, a left-wing coalition which governed France from 1936 to 1938.
The National Front (FN) was destined to be the “political representative” of the armed force called the Francs-Tireurs et Partisans (FTP). It engaged mainly in propaganda, editing reviews, fabricating false identity documents, supporting clandestine organizations logistically and sabotaging German and Vichy facilities and capabilities.
“La Resistance” might want to change their name after-all.
Then again, maybe it fits.
Here are some references for your personal study.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Front_(French_Resistance)
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/french_resistance.htm
http://www.marxists.org/history/france/resistance/pcf/index.htm
— Rick Johnson
Salisbury

Brindle knows register job
Fellow citizens of Rowan County, I encourage you to vote for John Brindle to be our register of deeds. I have had the absolute pleasure of working with and getting to know on a personal basis the man, the father, the leader that John is.
You don’t have to look very far lately to see our elected officials behaving in manners inconsistent with what we expected when we gave them the job. John Brindle exhibits the character, dignity, integrity, honor, and loyalty that we expect of our elected officials.
John has in fact held the position of register of deeds and performed that job in an exemplary manner and worthy of occupying that position again. Vote in the May 6 Republican primary and choose John Brindle to be our register of deeds.
— Carl Dangerfield
Rockwell
Worst nightmare is upon us
Our forefathers’ worst nightmare has now come upon us. They created a free government, limited in its powers and a servant to the people. But today the United States has become an empire, fast decaying into tyranny; and we their children have become strangers and subjects in the land our fathers won.
Instead of a free and just social and political order, today we are threatened by a Godless national culture and a corrupt, despotic federal government that knows no limits to its power.
This year’s election’s are critical all the way from the county level to the national level. Will Americans make the decision to go the way of communism/socialism or will you choose to get back to the Constitutional republic our forefathers designed?
There are many dirty and underhanded people trying to harm and skew elections here locally and nationally. Ask yourselves, do you really want to vote for someone who is being supported and backed by a group that is asking people to change their party affiliation and vote in hopes of changing the outcome of an election? There is no honor in that.
I’m asking you to think about, not just our county’s future but our country’s future. If you vote for a candidate here locally endorsed and backed by the La Resistance group, understand you are voting for big government, higher taxes, less freedom and a step towards communism. If you like the IRS targeting of individuals based on their beliefs, or the bold-faced lies that the government continues to tell then, by all means continue to vote for the communists.
We no longer jealously guard what our Founding Fathers sought to accomplish when they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor for and what our forefathers fought and died for.
I think an ominous question exists that every person capable of rational thought must ask themselves. What kind of country are we leaving to our children and grandchildren? What will you say when they ask what YOU did to stop the tyranny and destruction of our Constitutional republic?
— Wes Rhinier
Salisbury

Candidate blows smoke
Good citizens of Rowan County, be aware of a “smoke screen” being presented by sheriff’s candidate Brian Keiver concerning former Sheriff Bob Martin and current Sheriff Kevin Auten.
As major of the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office and commander of the Special Response Unit (SRU), I would have been present at any operation utilizing the SRU. The SRU would have been present to assist any federal agency operating in Rowan County during a seizure of property. I have no knowledge of any such event, as described by Keiver, ever taking place.
Sheriff Martin, a retired federal agent (ATF), knew and considered federal officers his friends. It is strange that Martin would take detention deputy Keiver along during this encounter, and no other deputy or federal officer recalls this alleged incident.
Auten, like Martin, has always supported local, state and federal officers. Sheriff Auten maintains an excellent working relationship with law enforcement agencies and is instrumental with solving problems and assisting with concerns of the citizens of the county.
Appointed sheriff by commissioners in 2010, Auten had advanced through the ranks to chief deputy; he is very familiar with laws regarding sheriff’s duties in North Carolina. He is in tune with policy and procedures, operations, budgets, including expenses and revenues; he thoroughly understands financial restraints and accountability of county funds.
With a career goal of being sheriff someday, Auten surrounded himself with a competent and responsible administrative staff and never lost his compassion for the citizens of Rowan County. Auten is experienced enough to refer local police officers to the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) that were investigating sexual exploitation allegations involving Peter Keiver.
Candidate Keiver is presenting a “smoke screen” to distort facts about these two leaders to gain your vote during the primary election. Don’t be fooled. Vote during the May 6 primary for Rowan County Sheriff Kevin Auten.
— James Ed Haupt
Salisbury
Haupt was major and chief deputy of the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, where he worked from 1972 to 1998.

End this offline trajectory
Citizens of Rowan were asked in an online poll (Post, April 17) if unaffiliated voters should be allowed to vote in the primaries. I was disheartened to see that 50 percent polled responded “no.”
I have been registered unaffiliated since 1990. There were a couple of primary reasons for this decision.
First, I felt it important to, above all, vote my conscience. Therefore, I chose unaffiliated to be better able to place my vote where I felt it would be most effective depending on the persons and issues relevant at the particular time. This may require choosing which primary to vote in.
Second, I felt that voting based on people and issues to be important. At a given time my feelings on these may not fall into the overarching view of a particular party. Therefore, I should not be required to join any party in order to fully participate in the process of choosing my representatives.
To do so would inevitably require from me a level of blind allegiance to the party sometime. This to me is not conducive to our ability to try and fully represent the desires and needs of our society at large. Many do join parties for well thought-out reasons and should not be hampered from full participation either.
Our political landscape was formed by a process of parties and factions forming, cross-pollinating ethics and ideas, dissolving and reforming anew. The free market of ideas and influence should never be closed to anyone. To do so invites divergence from the democratic process and a squandering of the American ideal for the sake of victory for a particular faction.
Free and unhampered access to the voting process at every level is an essential mandate if we are to ever retain any semblance of democracy.
— Robert Kent Smith
Spencer
Writing an endorsement?
The deadline for letters regarding candidates in the May 6 primary is Wednesday, April 30. Please get your letters to us by 5 p.m. that day in order to be published before the primary. The last endorsements for the primary will be published May 2.