Commission needs to show
leadership on budget
The proposed county budget is not something to brag about because it relies too heavily on fund balance, and it doesn’t address the capital needs of the county or the schools. School funding is at state average but still much less than the schools had requested. And while .595 is better than .576, it will likely leave our county short of funds to meet growing needs in the coming years.
On the good side, the leadership of Arnold Chamberlain, Chad Mitchell, and Jon Barber agreed to some of the highest priorities. The employees got full COLA, funding for insurance, and the compromise on merit was a fair one. The schools got state average. This is a start, but it is clearly not enough.
The capital needs, while not addressed, were at least talked about, and now the public is starting to recognize that we have some long-term needs that aren’t being met. As soon as the budget is finalized, our county commissioners need to start pushing to have a committee formed that will begin mapping out a strategy to meet these needs. With various community leaders at the table, this committee needs to determine the latest reasonable start date for all of these projects and map out a tax rate strategy that will meet these needs. This committee needs to have a few respected community leaders and business people at the table to lend credibility to this process and the commissioners need to not serve on the committee so that it will clearly be seen as independent of political influence.
This work needs to be done quickly and openly so that this committee’s conclusions will be made public before the end of the year.
This action will show leadership on behalf of our county commissioners.
ó Austin Doby
Rockwell
Tax increases are a pain
The pain brought on by the tax increases ó excuse me, “property revaluation” ó probably hurts as bad as the suffering our poor commissioners have to endure sitting in old cloth chairs.
Get off your rear ends and go to work for the public you are supposed to serve by budgeting items we really need. Cut out luxuries such as an improved meeting room, costing $100,000, and $8,500 leather chairs.
Rowan is getting awfully close to the “let them eat cake” mentality. We can’t cut off your heads because we have had enough, but we can vote you out of office.
ó Janet Dennis
China Grove
Bear a victim of media, too
Today, I go to www.salisburypost.com, to read the headlines, and bam, there’s a huge picture of a dead bear. Being an animal lover, I was saddened that this bear was killed (I will not go into how badly this was mishandled by the Wildlife Commission). The worst part is that the Post puts a picture of the once-proud bear right on the front page, depicting it lying dead on the pavement. Disgraceful, that’s all I can say. If this were someone’s pet, a child, or even an adult, we wouldn’t put a picture on the front page showing them lying dead on the ground. It almost seems that the press hounded this bear from day one, tracking it and following its every move, just for a story. Ultimately this led to the bear’s demise.
People have become so distant from nature that when a wild animal comes around, they flip out and want to kill it. I don’t know the full circumstances as to why the officer shot the bear, and maybe he had to, but if Wildlife had stepped in, contained the bear and removed it back to the wild, then this never would have happened. I understand we need cities, and I love the city, but it is no place for a bear. Agencies should realize this and work to get wild animals back to an area where they can be safe. Shooting the animal is never the answer unless it is in a state of suffering and there are no medical facilities around for the animal to be taken to.
I almost feel that society is at a point that people really just don’t care about anything anymore. If we can’t treat nature correctly, then how can we treat our families, friends, communities, and even ourselves correctly?
ó Todd Sides
Salisbury
Bear photo was thoughtless
Your bad taste and lack of thoughtfulness is obvious! To put the picture of the poor dead bear on your front page ó or anywhere else! Was that necessary? Building goes on continuously, and the animals have nowhere to go. It was necessary to put the bear down for safety, but did you have to play it up like that?
ó Virginia Burns
Salisbury
GX Fitness isn’t just a gym
I am an instructor at GX Fitness and would like to speak about the articles recently published about our facility. I feel it is important the public know that we are not only a gym, but a small community within the large community of Rowan County, consisting of young and old adults of different races and different sizes. You frequently see a young cheerleader, an elderly black woman, a Hispanic mother in her thirties, and an older couple recently retired, sitting together in the jacuzzi laughing, talking and enjoying one another.
We are all sad that our gym is in jeopardy. It is unfortunate that the staff may need to seek other employment; however, a job is a job, is a job, etc. But these people that depend on our classes cannot go just anywhere to get healthy.
Our members feel comfortable here. Our success stories consist of individuals who went from a size 24 to a size 14; adults who have completely reversed adult on-onset diabetes; and independence from depression and anxiety medications!
Again, I understand and respect the importance of allowing the public the right to be “in the know” of our situation. In fact, I think it benefits ourselves and the community to stop the gossip and know the facts! However, it is high time the public understand and be in the know that GX Fitness is not just a gym, but a community of people.
This is a crisis, but we are no longer in a moment of sadness. We have thrown out our negativity, placed it in God’s hands, and now allow Him to give us our answers.
There is a word that means, “The spirit and light within myself, recognizes the spirit and light within you.” That word is: Namaste.
ó Kelly Ray
Salisbury
Most wanted: thief
My family had a yard sale the first weekend in June to dispense with some items left after our mother’s death. Our neighbors (John and Louise) were a wonderful help to us, as well as most of the people who came to look or buy. However, during the sale, someone entered the house and took a watch and ring belonging to my sister.
These items were not for sale. The ring had been given to my sister by our mother. The beautiful blue Linde star sapphire has great sentimental value and we need it returned.
The police have been notified and the pawn shops informed, but perhaps the thief has kept it and is talking about the great deal he/she got at a yard sale. If you took it, please give it back. If you suspect the person who took it, please notify us.
ó Patricia Collins
Salisbury
Thank you, President Bush, Attorney General Gonzales, the U.S. Attorney for Eastern NY, the FBI and all others in law enforcement who worked preventing another “act of terrorism” at JFK International Airport. America won another victory for freedom loving people. Many thousands may now live who otherwise may have died unnecessarily. Many radical liberal Democrats, a handful of liberal Republicans on Capitol Hill, and our radical, liberal media obviously were not aware of the terrorist activities and/or an effort by law enforcement to stop this criminal behavior. Don’t you know Democrat Senators Kennedy, Kerry, Schumer, Reid, Leahy, Biden, and Republican Senators Specter, Warner, Graham, Hagel, and similar liberals in the US House are troubled as to distinguish whether these terrorists “civil rights” may have been violated.
While many Democrats on Capitol Hill are calling for a vote of “No Confidence” on AG Gonzales, now is an excellent opportunity for the Democrat leaders on Capitol Hill to pass a resolution asking each respective State Board of Elections’ to place on this November election ballot a “Vote of/against Confidence” on each member in the US Senate and US House of Representatives. You can bet this Congress will not let that happen.
ó Oscar Y. Harward
Monroe