What the city will gain:
Many uphappy voters
Salisbury, the city that can’t seem to manage what it already has, has set its sights on yet another annexation.
I live in Woodbridge Run and have asked city officials over the years about annexation. The reply has alway been “Why would we want to annex you? What can we offer you that you don’t already have? It would not be cost effective to run water and sewer lines into the neighborhood and improve the roads.” (There are 49 houses in the subdivision).
Now they want us. Perhaps that is why they repaired the 30-inch square hole in a storm drain on Candlewick Drive at N.C. 150. It had been open for two years! Indeed, what do they have to offer us other than higher taxes to get them out of a hole like the one they left open so long? Perhaps they will put in sidewalks with mailboxes and utility poles in the middle of them, as they did on Innes Street. Maybe they will rework our streets as they did Brenner?
This is an area with many widows and retirees on fixed incomes. With the economy what it is, is this even a good time to consider annexation?
Well, Salisbury, we don’t want to be a part of you. You will gain a few thousand angry, active voters also. We applaud the county commissioners for taking a stand, even if they are hamstrung. I believe they should do whatever is necessary.
ó Don Champion
Salisbury
Neatness and civility
In recent weeks you have published several pictures of children, either in school or going to school, in the early ’60s. As I looked at these pictures, the first thing I noticed is how neatly they and their teachers were dressed. They looked as though all of them deserved respect. It reminded me of the days that I attended school.
If you look in the schools today and you read about all the discipline problems that schools have, it makes you wonder if the way they are dressed has made some of the change in the school and the young people. I’m not advocating uniforms for all schools nor the latest expensive fashions, but there should be more guidelines for them to follow. Young people and adults always act more calm and respectful when they are dressed decently. On the days when schools do have “dress-up” days, you can tell the difference. Maybe we should be more concerned about our outward appearance and prepare these young people to be ready for responsible jobs when they graduate.
ó Marianne C. Wilson
Landis