Letters to the editor – Sunday (11-9-08)

Published 12:00 am Friday, November 7, 2008

Subs appreciate changes at Knox
In response to recent letters written by parents about Knox Middle School, I know that they are from observations as these parents visited the school. My experience is from spending days at a new and improved Knox Middle School.
I have worked for many years as a substitute teacher for Rowan-Salisbury schools. I am required to carry out the teacher’s lesson plan, as well as teach and discipline students. I have worked throughout Rowan County.
Last year, I made up my mind to never substitute at Knox Middle. Only a handful of substitutes would agree to go to Knox. One by one, we started refusing jobs there. When the automatic system called for a substitute for Knox, I got to the point where I would push the button to refuse the job without waiting to see which class it was.
A staff member called me over the summer to encourage me to give it another chance. She said that she felt good about the new administration. I agreed to go back to Knox, and I am thoroughly impressed with the changes. No one is allowed to wear pants sagging below the waist. Shirt tails are tucked in. The halls are quiet. The discipline, classroom structure and organization are the best they have ever been. Principal Gerald MoragneEl has always greeted the substitutes with a smile, instead of ignoring us. He is always appreciative that we are there.
Knox Middle is well on its way to being one of the best schools in the Rowan-Salisbury school district. I will continue to support the administration, faculty and staff.
Mr. MoragneEl, Mr. Snider and Mrs. Wolfe are doing an outstanding job of paving the way for future leaders. Kudos to the faculty and staff. They are helping these students to become successful, productive citizens.
ó Dianne Sturdivant
Salisbury
Campaign calls are a nuisance
Yes, I voted, as all good citizens should. Most adults are intelligent enough to vote every election without being prompted over and over.
I think it should be against the law for citizens to receive phone calls constantly, urging us to vote, and for whom. We hear plenty of that on TV. We also hear lots of mudslinging between candidates on TV.
I voted early. However, I still received several phone calls from pests urging me to vote, even after I had voted.
I don’t have caller ID on my phone, so it is quite upsetting to answer the phone thinking it is a relative, a doctor, someone who needs help or something just as important, only to hear someone telling me AGAIN to vote.
Is it rude to hang up on these people?
I don’t think so. They are rude.
ó Virginia L. Kinley
Woodleaf