Recession brings hard choices
My family have been residents of Salisbury for 15 years. My child has graduated from the Rowan-Salisbury School system and is moving on to college. My husband was a Freightliner employee for more than 11 years and is now on the unemployed list of Rowan County. A little more than a year and half ago, my job was downsized to slow production.
We have made hard choices in order to remain in our home and community. I have become a contract employee for Homeland Security. This is a blessing, as we can pay our bills and keep our house. But the short side is I live in other cities, away from my family. From April 2008 to October 20 08 I was on the island of Kodiak, Alaska. I am now in the inner harbor of Baltimore and have been since mid-October 2008. The downside of this contract work is that my contract will be up in mid-October of this year, and there’s still no promise of another on the horizon.
Nor is there a promise of a decent job on the horizon for my husband or other Freightliner employees. He has been to Rowan-Cabarrus Community College many times to deal with the office of veterans for re-education and also the N.C. Employment Security Commission, and this has become frustrating to say the least. You need to depict the stories of those still in our community trying to survive and the ways we do it to keep our homes in a county that just doesn’t seem to care.
ó Janice Maggard
Salisbury
Hello from Fargo
We are just sitting back and catching our breath after having eight of the greatest teams of young men here for the 2009 American Legion World Series. It seems like we were just starting to lay the ground work to host this event only two and a half years ago. That time went by so fast, as did the games, once the weather cooperated.
It was fun to watch these young men do what so many other teams didn’t get to do, and that was to be here and represent their regions. All the teams were the best group of young citizens during their time here. You have something that no one will be able to take away from you as a participant at the 2009 American Legion World Series.
In talking with your host, it was rewarding for us to see that you all had a great experience in Fargo, N.D., and hopefully will return here some time and enjoy yourselves again.
Once again, it is to bad that only one team can be the champion, but you are all winners. I watched you play the game the way it was supposed to be played. As your team host told me, you made his experience one of his greatest memory ever.
Good luck in your futures as you will have this experience to draw on for the rest of your lives.
ó Duane Rindy
Fargo, N.D.
Rindy is a World Series committee member, Fargo American Legion Post 2 Baseball.