Remembering a young man who made ultimate sacrifice
Memorial Day is a day to remember those who gave their lives for our country. I remember a young man, Douglas Ray Noel, who died in the Vietnam War.
A few years ago, I found his grave in the Salisbury National Cemetery near the stone fence separating the cemetery from the old Cone Mill. He died when two helicopters crashed together. His tombstone looked old when I saw it. I have found his name on the wall at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington. Doug was a year ahead of me at East Rowan High School and graduated in 1964. On the Internet, I have found comments from those who served with him in the Army. I remember Doug as a nice but mischievous young man whose life ended far too early.
If you happen to walk through the old cemetery, pause at his grave and thank him for the sacrifice he gave. He is now forever young.
ó K.K. Hillard
Albuquerque, N.M.
Seeking shelter from the storm
I have a concern with the way Rowan County deals with tornadic storms in our area. I live in a moble home, and I will explain my dilemma.
I have been looking for a place to go in case of bad weather. We have had a few tornadoes hit our county this year. Last month, there was a break in the TV programming when across the screen came an alert to all Rowan County citizens. It said: This is not a test. If you live in a mobile home in Rowan, leave and seek shelter immediatly because a tornado had been spotted on the ground.
Of course, that is what I did. I took my disabled wife and searched for shelter, and none for us was to be found.
We have been living in a mobile home for the past 10 years.We have called the Sheriffís Office, the fire department and the county office. We were told that where we vote on Old Concord Road and Peach Orchard Road, there is a bomb shelter. But when we are told to leave our trailer and seek other shelter, it is always closed. My wife and I are disabled, and it is hard for us to get around. The shelter is only two miles from our home, but when we go there, it is always closed. There are a lot of mobile homes in our area, and if we did get hit, we would end up like Joplin, Mo.
I think attention should be paid to this. The last time an alert was put on the TV, we called the Sheriffís Office and asked where to go. They suggested we go to a house. We know no one here in our county. When we asked about shelters, he said they were only opened after a disaster has happened and homes have been destroyed.
Are we supposed to get in our car and drive around in a tornado awaiting the disaster and at the same time endangering ourselves by being in a car in the storm? We do not have anywhere else to go. Can anyone please help us?
ó Richard & Sharon Thompson
Salisbury
Golden Rule foreign policy
The federal governmentís foreign policies are hypocritical. I believe that ě’ourî’ government should have a standardized foreign policy that treats all countries the same. Why should there be one policy for Taiwan and another for China? Why should there be one policy for the Palestinians and another for the Israelis? We should support democracy, human rights, equality and civil liberties in all countries.
ó Chuck Mann
Greensboro