Swaims were great ‘second parents’
My “second parents,” Elinor and Bill Swaim, both died within the past week in Salisbury.
Elinor, 92, who had dementia or Alzheimer’s, died last Tuesday at home. The funeral services were scheduled a week later. Her husband, Bill, 94, was in the hospital when she died. I assumed that they were delaying the funeral in hopes that he would improve enough to attend. He died on Sunday. …. Some speculate that they “planned” this before they died!
They co-chaired my state Senate campaigns. I stayed with them when I was back in Salisbury making speeches and attending meetings. And I introduced them to the owner of the beach house in Emerald Isle which they purchased 25 or so years ago.
Both were extremely active in the Republican Party at all levels. Bill was a county commissioner. Elinor never held elective office; however, when I resigned from the Senate to run Governor Holshouser’s office, she lost by a half-vote on the Rowan GOP executive committee to take my place.
While they lived a great life and did everything together, it is somewhat sad that we have lost two great people at the same time.
— Phil Kirk
Morrisville
Kept in the dark
Yes, boys and girls, there really is a Fibrantdom fairy godmother! Can we prove it? Why, yes, we can. Simply close our eyes, click your heels together three times and say “$150, $150, $150,” and you’ll receive a magic check for $150 to help bail you out of a legitimate contract with one of those mean old wicked cable company witches of the north, AT&T and Time Warner.
Just where does this money come from? Why, from none other than the loyal Munchkins who once a year are blest with the opportunity to send our hard-earned money to the Wonderful Wizards of Fibrantdom. Never mind, boys and girls, that we Munchkins were not able in most cases to have any say as to how and where our money is spent. The Wonderful Wizards of Salisbury make those decisions for us.
The above tale leads me to several points:
1. Were we not told, in one of the rare public comments, that no tax money would be used to fund, aka “bail out,” the mostly kept secret and ill-conceived Fibrant system?
2. Is not the money in the water/sewer fund tax money? Then how can it be used as a loan to Fibrant, especially at 1 percent interest?
3. Point No. 2 raises all sorts of questions. If the water/sewer fund was so large that we can make loans from it, why did we need an increase this year? I would wager that the amount the increase generates just might be close to the loan amount. Additionally, if indeed the fund was so large, why not invest it where a better rate of return than 1 percent can be obtained?
4. Bottom line appears to be that the citizens of Salisbury continue to be kept in the dark on a situation that may indeed come back to bite us all.
— Sam L. Hoffman
Salisbury