Trashy roadsides are a real eyesore in Rowan County
What is the reason that Rowan County has a landfill? If you ride around the streets — around town, country roads, highways (state and federal) — and see all the trash, you will understand what I’m saying. All the areas I’ve mentioned are full of trash. Paper, fast-food containers, drink bottles (including alcohol), plastic cups — you know it, it’s on the side of the road.
I feel for all the good people who live on main streets and roads because most of the time, they pick up the trash that has been thrown out on their property. Don’t we have any respect for those people, who are charged high taxes and still have to do such chores? It would be better if incarcerated individuals could be placed on work details to pick up this trash. They would at least be paying for their keep.
What is wrong with law enforcement charging “litter bugs” for such an act? Other states, counties and cities find the guilty ones for such conduct. I have traveled through states with road signs that say “Littering Illegal; fines of $300-$1,000.” These fines are paid when the litterbugs are stopped, or they cannot leave the jurisdiction. Their roads look very nice. Enforcing laws like this would help pay for keeping areas looking nice. This should be the law all over North Carolina. It would make our state look better.
If I was driving and someone in my car threw out trash, I would stop and have them pick up their trash as well as any other trash on the roadside. Have you ever wondered why our area does not have more new businesses moving in? It could be due to the unsightly areas they see when visiting this area. Would you like to move into an area looking like this? Take a look at the corner of Brenner Avenue and Jake Alexander Boulevard. Isn’t that an eyesore?
— Paris L. Martin

Salisbury

A great coaching career
Kudos to Mark Wineka for the uplifting story on Allison Dupree (Adams) and her coaching career (Feb. 13 article). Many kudos to Allison and her dad on an outstanding career.
A 77 percent winning rate? Are you kidding me? Most coaches, at any level, can only dream of winning at that rate during their careers. It will be a sad day for the Erwin community when Allison retires. I’m sure the parents and athletes realize how blessed they are to have had her as a coach.
Allison continuously sent great, fundamentally skilled athletes across the road to East Rowan. Sadly, during the several times vacancies arose, Allison never had the opportunity to move up to varsity. Erwin, of course, would have hated to lose her, but maybe East (or some other school) missed out on a golden opportunity as well.
God bless you, Allison, and Ed, too. Thanks for the memories.
— Jesse Watson

Salisbury

Protect the opossums
As a licensed wildlife rehabilitator specializing in opossums, I am appalled that the N.C. Legislature is spending time and resources to declare war on opossums and other wildlife. Every single day, my colleagues and I struggle to find the resources to care for countless animals that have been hit by cars, hurt by cruel people, poisoned or trapped and who are in any kind of trouble. In many cases, our intervention is an animal’s only hope. Most of what we do comes out of our own pockets. Any of us would welcome the involvement and support of our elected officials.
Yet instead, the N.C. legislature goes to this much effort to appease a few people who think it’s funny to treat a shy marsupial like a New Year’s Eve prop? Why? How?
Opossums never hurt us, but we find countless ways to hurt them. The North Carolina proposal to allow anyone to use wildlife for just about any reason will only make things worse. Let’s hope that saner, kinder minds slam the door shut on this reckless proposal.
— Beth Amick-Goins

St. George, S.C.