As a member of the Rowan County Bar Association, I wholeheartedly endorse the resolution recently passed opposing moving county and state offices associated with the judicial system to the Salisbury Mall.
I was shocked to hear that Jim Sides, chairman of the Rowan County commission, said that moving the county courthouse was “definitely a possibility.” Earlier, when county manager Gary Page discussed moving county offices to the mall, he said it was unlikely the courthouse or jail would also be moved. I cannot imagine how much all of this would cost Rowan taxpayers, and for what?
When I was the county Clerk of Court in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I worked with then-Sheriff Bob Martin, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Tom Seay and Chief District Court Judge Frank Montgomery to come up with a solution for the needs of the courthouse and jail. We worked with Newton Cohen and county commissioners to come up with a plan to expand the courthouse and jail that is what you see today.
Since then there have been updates and upgrades, but the essential plan that we agreed to has served this county well for the past 20 years. There will need to be other upgrades and additions, I am sure, but to move the entire complex over three miles from the center of our county seat and to abandon perfectly useful existing buildings and offices would be an unfortunate and unnecessary expense to taxpayers, in my opinion.
At a minimum, to make such a move would be controversial, with opposition from the local bar, downtown merchants, the city of Salisbury and numerous taxpayers, but it could lead to lawsuits as well. To spend the tens of millions of dollars needed to build a new courthouse, jail and county offices would take a bond issue, further burdening taxpayers, and for what?
From the surface at least, it seems the only reason for the push to move county offices comes from the ongoing war between the city of Salisbury and our current county commission.
— Edward P. Norvell
Salisbury

Hey, ya’ll, now listen. Commissioners Sides, Pierce and the other minions are busy with important issues.
You know, things like spitting in the face of a federal judge so they can spend a load of our dollars so they can pray only to their God at every meeting.
And then, there’s their newly attained Rowan International Airport (a facility utilized by most every Rowan citizen) and such a substantial economic cog for all you common folk in the county.
Plus, they must come up with another fabricated reason to bully the school board and the city of Salisbury regarding the school’s administrative siting, because they are so deeply interested in education in Rowan County.
And if that weren’t enough for their plate, then there’s the impending rush to buy an old dilapidated mall. And don’t ask what the plan for this is, cause it’s none of your business! What the heck, they’re gonna pay a million more for it than it sold for a year or so ago.
These folks are busy, so leave them alone.
— John T. Blair
Salisbury

The county’s decision to cut the working hours of Rowan County veteran services officer Elaine Howle is of deep concern to me and other veterans.
I, for one, and other service people consider Officer Howle a friend as well as someone who’s very good at her position. As a retired overseer of a department at Cannon Mills, I know what experienced leaders must do.
We, the people who have served our nation, have been so blessed in having Elaine Howle to help us.
She is so good at her job. Please think about what you are doing to us. Keep her in the job she is so good at.
— Everette U. Lambert
Salisbury