“People have the right to be stupid, as one gentleman said, but let them be stupid in their own homes, not in our public places.”

— Elaine China, Salisbury resident, on smoking ban in city parks

“Our goal is to keep you out of the hospital, believe it or not.”

— Dari Caldwell, Novant Health Rowan Medical Center president, speaking at heart-healthy breakfast

“But where are you going to get a job with 9,000 tattoos and your pants sagging?”

— Wilson Cherry, speaking at Martin Luther King Day breakfast

“Capital goes where it is wanted and stays where it is appreciated.”

— Paul Woodson, Salisbury mayor, on U.S. Conference of Mayors theme

“If we were the greatest generation, it was only because we lived during a great time in history.”

— Bill Stanback, on his service during World War II

“We are citizens, we are taxpayers, but more importantly, our fathers have contributed to the wealth of this society, and we’re going to demand respect.”

— Scott Teamer, local NAACP chapter president, on getting the city to address violence in the West End

“If we were doing this for ourselves, it would have never happened. But we are doing God’s work.”

— Chris Bradshaw, Shelter Ministries board chair, at dedication of new Rowan Helping Ministries building

“I think the taxpayers of this county didn’t get out and vote. I think a certain crowd did get out and vote, and they changed the face of politics in Rowan County.”

— Jim Sides, Rowan County Commission chair, after losing his bid for re-election in the Republican primary

“That box will never hurt another animal again.”

— Ron Lee, vice president, Lake Norman Animal Rescue, on removing the gas chamber that Rowan County used to euthanize dogs

“If you stay the course long enough, you will see gains.”

— Dr. Lynn Moody, superintendent, on school test scores

“They offer the same thing we do. The difference is they don’t keep it a secret.”

— Maggie Blackwell, mayor pro tem, comparing Chattanooga’s one-gig-per-second broadband service to Salisbury’s Fibrant

“If our leaders refuse to work together, then we need to find leaders who will.”

— Paul Fisher, banker, at Mayor’s Spirit Luncheon

“The economy has turned. We’re helping jobs find people.”

— Craig Lamb,  RCCC vice president, on demand for workers

“We’re doing it so we can have the same legal rights, but spiritually and mentally May 15, 2010, was our day,”

—  Vonda Jenkins, with Carla Kimrey, on being one of the first same-sex couples to get a wedding license in Rowan County

“It seems the restaurant investment guys from Charlotte play with live ammo.”

— Michael Young, owner of downtown building being vacated by Chick-N-Ale after being open only three months

“They might control it, but I don’t think they’re going to kill it.”

— Buddy Barringer, on goats brought in to eat kudzu on a tract of land in Spencer

“Every American thinks of George Washington as the perfect president. Bachman Brown was the perfect first mayor of Kannapolis.”

— Tom Dayvault, former head of the Kannapolis Chamber of Commerce, on the death of Bachman Brown

“The goal is for West End Plaza to be a true public-private partnership. It will not be 100 percent government or 100
percent private.”

— Gary Page, Rowan county manager, as county’s plans for former Salisbury Mall take shape

“We’re letting you know ahead of time that this transition is coming. It’s going to come fairly quick, so I would advise you to quit fighting the battle and get started with the new game plan so that you all can be effective in maintaining your downtown Salisbury area with the least amount of impact.”

— Craig Pierce, Rowan County Commission vice chair, at a GOP men’s breakfast, discussing the move of county offices from downtown to the mall

“Taken as a whole, these circumstances suggest that the extent of public support is uncertain, especially compared with the vast majority of financing applications we receive.”

— Vance Holliman, Local Government Commission, on Rowan’s application to borrow almost $4 million to cover the mall’s purchase and improvements

“It is time that the building of the central office stop being used as a political saber to slice and dice the Board of Education and the greater Salisbury  community.”

— Richard Miller, school board chair, on accepting bids for construction

“Outside I can’t hear and can’t walk, I feel like I’m 30 years old.”

— Glenn Jenkins of Kannapolis, now 100