Laurels to the late John L. Rustin, a dedicated public servant. When the former East Spencer police chief and mayor passed away last weekend, accolades and stories abounded. “John L.” knew the people of East Spencer and they knew him. During his time as chief, he did community policing by instinct if not always by the book. “He always liked to give people a chance,” daughter Gwendolyn said. The frequent turnover in the police chief’s slot over the years since then attests to what a tough job it is. When a stroke forced Rustin to give up the chief’s job, he ran for mayor. He didn’t win the first time, but the ever-persistent Rustin ran again and won. He lived to serve.

Laurels to the Rowan County American Legion baseball team, which did something this past week it had done plenty of times before but never two years in a row — win the state championship. It never gets old to see the kids creating a dogpile in the middle of the diamond after winning a title. It never gets old for the newspaper headline to scream “State champs!” It never gets old to know what a public service local American Legion posts are providing with their sponsorship of the team, and it never gets old knowing the boys  and, hopefully, Coach Jim Gantt will be back next season, giving us one more edition of our own boys of summer.

Dart to the pending demolition of the old nursing school building on the campus of Novant Health Rowan Medical Center. The 1953 building once provided the living quarters and classrooms for the Rowan Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, a three-year diploma program that was of significant benefit to both the students and hospital. On the student end, the tuition, fees, room and board were amazingly low — roughly $500 total for the three years. From the hospital’s end, it gained women students who eventually worked its night shift and, with graduation and licensure, provided a continuing pipeline of trained nurses totally familiar with its policies and facilities. It seemed like a program that worked for everybody. The dart is awarded for the loss of that kind of win-win setup, which ceased in 1972, and now the loss of a structure that still gives its graduates so many of their fondest memories.