“It’s a feel-good thing, and just the right thing to do. … Everybody knows there’s a need.”

— Dr. Frank Eason, dentist, on volunteering to help give free dental care to people at Missions of Mercy clinics

“I appreciate his edginess and straightforwardness and that he doesn’t try to put on a mask. Trump is just himself.”

— Brian Hancock of Salisbury, after attending President Trump’s inauguration

“The incidents in his past all have led me to believe that he does not respect women.”

— Cassandra Smith of Spencer, on why she joined the Women’s March in Washington last Saturday

“The kids walking into your school won’t fit into the nice and neat little clusters you’re trying to fit them in.”

— Dr. James H. Johnson Jr., UNC-Chapel Hill professor, talking to school boards about the country’s profound changes in racial complexity

“A political issue should not be used to hold a school system hostage.”

— Josh Wagner, chair, Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education, on cancellation of a national education event in Salisbury because of N.C.’s HB2