“Every single one of you is good at something. Every single one of you has something to offer.”

— Daniel Herring, principal of Erwin Middle School, addressing students at a school assembly on the first day of classes Monday

“Our history is with us. Our ancestors are with us, whether we are aware of it or not. The way they lived has something to do with the way that we live.”

— Janet Pyatt, whose new store, Backcountry Peddler, caters to history fans and re-enactors with clothes, books and other merchandise from the Revolutionary War through Civil War eras

“You’ve got to love everybody like you love yourself. If you love yourself, you’re going to love everybody that way.”

— Rodney Chambers, who brought his 8-year-old granddaughter, Camiya, to last Saturday’s ‘Haircuts and Hairdos’
back-to-school outreach at St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church

“The Lord expects you to come to his house on Sunday and give him thanks. That’s the way I look at it.”

— Annie Lee Wilkinson, who was recognized last Sunday for her 55th straight year of perfect attendance in Sunday school at Bethpage United Methodist Church

“I read his steps. He had two big catches, and I stopped one of them. I wasn’t going to let him off that easy.”

— Xavier Davis, defensive back for North Rowan High School’s football team, who tackled West Rowan’s Jalen Houston to prevent another score in West’s 20-14 victory last Friday

“I feel like there should be balloons or something.” — Josh Wagner, chairman of the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education, after the board agreed to do away with kindergarten assessments in what Superintendent Lynn Moody called ‘our first decision’ under the renewal flexibility status