“We mourn … and we do not want to see hundreds more die before this is over.”

— Methodist clergy, in a letter urging COVID-19  vaccinations

“There’s been too much effort by so many people to make Gold Hill here in east Rowan something that we’re proud of.”

— Darius Hedrick, preservationist and Gold Hill community member speaking against a planned 560-acre solar facility   

“I’ll walk into hell and bust it wide open because we are living in hell. … With the Lord on one side and my 500 Smith & Wesson on the other and the citizens of Rowan County behind me, we can straighten this county out.”

— Jack Eller, Woodleaf resident who is running for sheriff

“We don’t go around and just willy nilly ask folks ‘Have you been vaccinated?’ any more than we would go ask folks ‘Have you taken your diabetes medicine this morning?’ ”

— Tony Watlington, Rowan-Salisbury Schools superintendent on trying to follow health department rules after the school board backed a decision to require masks on buses

“It’s about understanding what has happened in our past so that we can talk with another to create a brand new future.”

— Rev. Olen Bruner, co-chair of Actions in Faith and Justice during the installation of a marker acknowledging Rowan lynchings from 1902 to 1930

“Being able to bring wild animals to them in a safe way and making it a little bit more accessible takes away some of the fear they may have and gets them curious.”

— Misty Parrish, educational specialist with Rowan Wild during animal exhibit put on by Rowan Museum at the the Utzman-Chambers House

“This is a special place to a lot of people and we just want to do it justice.”

— Chelsea Byrne, the first full-time manager at River Park at Cooleemee Falls, or what people have long called The Bullhole

“I like seeing the parking lot full, I like seeing classrooms full, and I think that’s why we’re in this business.”

— Jamie Durant, West Rowan High School principal on the first day of school Wednesday