“It was very hard to accept as a young adult that her doctors had nothing to give her.”

— Dr. Miranda Orr, scientist with Salisbury VA who devoted herself to finding a dementia cure after it claimed her grandmother’s life

“We would love to see every animal spayed and neutered.”

— Bob Pendergrass, director of animal service for Rowan County

“I hated to do it, but it was too far gone.”

— Hesam NekooAsl, who decided to have the McCanless-Spangler-Lanier Rental House demolished

“I tend to go with the neighbors.”

— Jon Post, Planning Board member who noted no one from the area was in favor of a new Dollar General

“We are going to sell that property. We are just not exactly sure how we’ll go about that.”

— Jim Greene, vice chair of county commissioners as interest heats up for a 40-acre parcel near I-85

“I don’t ever take playoff wins for granted.”

— Jason Causby, North Rowan boys basketball coach after a 72-54 victory over Queen’s Grant to open the 1A boys state playoffs

“If everybody wants 100% when they sit at the table, think what that does. It creates a bottleneck. Nobody gets anything done.”

— Karen Alexander, Salisbury mayor speaking of efforts to make municipal elections and the school board race partisan

“The answer was yes, emphatically.”

— Gary Freeze, answering the question St. Luke’s Episcopal Church hired the history scholar to look into: did early church members own slaves?

“The best leaders, we’ve found, are ones that can truly relate to the experiences of the participant’s lives.”

— Hope Oliphant, Main Street Marketplace executive director speaking of those like Joseph Zacarolo

“There’s a better, more
efficient, cost effective way to do medicine that works better for patients outside of the traditional insurance model.”

— Dr. John Bream, who opened the new Bream Medical office with a subscription model

“My sister being there wasn’t what made my mind up for me. But it’s definitely a plus.”

— Bethany Rymer, who will run cross country and track and field at Columbia International University where her sister Kira Rymer plays volleyball