Letter: Grey Mills will represent Iredell if he wins 95th District battle

I am writing a letter in support of Grey Mills for the 95th House seat now occupied by Rep. Karen Ray. I am writing in response to the negative attacks Ray has made against him on TV and in her direct mail campaign.

She has attacked Grey’s character and his good name. She has attacked his family and anyone who supports him. She has accused him and his supporters of trying to divide the Republican Party.

Speaking of dividing the party, Ray in 2002 voted with the Democrats to end debate on realignment of districts after the Democrats had cut Iredell County the house district occupied by Frank Mitchell and the Senate seat held by R.B. Sloan. We lost two Iredell County representatives as a result of that vote.

When asked recently to speak to the Iredell County Republican Women’s Club, she told President Marcia Freuhan that she could not attend that event because she needed to be closer to her constituents in Mooresville. She then wrote a letter to the club saying she was dropping out to join a new club she was helping to start around Lake Norman.

Karen Ray is not for Iredell County; she is for Karen Ray. Iredell County needs a representative who is willing to represent all of the county and that person is Grey Mills. Grey is a personal friend of mine and I know his character is above reproach. I ask the voters of Iredell County to support Grey Mills on May 6.

C.W. “Butch” Bell Jr.
Statesville

Letter: Veterans aren’t getting the support they need

I am a Desert Storm veteran. I am writing this letter to let the people who have the little ribbons on their vehicles that say “support our troops” know what kind of support the troops really get.To the Vietnam veterans and the people who really do support the troops and veterans, I would like to say thank you.

I want to tell a story about a six-week program I participated in at the Salisbury VA Medical Center. This was a program for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. I have to say thank you to all the staff of the program who treated me like gold while I was in the program and have been very helpful since I’ve left the program.

This story is about a roommate who was a Vietnam veteran who had been trying to get his total disability for a long time so he could support his family. Several weeks into the program, we were sitting in our room after having eaten a meal and talking about Vietnam. He had been looking for a certain music CD, which he found that day and we were listening to it. He was telling me things that happened when one of the songs came on. He stopped talking and got a strange look on his face.

I could tell something bad was happening, so I got the nurses. My other roommate and I got a wheelchair and took him to the emergency room. We were in the emergency room for a long time before they finally decided to take him and do a scan to find out if the man had had a stroke.

They did the scan and came back and told me and my other roommate that he didn’t have a stroke. However, it was obvious that the man had had a major stroke.

We asked if anyone had tried to contact his wife and were told by the staff in the emergency room that they had tried, however we were later told by his wife that they hadn’t. The next morning a doctor came in and ordered another scan. At this point they said he had had a major stroke. He was sent to Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, where they decided that there wasn’t much they could do for him so they sent him back to the Salisbury VA Medical Center, where he died.

You are probably wondering why I am writing this. Well, I have often wondered, if they had sent him to Rowan or Baptist Medical Center, would my friend and fellow veteran have gotten the medical care he had earned and deserved. Would he still be with us today?

I also wanted to let you know that three days after he died, the VA Regional Medical Center in Winston-Salem decided he deserved the 100 percent disability, and the social security awarded him his claim at the same time. However, they sent his wife a letter requesting that she return the checks.

If wonder if this is the kind of support you would want for your husband, dad or brother or sister who is or isn’t a veteran. I wonder if this is the future I have to look forward to.God bless America.

James C. Ward Jr.
Troutman

Editorial: Martin is our choice for district attorney

The three-way race for the new District Attorney position boils down to a simple question: Which candidate has a proven ability to put the most dangerous members of our community behind bars for a long time?

The answer is Alan Martin, who currently serves as the chief district attorney for Iredell and Alexander counties.

Martin, who has worked as a prosecutor for 14 years, has more experience trying serious crimes than his opponents in Tuesday’s Republican primary, Sarah Kirkman and Michael Van Buren. There is no Democratic opposition in this race so the winner of the GOP primary will take office in January.

This is an important election for the residents of Iredell County. For the past three decades, we’ve shared an elected prosecutor with three other counties. With the creation of a new district (22A), we will have a district attorney who is responsible and accountable to voters in only Iredell and Alexander.

And we’re fortunate to have three good candidates, all of whom have experience in our overworked criminal justice system.

Kirkman, an assistant district attorney in Iredell and Alexander, has taken the high road in this campaign and represented herself well, earning the support of the Fraternal Order of Police along the way. She has 11 years of experience as a prosecutor and has positioned herself as a crusader against child sexual predators.

Van Buren’s presence in the race has forced his better-known opponents to address some very real public concerns about the district attorney’s office’s conviction and dismissal rates in Iredell County. The numbers he quotes are startling and the winner of this race will be tasked with making some measurable improvements.

But Van Buren, an assistant district attorney in Rowan County who lives in Statesville, has campaigned as if Garry Frank, our current DA, is his opponent in the primary. Had that been the case, we may well have offered him our endorsement.

Unfortunately for Van Buren, he’s battling two opponents who have demonstrated a real and lasting commitment to seeking justice for the criminally accused and their victims here in Iredell and Alexander counties.

Among those two, we believe Martin has best established himself as a tough, independent prosecutor who has earned his stripes by sending a cast of bad characters to prison. When he’s taken a murder case to trial, Martin has won a conviction every single time. It’s tough to argue with that record.

With the accused killers of Don and Sue Barker, James and Delet Powell, Terry Turner, Jennifer Vincek and Jeff Peck still awaiting trial, voters in Iredell should ask themselves on May 6 which candidate for district attorney is most qualified to take these cases to a jury and seek the maximum punishment allowed by law.Martin’s experience and record in the cases where the stakes are the highest make him the best choice.

Editorial: Making a difference

South Iredell High School freshman Nick Morris has proven that, when properly motivated, teenagers can make the world a better place.

When his dog got sick after drinking water out of Lake Norman, Nick decided to coordinate a community effort to clean up the lake to meet a requirement for his Earth Science class at South. He contacted the R&L earlier this month to get others interested in the project.

On Saturday, he was joined by about 20 volunteers. The group spent five hours collecting trash from around the lake, stopping only after they filled two trucks with garbage.

Nick admits he organized the effort for somewhat selfish reasons. As the water level receded during last year's drought, old tires, floats, plastic bags and cans became increasingly visible and Nick didn't like what he saw.“It’s where I live and I’d like to be proud of it,” he said. “Living on the lake is fun and every time I go out I’d like to feel safe. You’re out there to enjoy yourself and not worry about ‘Am I going to get sick?’ ”

We should all be so selfish.After the event, the 15-year-old took the time to send the R&L a note thanking us for helping get the word out.We should be thanking you, Nick. So we are.

Letter: Caution light doesn’t cut it at dangerous intersection

It’s been six months since we lost our stepgranddaughter. We are not happy with the N.C. Department of Transportation at all.If it thinks putting a caution light at Triplett Road and Highway 70 will save another life, it is wrong. Lives were lost there in October 2007.

First Mike Dishman, who didn’t even know the road was open, and then Oct. 20 we lost Cathy Tolbert and our stepgranddaughter, Casey, who was only 3.

Even with 2,000 signatures on a petition calling for a red light, we didn’t get it because it didn’t meet the standards. We wonder why not because one mile down the road there is a new red light right in front of Casey’s grandpa’s house that just leads off to the old 70 and then a mile the other way is a red light that leads from the old 70 on to the new 70 with nothing but a dirt road across from it that dead ends. How does this meet those standards?

Good question when Triplett Road leads to Mooresville. Doesn’t make sense to us or anybody we’ve talked to.

We know there’s not been another wreck at that intersection since Casey died, but there have been a lot of close calls. One was her own mother, who was heading to Statesville when a truck almost pulled out in front of her at the same intersection where she lost Casey. There have been others, too.

It just goes to show people are trying to edge out just like Casey’s Grandma Cathy did, only a tractor trailer hit her front fender and it cost her her life and our stepgranddaughter’s.

I place flowers on the crosses and so does her mom. And I can stand and just watch as traffic on both intersections line up and you know why? The three crosses are just a reminder of what could be them. It hurts that we didn’t get the red light, and yes, we blame NCDOT for it. If there had been a light up, no one would have died. All because of its stupidity.

We miss Casey. She would have been 4 on May 18, and also on that date her baby brother is due, one that she never got to see because of the new road. My grandson, Joshua, who is 4, goes to his dad’s house and goes in Casey’s room and its like he’s looking for her. The room is still the same as it was when she left to go spend the weekend with her grandma.

If you ask what he’s looking for, he won’t say, but then he will come up and say, “My Casey’s gone and I want her back to play with me, and she’s never coming back ’til Jesus comes.” That hurts to hear a child say that.

Our hearts are mending, but tears still fill our eyes at times. And it’s still hard on all of us. Were just waiting and praying something will be done. There needs to be a red light at Triplett Road and Highway 70. What’s it going to take, a busload of kids trying to make it across a four-lane highway, before NCDOT puts the red light up? So many close calls and all we got was a caution light that doesn’t even help. The only thing that helps is those three crosses on the side of the road, one with a little teddy bear and one a wreath, where my stepgranddaughter breathed her last breath along with her grandma.

Margie Teaster
Woodleaf

Editorial: Take a stand against child abuse, neglect

The numbers are staggering and shameful.

Some 1,931 reports of child abuse and neglect were reported to law enforcement and child welfare agencies in Iredell County last year.Investigators confirmed abuse or neglect in 700 of these cases.

Today, you can join members of Exchange/SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now), the Boys & Girls Club of the Piedmont and others in a ceremony to call attention to this disturbing trend.

At 5:30 p.m. today at the Iredell County Government Center, 300 children will hold up a paper chain containing a single link marking each child victim in our community. Then, in a symbolic gesture designed to stir the community to action, they will break the chain. Iredell is home to several nonprofits, including SCAN and the Boys & Girls Club, and government agencies dedicated to protecting children and bringing those who victimize them to justice.

We applaud these groups for their ongoing efforts and for bringing this problem to the community’s attention.

But they can’t do it alone. All of us have a shared responsibility to look out for the smallest, most fragile members of our community.

Today’s ceremony offers a good opportunity to start doing your part.

Letter: Cheating, stealing parents taint R&L’s cutest baby contest

I was not surprised to see the editorial in Saturday’s R&L about people stealing newspapers or resorting to questionable ethics in order to obtain ballots for the cutest baby contest.

This is exactly why I didn’t enter my 8-month-old daughter in the contest even though she is the cutest baby, ever. No parental bias here, she is cute to a ridiculous degree, even when I speak objectively. She is cuter than a basketful of kittens playing with a ball of yarn, surrounded by Golden Retriever puppies wearing sweaters. That’s how cute she is. I suspected the voting would be rigged/the results otherwise skewed and felt that she would be robbed of the title “Cutest Baby” she so rightfully deserves.

I understand the purpose of putting the ballots inside the paper, but if ballots were sold separately at local businesses instead of inside the paper itself, it would at least eliminate the people who resort to stealing in order to get a lot of ballots.

As for people buying loads of copies of the paper to cheat their baby to victory? They are basically paying for the title, along with the prizes they would receive. And although that is a bit pathetic, at least they aren’t stealing.

Jamie Gill
Statesville

Letter: Obama is committed to helping hard-working Americans

People who have ridiculed Sen. Barack Obama’s comments about clinging to guns or religion in hard times need to read the Charlotte Observer’s story, “Furniture on Shaky Legs” (April 18 Business section). It’s about the furniture industry in North Carolina and Virginia. The last paragraph in the sad story is about a man who lost his textile job after 27 years, then lost a furniture job after six years. After several months of unsuccessful job searches, he said the only way to keep his spirits up was by “Praying. That’s all I know to do anymore.”

I can relate. I’ve been through four factory closings in apparel and furniture, plus two other major layoffs. When will your job be outsourced? And, how will you feel about it? Obama knows.

He cares so much about making changes that he has sent his campaign staff to our area. He really wants the job so he can change things. His campaign office is at 258 First Ave. NW in Hickory. You must also take seriously who you send to Congress to work with him. Our present spineless Congress could have stopped anything wrong that President Bush wanted to do. The President does not have total control over our nation unless Congress allows it. We should be very careful about whom we send to Congress.

Lana H. Davidson
Taylorsville

Letter: School district should repair property damaged near SHS

I reside at 514 Sylvia St. My home was severely damaged when the crew was here demolishing homes to clear land for the new tennis courts and softball field.

I’ve been in contact with Robert Jackson, head of construction for Iredell-Statesville Schools. He states to me that he is working on this. It has been months and I haven’t gotten a response from him about who is responsible for the damages. I have a tennis court right up on my home. Tennis balls are coming over the fence into my yard. It seems as though I’m living on school property, not on my own.

It is time for the school system to come and take care of the damages that have been done to my home. Stop giving me the runaround; take responsibility.

Cheryl Adams
Statesville

Editorial: Make your baby proud

Our annual cutest baby contest is well under way.

We understand the excitement of the new parents and proud grandparents who are confident that the apple of their eye is a sure-fire winner.

To the delight of our circulation director, some will plunk down upward of $100 to buy copies of the paper containing the official ballots. Others will do just about anything to make sure that their favorite garners the most votes, including stealing papers by the dozens.

In the first few days of the contest, we nabbed a woman in the R&L lobby who deposited 50 cents in a box and grabbed significantly more than the single copy to which she was entitled.

Last year, hundreds of papers were stolen throughout the county.While this isn’t the saddest story every told, it’s a telling commentary on the times we live in.

The losers in these shenanigans are our dedicated contract carriers, who work seven nights a week to make sure our home-delivery subscribers and single-copy buyers have access to a paper when they want one.

With gas prices at an all-time high, our carriers need every quarter they earn just keep their cars on the road.

When you steal papers from a paper box (or your neighbor's driveway), you’re taking money out of these hard-working folks’ wallets and, in some instances, food out of their babies’ mouths.

We suspect the only thing more embarrassing than cheating and stealing to help your favorite baby win the contest will be explaining your conduct to a judge.

Letter: Do your part to help our economy — shop locally

Brent Fox brings up a good point about our mall.

However, he does not mention that for the past several years, citizens have not shopped locally for items. So many times we have all wanted to go to the bigger malls or the Wal-Marts.

Money has been contributed to other cities’ economies, and ours has suffered — we are all to blame. It’s the same with our jobs — when we decide to buy products that are made out of this country we are only hurting ourselves.

Of course, NAFTA has not helped our country either. We each need to buy American-made products, plus shop at our local stores — including Signal Hill Mall and our uptown area stores.

Money that stays in our community will help our community to grow. We have a beautiful uptown with lots of friendly merchants.

Additionally, one of our local merchants has decided to close because of recent armed robberies. Don Ledbetter of the Gas -N- Go — also known as the Spur Station — decided to close up because of low-life criminals. That is a complete shame; the Spur Station has been part of our community for years, and I for one, hate to see it closed.

I hope Don changes his mind. If anyone has information regarding the robbery please call the police department as soon as you can, we are all affected by this crime.

Bill Riter
Statesville

Letter: Sen. McCain offers more of the same; we’ve had enough

Letter writer Thomas Palmer’s latest diatribe against everything in the Democratic campaign to replace this incompetent president with someone who demonstrates an interest in the welfare of the people is laughable and deluded.

Sen. John McCain, after graduating fifth from the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy, learned to fly airplanes, was shot down in combat and sat in a North Vietnam-ese prison for five years. He now lays claim to being an expert on warfare.

His expertise is probably on the same level as President Bush, who has so successfully pursued our tragedy in Iraq.On the economic front, McCain wants to continue the Bush tax cuts, which have been instrumental in increasing our national debt to unprecedented levels.

In fact, the last three Republican presidents are responsible for 90 percent of that debt.Mr. Palmer can think of nothing better than to repeat the allegations against Hillary Clinton, which have been investigated to death and at great expense by the Republican Congress without any results except a great waste of time and effort.

Lastly, Republican rule has been successful in devaluing our dollar to an all-time low, which has resulted in the sky-high oil prices we are all experiencing. At the same time they want to order tankers from Europe rather than Boeing, and now they want the Chinese to build our tanks.

It appears that the lawyers, unionists, etc., can do better at running the country than the CEOs giving away the store.

Henry M. Gordon
Statesville

Editorial: Can McHenry overcome his missteps?

Rep. Patrick McHenry will have no one to blame but himself if he stumbles in the May 6 Republican primary against Lance Sigmon.

While it seemed unlikely when the campaign filing period ended, very few people would be shocked if McHenry was ousted by Sigmon, an attorney and retired U.S. Air force officer. The incumbent 10th District representative has been skewered in print and on the Web recently — and deservedly so — for complaining about being stopped by a “two-bit security guard” in Iraq and for violating Pentagon rules by publishing a video from his trip to the war-torn nation on his congressional Web site.

McHenry has been trying to right his ship by doing what he does best: attacking Democrats. On Saturday, for example, the McHenry campaign issued a blistering assault on Democratic presidential frontrunner Sen. Barack Obama, saying that residents of Western North Carolina “don’t want know-it-all liberals telling us what to think or how to say it.”

While that tactic might work in the general election, we’re not sure it will help discerning voters in the GOP primary decide that McHenry is their best candidate this time around. He has consistently supported an administration that has over-extended our military, run up the national debt to record levels and done little to stave off economic recession other than sign off on a stimulus package funded by money the U.S. Treasury doesn’t have.

And while the majority of voters in the 10th District are registered Republicans, the winner of the GOP primary isn’t necessarily a lock to win in November. McHenry or Sigmon will face the survivor of the Democratic primary, Daniel Johnson or Steve Ivester, in the general election.Despite his troubles, McHenry has plenty of heavy-hitters in his corner.

In Iredell County, he has enlisted the likes of county commissioners Marvin Norman, Steve Johnson, Ken Robertson, Sara Haire Tice, Godfrey Williams and Sheriff Phil Redmond to serve on his official steering committee.This is an all-star line-up. If they can’t help the congressman win Iredell in next month’s primary, no one can.We suspect their assistance will help his campaign much more than being aligned with McHenry will help any of them in their current or future campaigns.

Letter: Administration's incompetence has left America in shambles

Webster defines the word bitter as “unpleasant to accept.”

For eight years we have endured the total incompetence of President Bush.

Five years of war have gone by with billions of our tax dollars going to that never-ending conflict, with thousands of our soldiers dead and thousands of innocent civilians dead. Our military morale is down and military suicide is up. The entire military is stretched to the limit.

We have watched as our Constitution has been raped and pillaged, having laws passed to keep people in prison indefinitely and even tortured.

Banks and other big businesses fail while their corporate executives receive full pensions and help from our government. What happens to the workers? They are flushed down the toilet! The gap between rich and poor continues to widen as our leaders feel it is more necessary to steal from the poor and give to the rich.

We have seen the total ineptitude of our government agencies, from intelligence gathering to emergency response.

Do I sound bitter? You better believe it! And I will march that bitterness right to the polls in both May and November. I hope God and CNN will forgive me!

Bob Barber
Hiddenite

Letter: Why doesn’t DNC trust party members to select nominee?

The column by D.G. Martin on April 1 was an April Fool’s joke, right? (Superdelegate David Parker, a Statesville attorney, wrote a letter to Martin about his role in the upcoming election.)

The absurdity of Parker using terms like “well qualified, brilliant, solid, credible ... natural leaders... incorruptible, etc.” to describe Barack Obama’s and Hillary Clinton’s credentials to be president is laughable. To have this illogical rendering come from two highly educated lawyers is very puzzling.

It is ludicrous to use these terms when one reviews the history of these two ultra-liberal Democrats. Obama’s uneventful single term in the Illinois legislature and short term in the U.S. Senate, most of which he has spent campaigning, hardly qualifies him for anything. Obama’s 20-year history of sitting through sermons by his mentor, the fiery racist and anti-American Rev. Jeremiah Wright, qualifies him only as either stone deaf or a racist himself. Obama’s grand speaking style seems to be his main attraction to the ill-informed public with his ad nauseam repetitious use of the word “change” with no substance whatsoever.

I’ll give David Parker one concession though, Obama is a “brilliant” speaker; in the same sense that “Jim” Jones and Elmer Gantry were brilliant.

And that leads me to Clinton. What a piece of work! She has been able to parlay her mismanagement of the numerous “bimbo-gate” affairs, the missing FBI files on Vince Foster, her dubious dealings at the Rose Law Firm and her gross inadequacies in drafting “Hillary-Care” into being the darling of the Democrats. These people are really hurting if this woman is the best that they can offer.

Mr. Parker goes on to characterize the “GOP candidate who does not know squat about the economy and will keep us in Iraq until 2100.”

All that we need to know is that John McCain knows enough about the economy to push to make the Bush tax cuts permanent and to repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax that is killing middle-class Americans. McCain is one of the most ardent excess spending hawks on Capital Hill and that’s good for all taxpayers.

As to the year 2100 comment by David Parker, I ask what would the Islamofascist like to hear, that we are cutting and running with Obama/Clinton or that America is going to stay the course from McCain.

This whole Democrat position of having “superdelegates” is the diametric opposite of one-man, one-vote. The sugar-daddies of the DNC do not trust the average Democrat voter to know what is best for them. The DNC is wont to leave out “Democratic” in the Democratic Party.

That pretty much opens the door for lawyers, unionists and lobbyists to run this political party.

Thomas Palmer
Statesville

Editorial: Turning the wheels

When the World Championships of Slalom Skateboarding came to Statesville in September, it did more than draw a crowd dressed in kneepads and helmets.

It put skateboarding in the local limelight and brought to attention that area skating fanatics need a place to enjoy their hobby.

In the months since, the Sk8ers of Statesville and other enthusiasts have worked to convince city officials to provide the necessary funds to build a skate park in Statesville.

The city council denied a funding request with little or no discussion.

The Sk8ers, refusing to be derailed, vowed to continue to press local leaders for their financial help.

Now, officials from the Barium Springs YMCA and the Town of Troutman are joining the discussion. Next week, they and Statesville leaders are slated to meet to discuss funding for a skate park.

Troutman board member Mike Spath told the R&L that “it’s about time” a skate park was built to give the area’s youth another means of recreation.

It’s hard to argue against that logic.However, the skaters are the ones who have to get the ball rolling; the responsibility to build a skate park does not fall solely on our local leaders’ shoulders.

In a county in which local government agendas are bursting at the seams with zoning and property rights issues, it’s best not to wait on your turn in front of the council and board members who might just skate around the issue.

Park advocates should not expect to be taken seriously until they start raising money to qualify for a matching grant. Local officials will have a harder time saying no if the skaters viewed this more as a partnership and less as an entitlement.

Letter: News media should help find solutions to begging

I agree with the editorial board’s opinion about the panhandling proposal that has since been approved by the Statesville City Council. We need to address the underlying problems of homelessness and poverty.

However, instead of being critical of the city council as they try to come up with solutions to these problems, help them find a way to end the begging problem.

Recent cut-backs from the federal and state governments have pretty much taken away any funding that we use to get that would help us deal with the these problems. Furthermore, a lot of our homeless people who stand on the street holding their signs have made their own decisions to be out there.

Granted, there are some who are in that situation because of economic reasons or true mental health reasons. When motorists come by and hand each of our beggars money it certainly does not help.

It’s like feeding a stray cat or dog; if food is available, they will continue to come back.

I challenge the news media to come up with solutions that could help local government control and deal with the homelessness issue.

No one in our country should have to be homeless and go without food and the basic necessities of life. On the other hand, if you are going to beg, don’t take the money and go buy wine and get drunk, go get a job!

Bill Riter
Statesville

Editorial: Mark these dates on your calendar

There’s no better way to evaluate candidates for local office than to look them in the eye as they explain why they are best suited to represent you and how they propose to deal with the day’s most pressing issues.

You’ll have a chance to do just that in several key races April 22 and April 23 at Statesville High School’s Mac Gray Auditorium.

At 6:30 p.m. April 22, candidates for the Iredell County Commission will take center stage. There are 10 candidates in the primary elections — five Democrats and five Republicans. You’ll have two hours to get to know them and see where they stand on everything from taxes and the county’s long-term debt load to school construction.

The following night at the same time, candidates for the Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education and the new district attorney’s position for Iredell and Alexander counties will field questions about their experience and campaign platforms. And Republican candidates for the 95th District N.C. House seat will have a chance to explain why they are best suited to represent a large swath of Iredell in Raleigh.

Most of these candidates have already confirmed they will participate.

These forums are a collaborative effort of the R&L, Mooresville Tribune, WSIC Radio, the Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce and the Education Association. Iredell-Statesville Schools has donated the use of Mac Gray Auditorium.

All the time and effort that goes into planning these forums will be wasted if the candidates end up talking to a room of empty seats. These candidates — and others who have dedicated their talents and countless hours to seek and hold public office — have a ton of great ideas and a willingness to serve.

While the horse race for the Oval Office grabs more headlines and eats up more time on the evening network news, the winners of these local races will have more of an impact on your life and the future of this county than anyone in Washington, D.C.

What the winners do directly and indirectly will determine how much money you pay in taxes, when and where new schools are built and how much time criminals spend behind bars.

These forums can help you decide which candidates deserve your support. We hope to see you there.

Editorial: City isn't a canvas

About seven months ago the Statesville City Council introduced an anti-graffiti ordinance meant to curb local vandals who were spray painting their way around the city.

In October, the council passed the ordinance.

In early January, Statesville resident Montresha Ramseur had more than $300 worth of damage to her vehicle. Her neighbors' duplex and vehicle were also spray painted with vulgarities.

In mid-February, numerous utility boxes and structures were tagged with "dip Set," "Sur 13" and other gang-related words.

And this weekend, vehicles, a school, a business and other structures throughout the city served as canvasses for vandals' work, which included gang names and symbols and could total thousands of dollars in damage. One vehicle was almost completely covered in spray paint.

Under the anti-graffiti law, the penalty for the first offense is a $250 fine. The second and subsequent offenses would result in $500 fines, with the burden of proving innocence on the defendant's shoulders.

But, clearly, the ordinance - which bans what it calls "graffiti implements" and allows officers to arrest those in possession of such tools without good reason - isn't working.

Statesville Police Department Assistant Chief Tom Anderson said officers will be ramping up patrols in problem areas to enforce the law.

However, those who are using our homes, cars and schools for their spray pint portraits either aren't aware of the law or don't care - likely the latter. What's more, vandals are hard to catch in the act and even harder to find afterward.

Likely committed by youngsters bored and looking for "fun," these acts are defacing the city that nearly 25,000 people call home.

And home is just the place to stop this crime wave.

We can't expect patrol officers to monitor our teenage population 100 percent of the time - that's the job of parents.

Teaching your children respect for their neighbors and for themselves is the best tool for curbing vandalism, not an ordinance that is either loosely enforced or loosely respected.

At the same time, those who witness such crimes - and spray painting an entire car takes more than a few minutes - should take it upon themselves to report the wrongdoing.

Letter: Liberals should embrace value of every human life

I totally agree with Linda Harmon's opinion contrasting the views on our children dying in the war and dying in the womb.

It is very tragic that our country has lost more than 4,000 of our young men and women since the war began five years ago. Using Linda's stats on abortion, during the same time period, this country has taken the lives of more than 6 million of our innocent children by methods I consider horrific.

Why? Just because the liberal Supreme Court made abortion legal in 1973, does that make it moral? I don't think so.

Liberals have a way of using children for political gain. What really bothers me is that 10 seconds before a child is born and 3 inches from being delivered into this world, liberals will not consider that child to be a precious and non-renewable resource. What happened to this country?

Thanks Linda for your lesson in right and wrong, good and evil!

Wayne Ledbetter
Statesville

Editorial: The easy way out

The Statesville City Council is expected to launch a new offensive in the war on poverty when it reconvenes tonight.

City Attorney Eddie Gaines has reworked an ordinance designed to curb panhandling within the city limits. Unlike an earlier draft of the ordinance, this version will likely withstand any legal challenge on the basis that it violates constitutionally protected free speech rights, Gaines said.

The new ordinance targets what city officials have defined as "aggressive" panhandling by limiting where beggars can stand and when they can beg. If the ordinance is approved, panhandling near ATMs and banks or on the medians of major roadways will be classified as a misdemeanor.

This ordinance may pass constitutional muster, but there's absolutely no reason to believe it will solve the underlying problems - mental illness and drug and alcohol addiction - that cause men and women to stand on the streets and ask for a handout.

Putting beggars in jail for a week or fining them $50 is a lot easier than crafting sound pubic policy designed to get them off the streets and into treatment programs that address the root causes of homelessness and poverty.

Letter: Will we let concrete jungle overwhelm our community?

I don't know how the rest of you feel, but I'd be very happy if Charlotte would just decide to enjulf someone else and leave us alone. Personally, I prefer a somewhat slower pace and a more relaxed lifestyle. That's the charm (and the attraction) of places like Statesville.

The mantra of the ever-threatening colossus to the south is "Charlotte uber alles" and it's poised, like a malignant cancer, to overwhelm us. If I wanted to live in Charlotte, I'd move there. And I don't care to be swallowed up in the name of progress, thank you.

Why don't the proponents of this insidious movement tell the whole story of increased crime, congestion, the transformation of the whole area into a concrete jungle?

Mecklenburg County is on track to be more than 90 percent deforested/defoliated by 2030. Do we want that for Iredell County? I hope not.

If rational minds cannot prevail, I and others like me will have no recourse but to "vote with our feet" and find another place to live.

Keith High
Statesville

Editorial: Money for nothing

Lamar Lewis has been suspended from his job as an assistant principal at South Iredell High School for the better part of a month.

He faces criminal prosecution on charges he performed a sex act in the presence of a student in the school.

Yet Lewis, 39, continued to earn his monthly salary of $2,965 from Iredell-Statesville Schools until Thursday afternoon, when he was suspended without pay via certified letter.

Taxpayers should be outraged by this waste of their hard-earned money.

Under our system of jurisprudence, Lewis is presumed innocent until he is proven guilty in a court of law. He is free on bond.

School officials have a responsibility to protect the children in their care from anyone suspected of sex crimes.

In this case, I-SS officials did just that, suspending Lewis from his duties March 11, a day after the allegations were made by a student at South Iredell High. Superintendent Terry Holliday told the R&L that Lewis would not return to work this year.

The following week, Lewis was arrested at his Charlotte home by Troutman police.

That's when we believe the assistant principal's status with I-SS should have been changed from suspended with pay to suspended without pay.

After state prosecutors have reviewed the evidence collected by sworn law enforcement officers and determined there is probable cause to believe a crime was committed and the accused is responsible, it's a different ball game. That's when the accused should be removed from the public payroll.

Holliday told the R&L this week that once an employee is suspended without pay, state law requires that the suspending agency either terminate or reinstate the employee within five days. That statue, along with the threat of civil litigation, makes administrators reluctant to remove those charged with a crime from the payroll.

Members of Iredell County's legislative delegation should take the lead in righting this wrong against taxpayers. N.C. law should state unequivocally that taxpayers will not pay the salaries of public employees who have been arrested on felony charges and suspended from work.

Letter: Man who traveled wrong path helped 'shake' others

A special man came to Iredell County recently. His mission was to reach out to middle and high school students and share with them his story and a message of hope. In the course of a week, Mr. Bill Saye also reached out to a small gathering of folks every evening at our church as our guest speaker for Spring Crusade.

Bill Saye has tirelessly dedicated his life for the past 24 years to share his story of how he spent his first 40 years building his own kingdom on earth through despair, destruction and drugs only to find that he had gained wealth and success that couldn't purchase the thing he really wanted: love.

He found love through a special friendship made while in federal prison. His best friend was a teacher. Through him, Mr. Saye also found forgiveness for the detestable things he did in his life and a way to begin a brand new life, a life of freedom.

I met his friend too - I've known him for 15 years. He is a patient teacher for I have been a slow learner. He has changed my life - given me so many gifts that could never been found in a store or bought with money. I owe him everything I am and everything I have to him and I am grateful that I'll continue to know him for eternity.

I, for one, have been shaken, awakened and changed by Mr. Saye's visit to our community. Many could say that he brought revival, but I know only the Holy Spirit can do that. Bill was the messenger, the mouthpiece and the servant for God.

The definition of revival as I understand it is to wake up or be revived. Many who had the opportunity to meet and hear Mr. Saye hopefully were awakened from the proverbial "sleep" of today's culture that is empty and self-seeking.

I pray that everyone will have the opportunity to one day meet our "Great Friend." His love is available for everyone. He gives hope that fills empty lives. Brings glory to the broken and weak and joy and comfort to those walking in misery. He provides forgiveness to those who ask and a fullness of peace when we rest in his arms.

His name is Jesus Chris, son of God. He is the greatest teacher and friend of all time. His textbook is Bible. If you feel empty and need a friend, read John 3:16. He's waiting for you.

Shelley Arthur
Statesville

Letter: Putting students on the bus will save money and lives

A 1995 report by the National Research Council to the Department of Transportation states that nationwide, 800 children are killed each year commuting to and from school.

According to the Associated Press, 2 percent of the 800 fatalities occurred in school bus wrecks, or 16 deaths. Passenger car accidents, in contrast, accounted for 75 percent of the fatalities, or 600 deaths. Of the vehicular accidents, teen drivers were at the wheel 55 percent of the time, while with adult drivers at the wheel, the percentage was 20 percent. Children also get to and from school by other buses, by bicycle and by walking.

School buses are, therefore, much safer than passenger vehicles. Also, if all children rode in school buses, there would be many benefits, including better control and the children's location would be better known; children would learn to communicate better; there would be less need for the purchase of property and construction of fewer parking lots; work time would be saved due to less traffic congestion; less fuel would be used and less pollution and less expense to families.

Consider gasoline for a moment. Teenage drivers parking 100 cars per high school (a low estimate), with each car driving an average of 20 miles per day equals 2,000 miles times 15 miles per gallon equals 133.3 gallons per day for the 100 high school cars.

That means 660.5 gallons of gas would be required per week, or 2,666 gallons of gas per month. Multiply this by nine months of school and you get 23,994 gallons per year for 100 high school cars.

Iredell County has five public high schools, which gives you 119,970 gallons of gas. There are 433 high schools in North Carolina, which gives you over 10 million gallons of gas used. There are 21,774 high schools in the United States, 19,665 middle schools and 50,681 elementary schools.

Do you want to save lives, reduce gas consumption and reduce pollution? Put your children on school buses.

Daniel Ray
Union Grove

Editorial: Law protects taxpayers

No one in Gov. Mike Easley's administration, including the governor himself, is above the law.

News reports that members of the governor's staff directed state employees in the state health department to delete e-mails they sent to the governor's office should trouble anyone who believes the government if the people should be done in the sunshine.

If, in fact, that happened, as three current and former employees have alleged, the Easley administration has violated state law and breached the public's trust.

To his credit, Easley has convened a special panel to review the state's e-mail rules.

But every North Carolinian should be concerned that those who prefer backroom deals and other political shenanigans will use this panel as a foothold to weaken the state's public records laws. Some have complained it's too expensive to maintain these records and make them available for public inspection.

What these foes of open government fail to realize is that they don't own these records; they are merely custodians of what belongs to the people of this state.

The time, energy and money spent on this panel's work would be better spent finding out who the culprits are and removing them from their positions. A remedial course for the governor's staff on the laws that govern the handling of public records would also be in order.

Elected officials and state employees who have nothing to hide shouldn't be worried about following the state's public records law.

Conversely, North Carolina taxpayers and voters should be very worried about anyone in public office who advocated anything other than transparent government. Until his administration proves differently, Gov. Easley has earned a spot at the top of this list.

Letter: Social Security is more than just sick — it’s dying

What planet do Froma Harrop and economist Dean Baker come from?

Social Security is not only sick — it’s just about dead. They think there is money in the trust fund. The only thing there is IOUs.

Granted, if the money had physically been left in the trust fund and drawing interest, Social Security would be better. Even saying that, I am an investor and if I proposed this type of investment to individuals, I could be sued or even go to jail.

This is a Ponzi scheme, which means early investors are paid off with money put up by later ones. I’ve run the numbers, and if all my money that was deposited in my Social Security account was put in a private plan in a 4.6 percent CD — this is not stock market and no-risk — I would double my Social Security check to age 100 and still leave my beneficiaries $23,931.

If Social Security is so stable, why are the solutions raising taxes, raising retirement ages or both? Ms. Harrop also said the stock market has not been this nasty since 1970. I guess she forgot about 1987, 2000, 2001 and 2002 stock markets.

Larry Gregory
Mooresville

Editorial: Selfless service

For 24 years, staff and volunteers at Hospice and Palliative Care of Iredell County have helped ease the dying process for countless families in the area.

Ask anyone there why they do what they do, and the answer is simple: "It's an honor and a privilege," according to President Terri Guzman.

It's hard for most of us to imagine dealing with death day in and day out the way Hospice personnel do.

It takes a great amount of strength and compassion to help clients as they enter the final stages of life and to comfort a family as their loved one passes. The folks at Hospice continue to demonstrate their dedication to the members of this community by providing a peaceful environment for our aging and terminally ill.

As with most nonprofit agencies, Guz man said, Hospice could not serve its clients as well as it does without volunteers.

"We couldn't have had this organization without them," she said.

To the volunteers and staff at Hospice, we say thank you for 24 years of selflessness.