Let’s just say no
to ‘no problem’
OK. I admit it. I can’t take it any longer. It is time to put the responsive phrase “no problem” to rest. The one thing that annoys me is for someone who is performing a service for me to respond “no problem,” as if they were doing me a special favor or going above and beyond the call of duty to serve me. My two teenage kids know it bothers me, and they just love to respond to any request in that manner, just to get old Dad’s blood pressure up even more.
Where did it come from? I think it is Australian in origin, from all of those Crocodile Dundee films, when the phrase “no worries” emerged. Leave it to Hollywood Down Under to drive an American bloke bonkers.
I came from a different school. It use to be that in acknowledging the performance of such tasks, a customer would say “thank you” and one would respond “you are welcome” or “my pleasure.” One would not respond “no problem,” as if the request was going to place an unnecessary burden upon them. Or that it wasn’t in their normal course of duties that they should be performing anyway.
So, I am beginning a new campaign (one I hope I can win) “Just say no to no problem.” I will begin with my button that has a large slash through “NO PROBLEM,” and I will give a button to anyone who responds to my future requests with “no problem.” I will have a Web site to describe my campaign and a newsletter so that all of the folks who have been victims of this will be able to share their stories with each other. We will have yearly conventions with major speakers.
Have faith, you are not alone! Join me in this last great cause. OK? NO PROBLEM.
ó Mac Butner
Salisbury
Average citizens feel tax burden
I’d love to see what tax assessor Jerry Rowland’s “private appraisal” amount would be if I offered to let him buy our 1940s house for the tax value ó which is $63,000 more than we paid for our house less than five years ago. When Landis annexes us, which we are sure is a done deal, with dual taxes, it will cost us about $400 monthly in taxes to live in a very modest house.
Of course, insurance is through the ceiling because of the revaluation, so that adds another $75 to $100 monthly. That makes our “paid for” house cost us the equivalent of a large house payment, a nightmare we never counted on at this time of life.
As Nancy Andrews told us in her July 31 letter, it is unwise to even bother to challenge these people. You can’t win.
It does stink to high heaven, but our officials seem to have no sense of reality at all, or they just frankly don’t care what these high costs mean to the lives of average people.
ó Janet Dennis
China Grove
Grandparents need help, too
For a while now, I have been reading about the Department of Social Services and its plans for helping foster parents. What about grandparents that have custody of their grandchildren?
I can only speak for myself, but as a single grandmother, raising two young grandsons, it seems unfair. Grandparents get less monetary assistance, and we don’t get a clothing fund. My grandchildren hardly ever get new clothes because I can’t afford to shop for clothes except at Goodwill. A lot of grandparents are on fixed income, as well.
I’m sure a lot of other grandparents, like myself, are willing to struggle to raise these kids. We are not obligated to take our grandchildren, but we have enough love and desire to keep these kids within the family. Also, there are so many foster homes now that are no better than the homes these children are removed from. I can speak from experience on foster homes, because years ago, I was sexually molested in one. And, yes, it was right here in Rowan County.
Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s great that we have foster families. And I’m sure the majority of them are good people. It’s just that you never know what people are hiding nowadays.
I just think that grandparents deserve just as much praise and extra help as the foster homes. Let’s face it ó our grandchildren have suffered the same kinds of difficulties as the foster children. They are just as in need and underprivileged as foster children.
Rowan County should be willing to help all underprivileged children, not just foster children. They all need mentors and people who care enough to help improve their moral values and give them hope for a brighter future.
Let’s hear from some of the other grandparents out there!
ó Earlene Arquette
Salisbury
Thanks for sharing downtown journey
Dear downtown merchants, thank you so much for allowing me to serve you these past several years as an employee of Downtown Salisbury, Inc. It has been a real pleasure getting to know many of you as we have made monthly deliveries of the “Night Out” promotional materials. Instead of feeling like a job, walking the streets of Downtown Salisbury has been its own pleasure for me. I have enjoyed the walks, the visits and the laughter. It’s all part of the journey.
I have also enjoyed working together as part of the DSI staff. Thanks to Randy Hemann’s vision and Betz Bigelow’s creativity, the downtown is on the verge of so many amazing projects and the events regularly bring families and business to downtown. Downtown Salisbury, Inc. is also blessed with an active board of directors, including Janie Allen, Jon Barber, Steve Fisher, Dick Huffman, Mark Lewis, Brian Miller, Mike Miller, Joe Morris, Ed Norvell, Foster Owen, Bette Pollock, Gray Stout, Greg Shields, Jack Thomson, Christine Wilson, Chanaka Yatawara, Teross Young and new board members Pete Bogle, Paula Bohland, Paul Fisher, Dr. Grant Harrison and James Meacham. Thank you so much for letting me be a part of this team.
Change is always a difficult thing because the path before us is not always clear, but we cannot always remain in the same place. Though we may resist, we all need that change to move forward. I cannot thank you all enough for providing a safe haven for me over the past seven months. I appreciate everyone taking time to listen and encourage and for providing a shoulder to lean on during a time when I could not find my bearings.
Thanks again for letting me be a part of this. I look forward to the continued redevelopment projects as the downtown is transformed into the beautiful, vibrant heart of our city.
ó Laura Lyerly
Salisbury
Forced annexation is the malignancy spreading across North Carolina like the plague. Townships are misusing the archaic annexation law to simply steal money from surrounding neighbors while simultaneously corrupting the very foundations of our constitutional system by denying private property rights, forcing taxation without representation and denying citizens the right to vote.
Towns across this state are picking off areas to steal, one at a time, and it time that we stood together. Join the Fair Annexation Coalition on the Web at fac@nc.rr.com. Band together with other nearby communities for support and legal advice by writing to lexingtonnc@yahoo.com or calling 336-239-6926.
Information, support and voices need to join on a statewide network or we will all hang separately. There are many bills in the House for annexation reform and some for de-annexation, and I plan to take letters from people who have been annexed in the past to Raleigh in support of Bill HB1061 which calls for de-annexation of areas that have been forcefully annexed in the past. Mayors and city leaders recently testified before a hearing in Raleigh and said that people who have been annexed are happy and content with having been annexed
Send your letters or call. The politicians in Raleigh need to hear the truth. North Carolina is one of only four states still practicing the neo-communist method of forced, no-vote annexation, which allows municipalities to steal tax dollars in order to support their ever- increasing entitlement infrastructure and every town council’s own useless vanity projects and failed leadership. Write or call. As Thomas Jefferson said, “the whole mass of the people are the only sure reliance for the preservation of liberty”
ó Keith Bost
Lexington
Maybe it’s time to call Russell
As the Post has reported, Salisbury-Rowan EDC Director Randy Harrell has submitted his resignation, effective Aug. 24. Randy was an excellent EDC director, whose professional accomplishments are exceeded only by his exemplary service to the community. As our county is just now realizing the benefits of the legacy he and former commissioner Steve Blount have planned for our prosperity, I have a suggestion.
Tim Russell, whose professional accomplishments have yet to be exceeded, would be the ideal candidate for the EDC position. Mr. Russell is a committed community leader who served on the United Way board and raised record sums of money for local charitable organizations. The hallmark of his tenure as county manager was the unparalleled prosperity and overall sense of well-being he always seemed to bring to the citizens of Rowan County.
For those who know him, Tim is honest, fair and possesses the demeanor that would make him an excellent EDC director. It’s my understanding that Mr. Russell announced his resignation from Gates County last week.
I submit that if Tim Russell makes a commitment to you, it can be counted on without question. Simply put, he is a man of integrity. His resignation as Gates County manager could not have happened at a more opportune moment.
ó James Walls
Salisbury
The Minneapolis bridge disaster was a terrible thing, and it brought home an interesting and valid point. These kinds of tragedies should not happen in America, and don’t have to happen.
Our federal government has no money to fix bridges, resurface all the roads that need it, or in anyway make the necessary repairs to our nation’s infrastructure. Do you know why? It’s because we are dropping millions of dollars a day on a war that we are not winning and that has no visible or viable end to it, and we, the citizens, are paying for it!
Since our invasion of Iraq, terrorists have overrun a country where previously they had no presence; we’ve lost nearly 4,000 of our finest men and women, and permanently or seriously maimed and/or disabled another 12,000 of them. Many of our wonderful soldiers are on their third, fourth or fifth tour of duty in this hot zone, and no appreciable gains have been made. Not only that, but Osama Bin Laden, the man responsible for the tragedy of 911, is still at large and still recruiting terrorists and wreaking his havoc on the world.
Being occupiers in Iraq has not stopped the terror attacks on Spain, England, Egypt, or in any way put an end to the mess in the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis.
We have an administration that is reviled in much of the world, and we have allowed it to thumb its nose at our Constitution, ignore basic civil rights of our citizens, and continue to ignore the devastation in one of our finest cities, New Orleans, not to mention failing to secure our borders!
When will we wake up and say, enough! All our bridges, roads and greenways are in serious danger in America, and, if it weren’t for this war, they could be repaired. As it is, many of our more wondrous man made structures, and, our eco system in this great land of ours remain on borrowed time.
Please remember this the next time you cross a bridge ó or go into a voting booth.
ó Jan McCanless
China Grove
-209 Edgewood Circle, China Grove, NC (704) 857-6923