Sidewalks would trim yards of some China Grove residentsI agree with Harry Mills in regard to saying “no” to new sidewalks in China Grove. I received a town letter inviting me to the town’s open forum on the additional sidewalks. At the meeting, the areas and streets that were to receive sidewalks from this grant had already been decided without citizens’ input.
I already have a sidewalk in front of my house but now the town wants to add one beside my house. With the sidewalk addition, I will be required to give up 7 feet of my 95-foot-wide lot, and this 7-foot strip would run the 200-foot length of my lot. The town wants to add a 2-foot grass strip, which the town will not mow, between the road and the new 5-foot-wide sidewalk. In essence, I will lose 1,400 square feet of my usable property just for a sidewalk. That will be free land to the town. Not only that, my fencing, rock wall and shrubs will have to be moved at the grants’ expense. Some of the houses on my side street cannot afford to lose 7 feet of their land or the homeowners will literally step off their porch onto the sidewalk.
The side street is already wide enough if someone wants to walk along the curbing. At the forum, the engineer told me that having the sidewalk would increase my property value. Of course, my first thought was that the county will now re-evaluate my property, and thus raise my property taxes on less usable land.
I am not against changes, but there are more pressing issues than sidewalks in China Grove. Please let all citizens have a voice in what they want for the town. Often, people who make the decisions are the ones the decision does not directly affect.
ó Renee Simmons
China Grove
Fundraiser a success
I would like to thank everyone in the community for supporting our fundraiser “A Cross Tie Affair” on May 2 at Saving Grace Farm. We had a wonderful afternoon of entertainment, fellowship, education and fun.
Our goal was to give direct experience to the somewhat abstract concept of equine facilitated activities. I believe our performers did a great job of conveying the historical relationship of man and horse, culminating in the wonderful therapeutic experience of one of our students. Thank you so much to John Hart for being our special guest, and also to Kent Bernhardt for his brilliant narration.
The staff and volunteers of Saving Grace Farm are dedicated to serving all of our citizens with unique and educational programs, and we could not do this without the support of a great community. I encourage anyone interested in being a part of this great organization to check out our Web site, www.savinggracefarm.com, and to consider volunteering. I can guarantee that you will be blessed!
ó Jill Hoben
Salisbury
Jill Hoben is executive director of Saving Grace Farm.Special day for RCCC
Thank you to all who attended Rowan-Cabarrus Community College’s presidential inauguration or “block party” on May 1 at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis. Everyone at RCCC was delighted so many people could join us during the day of celebration and hear about our “Passport to the Future” ideas and programs.
We especially thank our corporate and individual sponsors for their generosity, which allowed RCCC to host these events without using state dollars. Our donors included RCCC’s Student Government Association, Centralina Workforce Development Board, Duke Energy, Castle & Cooke, Turner Construction, Cabarrus County Economic Development Corp., Rowan Jobs Initiative, Creech & Associates, Summit Developers, Barnes & Noble, and individuals from our RCCC board of trustees and RCCC Foundation. We also thank our vendors and the Gem Theater for providing food and entertainment for our attendees.
The interest and enthusiasm shown by local citizens, our students, our NCRC partners and corporate and individual supporters made May 1 a special and memorable day for me and our entire college family. The day was further evidence of what a great community we have the privilege to call home.
ó Carol S. Spalding
Salisbury
Carol Spalding is president of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.