Service Above Self inspires youth
I am a 14-year-old freshman at East Rowan High School. I would like to share with you that the Rowan Rotary Club and the United Way have made a difference in many lives of kindergarten through 12th-graders with their successful Service Above Self program. Last year, the program recognized more than 2,000 individuals and groups.  The Service Above Self recognition program promotes and rewards students during the ceremony at the Keppel Auditorium at Catawba College each year.  
Since elementary school I have successfully participated and collected donations for the St. Judes’ Children Hospital bike-a-thon for Grace Lower Stone Church. The last few years, a young boy in our community has been a patient and received care and treatment at the Tennessee facility. This has made me work harder to raise funds for this great cause. To this date, with the generous people who have donated and supported this cause, I have been able to raise more than $8,000. Friends, teachers and family continue to recognize me and my efforts through Service Above Self. 
Please take a good look around you and nominate our local Rowan County youth for their volunteer service to our community for recognition on Dec. 6. You may nominate online at rowanserviceaboveself.com; the deadline is Nov 15.
Thank you, Rowan Rotary Club and the United Way, for giving the citizens of Rowan County the opportunity to continue to nominate students for their Service Above Self and for recognizing the nominees.
— Chance Brown
Salisbury

Mannequin memory
Joe Taylor was a friend to many causes. Jack Vail’s widow gave her husband’s authentic Southern Railroad conductor’s uniform to the Historic Salisbury Foundation. We needed a male mannequin to put the uniform on. I asked Joe Taylor if he would donate one to the foundation.
Joe immediately said, “follow me to the stock room.” He picked one out and asked if that one would do. Today, it still stands at the Southern Depot.
— C.A. Peacock
Salisbury

Fiscal cliff ahead
If the president, the U.S. House and Senate fail to act by Dec. 31, we will all be paying much higher taxes. On average, every family will see a $3,500 reduction in income due to tax increases. Your Social Security tax will go from 4.2 percent to 6.2 percent. The child tax credit will be reduced from $1,000 to $500. The marriage tax penalty will return. All income tax rates will increase. The lowest 10 percent rate goes to 15 percent. All others go up an additional 3 percent. The top estate tax goes from 35 percent to 55 percent, capital gains from 15 percent to 20 percent and the alternative minimum tax returns. Also, the extended unemployment benefits expire, crippling those out of work looking for jobs. If nothing is done, there could be as much as a major correction in the stock market since we all will be spending less.  It doesn’t matter what political party you belong to, this will affect everyone. So where is our leadership who should be working to prevent the fiscal cliff and the probable recession? They’re all out making speeches, raising campaign funds, kissing babies and making us believe we’ll have utopia if we elect them. 
I judge a person’s ability based upon what they accomplished in the past. I look at what our government has done in the last four years and come up with a big fat zero. I’m not better off and will be a lot worse off if those in office are re-elected. We’ll all be if they don’t go back to work and stop our economy from falling into an abyss. I hope we elect the right people this time.
— Donald Schumacher
Salisbury

Vote for Battermann
I am always suspicious of people who seek power because they tend to be self-serving, and self-serving politicians have left us in a mess. At the forum on Oct. 10,  Harry Warren implied that Bill Battermann was running after retirement in order to have something to do, while for Harry it was a job. Bill Battermann is running for the 77th N.C. House seat because many asked him to do so, and he agreed to serve, as he has all his adult life. Bill Battermann did not want to run, but he was willing to run because he cares about the people of Rowan County.  
Harry Warren has not served our best interests. While he may speak about his concern for fracking, he voted for it. By voting for fracking, he is serving the interests of the outside energy companies, but putting so many people, like myself, who rely on well water, at risk from contamination. Harry Warren may say he supports education, but he voted for a budget that cut education spending to the point that my grandson, who graduated with honors from a state university and teaches, is now being forced to reconsider his career because of the way our legislators have been treating teachers. We need top quality teachers like my grandson if we are to have a top quality educational system; that is why we need Bill Battermann, who will support our teachers to improve our public education.
 We do not need politicians who say one thing and vote another because they are not willing to lose and are beholden to money while ignoring voters’ interests. We need people like Bill Battermann who is running in response to people’s clamor; he needs them to vote for him so that he may serve the people.
— Elizabeth Beaver
Cleveland