U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican whose 5th District includes part of Rowan County, is partnering with the nonprofit Concord Coalition to host an educational workshop on the national debt Aug. 11 in Salisbury.
The workshop will be held 6-8 p.m. at the Rufty-Holmes Senior Center, 1120 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.
An advisory calls the workshop “an interactive exercise in which participants learn about how difficult it is to balance the federal budget by making many of the policy decisions facing lawmakers today.”
Participants will work in committees considering issues such as federal spending priorities and tax policy. They will then recommend polices “to put America on a sound fiscal foundation for the next several years,” the advisory says.
The participants will learn how their decisions would affect the economy in the short and long terms; what segment of the population “wins or loses” based on those decisions and what makes for “good and fair” policy; and how voters would respond to their decisions.
They will also, the advisory says, learn whether the federal government is too big, too small, or the right size and which areas of government deserve more or less funding now and the future.
Foxx’s office encourages people who want to attend the workshop to RSVP to Jessalin Burchette at jessalin.burchette@mail.house.gov or 336-778-0211.
The Concord Coalition is a nonpartisan advocacy group whose website says it is “dedicated to educating the public about the causes and consequences of federal budget deficits, the long-term challenges facing America’s unsustainable entitlement programs, and how to build a sound economy for future generations.”
Lawrence Helms filed Friday for seat two on the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education, which represents the county’s southern schools — South Rowan High School, Corriher-Lipe Middle School and China Grove, Enochville, Landis and Millbridge elementary schools.
Helms will be running against Dean Hunter and L.A. Overcash.
Richard Miller and W.F. Owens are running for seat one, Travis Allen and Kay Wright Norman are running for seat four and Jean Kennedy is running for seat 6 unopposed at this point in time.
Filing continues through Aug. 15. The fee is $5.
County commissioner candidate Judy Klusman will meet voters at a reception Tuesday. The event will be 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. at Cartucci’s Grapevine, 209 S. Main Street.
A notice invites residents to “meet Judy Klusman and chat with her about what is near and dear to you about Rowan County!”
Klusman, a Republican, is one of eight candidates running for three seats on the Rowan County Board of Commissioners.
For more information, call Rose Meeks Jones at 704-305-2400.
When the Rowan County Planning Board discussed making a recommendation this week on allowing concealed-carry permit holders to take their guns into county buildings and parks, two members went beyond considering the simple ordinance amendment staff presented.
Joe Coladarci and Joe Teeter passed out their own recommended text amendment that would allow concealed-carry permit holders “to carry their concealed handgun on all Rowan County property, where it is permitted by state statute.”
Not much difference in that and the amendment presented by staff. But Coladarci and Teeter went beyond that with an explanation for their proposal, which stressed it would “only apply to duly licensed citizens who have passed a course and background check as set forth by our State Government.”
“We believe the pendulum is finally swinging back in the right direction by allowing our law abiding citizens to protect their families and themselves from those that have no concern for our laws,” their statement read. “The hysteria about guns and legal gun ownership needs to change.”
After some initial confusion about what to actually do with this, the board agreed to pass it along to commissioners with everything else. But Blake Jarman — the only board member to vote against any change allowing gun owners to carry them on county property — took issue with some of the language.
He specifically took issue with the word, “hysteria” and said he doesn’t want residents to feel they can’t express concerns.
“I think it’s OK for citizens not to like guns,” he said.