How long did the recession last? So long that, in early 2014, a young economist from Wells Fargo told a Salisbury group he was giving the first optimistic economic outlook of his career. “So this is a little weird,” 30-year-old Michael Wolf said.

Indeed it was a weird year here in Rowan County, a year of political and economic reawakening. It was a year when people didn’t mind speaking up about what was bothering them, from police protection on the West End to leadership on the county commission.

Let’s review.

The economy definitely brightened in 2014, though sometimes it seemed like two steps forward and one step back. On the negative side, Champion Homes shut down its Rowan plant, with 93 jobs. Several small businesses went out of business, including Cooper’s, Ludwick Carpet and Just the Thing toy store. Chick-N-Ale closed faster than it opened. And Hotel Salisbury — once a bustling Holiday Inn known for its bountiful Sunday buffet — called it a day.

On the positive side, Performance Fibers added 60 jobs. Rowan’s big kahuna, Freightliner, added 1,000 positions. Livingstone College bought Hotel Salisbury, and developers announced plans for a new Holiday Inn Express. Gildan Yarns is expanding in a big way. Dick’s Sporting Goods and Hobby Lobby stores will locate in a new retail center off Julian Road. Agility Fuel Systems has announced it will build its regional headquarters here.

And consumers are happy to pay less than $3 a gallon for gasoline, a price drop that benefits business, government and nonprofits budgets, too.

Yet the year’s theme seemed to be “We’re not going to take it anymore.”

Animal rights advocates spoke up and won changes at the county animal shelter, from getting rid of the “gas chamber” to winning commitment from commissioners to work toward a no-kill shelter.

Neighborhood activists complained to Salisbury City Council about crime in the predominantly black West End, leading to changes in patrols and a part-time satellite police office in the neighborhood. This came just as killings of unarmed black suspects by police in Missouri and New York sparked unrest nationwide.

Lots of people flexed their political muscles to bring about change on the Rowan County Board of Commissioners. Beefs with the board ranged from Chairman Jim Sides’ public dressing down of Gildan Yarns’ president to the board’s hasty purchase of Salisbury Mall without plans or transparency. Then there was Papergate, Commissioner Jon Barber’s overuse of county copiers for personal business, and the investigation and prosecution that followed. The fledgling political group, La Resistance, was part of the revolt against county leadership, but its red-beret-wearing members were far from the only people working for change. 

The school board got its come uppance as voters replaced two members. And Salisbury City Council had to weather the storm that followed City Manager Doug Paris’ sudden and still-mysterious resignation and $205,000 severance deal. Fibrant showed gains — reporting its first six-month period in the black, then its first full year. But the city fiber-to-the-home network’s early underperformance pulled down the Salisbury’s bond rating with Moody’s. It will be interesting to see if voters are as eager for change in next year’s municipal elections as they were in 2014.

The year saw bright spots of cooperation. After a period of friction, the agencies that occupy the Chamber of Commerce’s headquarters downtown banded together to organize productive community forums. Local education institutions, from the public schools to the colleges and Hood Seminary, linked arms to sound the alarm over literacy rates and issue a call to action. Commissioners and the school board formed a joint committee to look at building needs. Greg Edds, the new county commission chairman, has scheduled regular breakfasts for members of those two groups and City Council. Maybe after a few months they’ll feel more like allies than adversaries.

Other highlights include the public schools’ adoption of digital devices for all students above third grade; the popularity and therapeutic value of the Tuesday morning Frontier Coffee Shop for veterans at Thelma’s restaurant in West End Plaza; the city’s approval of a smoking ban in parks; the Nightcrawlers’ weekly prayer strolls through neighborhoods hit by violence, and the joining together of several groups to hold community meetings to address crime and violence.

Unresolved issues include the whereabouts of missing teen Erica Parsons (we all hoped fraud charges against her adoptive parents would make Sandy and Casey Parsons more forthcoming) and the cleanup of Duke Energy’s coal ash ponds at Buck Steam Plant.

Top issues for next year are interdependent — growing more jobs, reducing crime and making quantum leaps in literacy. Rowan ends 2014 with a good deal of momentum; 2015 could be our time to shine.

Elizabeth Cook is editor of the Salisbury Post.