Laurels to the elder statesmen (and stateswomen) of the local athletic community who come together every year for the Salisbury-Rowan Senior Games. The competitions began this week on a rainy Tuesday and continue through mid-May with track and field events, team sports such as softball and basketball, swimming, golf and more. The rules for Senior Games say participants “must be 50 years of age or better,” and they are certainly showing the rest of us you can be not only good, but better, with some local residents competing into their 80s. The people who participate in the Senior Games — and its creativity- and talent-showcasing counterpart the SilverArts competition — are an inspiration, and proof that age should not be a hurdle to a healthy, happy life.

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Dart to a bill introduced this week in the N.C. House of Representatives that would eliminate the courts as an option for deciding funding disputes between boards of county commissioners and school boards. Rowan’s two delegates to the State House — Harry Warren and former county commissioner Carl Ford — co-sponsored the legislation. No one disputes that litigation is the worst option for determining how much money counties spend on educating children, and specifically providing facilities for that education. However, it’s the last option and sometimes the only one left. The threat of a lawsuit last year forced Rowan County commissioners into mediation that resulted not only in an agreement, but a joint planning committee to ensure future school system needs are agreed upon and met. Yes, a dispute between Union County’s commissioners and school boards is dragging on after the N.C. Court Court of Appeals set aside a $91 million jury award to the school system and ordered a new trial. And the two sides have spent a combined $2 million on the legal fight, according to news reports — money that should have been spent on schools. It never would have gotten that far, though, if the boards had been able to agree on what was best for the county’s children and how to fund it. That’s the school board’s job. Don’t take away a truly powerful tool they have to make sure their school system can afford to do it.