It’s time Rowan lives up to sign

Here’s your sign:

Welcome to Rowan County

A County Committed to Excellence

Home of Dan Nicholas Park

That’s what the sign riddles by the side of the road near Gold Hill. How profound.

Dan Nicholas Park is an excellent place to visit, especially if you dip snuff and smoke cig-a-butts. The park is committed to providing you with a beautiful home to spit your juice and flip your butts anywhere you please.  It is also a wonderful place committed to promoting a very, very unhealthy lifestyle. The park is committed to the advancement of rotten teeth, gum disease, mouth cancer, heart attacks, strokes, emphysema and lung cancer.  The park’s biggest commitment seems to be to the tobacco companies, the doctors and dentists, the hospitals and the funeral homes.  And tobacco users.

It is time for the board to excel and to match their actions with the words on the sign. It is time to M.O.V.E. (make our visits enjoyable).

— Whitey Harwood

Rowan County

Pay isn’t only issue

Salisbury is having trouble keeping police officers and is thinking of raising pay to attract new hires. This is the wolf complaining that there aren’t enough sheep after he has eaten half the flock.

City Council along with the city manager and his Human Resources Department have no one to blame but themselves. Salisbury has long been one of the lowest paying cities, for its size, in the state of North Carolina. The real problem is that city officials have politicized law enforcement. They constantly fire experienced officers over issues that have nothing to do with law enforcement. The interference of Human Resources, which knows nothing about police work, has created a toxic work atmosphere and extremely low morale at Salisbury PD.

There are only two kinds of officers at Salisbury PD, those who are afraid for their jobs and those think their gender or ethnicity protects them. It won’t matter who the new police chief will be: Human Resources runs the Salisbury PD. City Council should get the HR Department out of police work and return supervision to an experienced and trained chief of police. Create a board of retired law enforcement officers and citizens to review his decisions periodically.

Citizens should demand that city officials stop playing politics with law enforcement. Public safety is at stake. Tell cops that if they enforce the law fairly, we will support them fully. Pay them descent salaries and give them a little job security. Thanks to the Salisbury Post for addressing this important issue.

— Dale Robertson

Salisbury

Thanks to a vet

I love North Carolina, Rowan County, and I love the USA. I take pride in shaking the hands of veterans when I run into them. Last Friday, I went to Darrell’s BBQ and had the privilege of shaking a veteran’s hand and expressing my gratitude for his service. I was humbled when I left to find that he and his wife had paid for my supper. I would like to thank him for my meal and again for his service. To all veterans, I salute you and your service to our country. God bless the USA.

— Randy McCombs

 Rockwell