Kirk Kovach: Folwell, hospitals face off over health plan changes

This all sure sounds complicated. Too bad no other countries have figured out how to streamline their citizens’ health care. Otherwise, we could ask them.

— Chris Coleman

Leonard Pitts: ‘63red Safe’ offers haven for Trump supporters

If Leonard Pitts had his way, conservatives and liberals would have separate water fountains.

— Vera Cope

Letter: Socialized medicine should never come to America

Countries are not all-or-nothing, socialist or non-socialist.

Socialized medicine can exist within a mainly capitalist economy. National health systems are typically hybrids.

For example, Germany uses private insurance and providers within a regulated market.

— Luke Hamaty

I‘m a veteran. I receive my care from the VA, which is overseen by the US government. Is that socialized medicine? Yup. Do I wait in lines around the building? No. Is my doctor a nurse? No, again. Is my care second-rate? No.

I do deal with a pharmacist for my medicine, as everyone I know does.

— Tim Cornell

Letter: Questions loom about future of Faith …

Is Faith one of the oldest elementary schools in the system? Is Koontz one of the newest? Will half the students at Koontz now be moved so there will be no overcrowding? The answer to all these questions is yes.

— Theo Flemming

Teacher sticks with old ways, gets high scores

Wonderful job Mr. Galloway. The world needs more teachers like you. I had a librarian in elementary school that would have a weekly contest for students to find the answer to her question using encyclopedias. It was awesome.

— Elizabeth Agner Brady

RSS gets visit from N.C. Senate education chair …

Rep. Larry Pittman is anti-public education, a supporter of vouchers and charters, which he might try to call “choice,” and currently has sponsored a bill to let teachers carry guns in their classrooms.

If politicians like Pittman are the friends of the school system leaders, the district is sunk.

— James Bucky Carter

It seems the administration keeps attempting to turn the ship around and continues to fail.

In the business world, this would be seen as management failure, and a new manager would be brought in.

Second, comments made by our representatives conveniently overlook the fact that RSS doesn’t define educational success. That’s done by institutions of higher learning.

— Barry Douglas  Robinson

Byron York: Trump target of ‘presidential harassment’

First, I bet I am not the only one for whom President Donald Trump was the last option in the primaries and whose vote in the general was based solely on the preservation of the Supreme Court.

Second, Trump has been embroiled in legal proceedings for most of his adult life. He knows how to do this.

— Bruce LaRue

… Town manager’s hard drive delays release of records

“Locklear said he is concerned the Post’s request will reveal personal matters of town employees because of the lack of Landis’ email policy,” this story states.

Sorry bucko, you don’t get to make that decision. If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.

— William H. Moffitt

Faith parents, supporters discuss possible closing …

Would Faith’s parents be up in arms if they moved that same group of kids into Faith’s building, and closed down Koontz?

For sake of this scenario, lets say that you would have the same staffing as in the original proposal.

The only thing changing is the Koontz building closing instead of the Faith building.

— Eric Shock

The answer is no. Everyone, especially the school board, wants Faith to say “we don’t want those kids” so they can paint Faith as something we are not, but we are not saying that.

We would welcome them with open arms. Those students would be in Faith’s district already had Koontz not been built in the first place.

— Ashley Roberts

Letter: Is another reason behind Faith closure opposition?

My hesitance has absolutely nothing to do with the majority race of the school or the person it was named after.

In fact, I have yet to see a single person mention race in their argument to not move their children.

— Amanda Harbinson

Children are much more resilient and amenable to change than many adults are; if they switch schools, they will be fine.

— Lisa Staton Dyer

… Commissioners approve controversial Dollar General

I do wonder if anyone has taken a serious look at the traffic that will inevitably become more unsafe in this location.

I’m not just blowing smoke. I do not expect people to come from Cleveland either, but I do live less than a mile from the intersection.

— Rusty Shuping

The only one that stood for the people was Craig Pierce. The others didn’t care about us; all they saw was the money.

— Makaylia Ann

Oh good, it’s going to be a pretty store, so Greg Edds thinks that makes it alright. I am disappointed in him and with the exception of Craig Pierce, all the others.

— Tammy Misenheimer

‘Fame’ monument in downtown Salisbury vandalized again

This monument has been there since 1909 and is not hurting anyone. If this is not a racial slur against white people, I don’t know what is.

Please find these people and deal with them lawfully and swiftly, and put them in prison where they belong.

— Margaret Keys

People have some messed up priorities in this community. It seems like they would be more up in arms that their schools are some of the worst in state or that the real unemployment numbers are in the double digits.

— Malcolm Graham

My observations on the recent vandalizing are that it looks like the same kind of paint (same group?) and that paint is easily removed (someone actually sympathetic to the statue?).

— Anthony Smith