Pinwheel gardens symbolize need to nurture children
Across North Carolina a new kind of garden is popping up ó the pinwheel garden. It is the new symbol of child abuse prevention. The pinwheel reminds us that when communities offer families the knowledge, skills and resources to provide children with stable, nurturing relationships, abuse and neglect can be prevented.
How do we do this? Evidence-based family strengthening programs have been thoroughly tested and shown to increase positive interactions among family members, reducing the likelihood of abuse. Rowan County families have access to two evidence-based programs, The Incredible Years and Strengthening Families. Both of these programs help improve family communication and problem solving, potentially leading to reductions in parental stress and behavior problems among children.
I applaud the organizations in Rowan County that planted a pinwheel garden in April. Letís all join them in promoting strong families and evidence-based programs that foster childrenís healthy development.
By working together to support all families in our state we can ensure a bright future for all children.
ó Mary Ponds
Granite Quarry
Mary Ponds is the mayor of Granite Quarry.
Trump vs. Obama
I read Bonnie Erbeís column in Sundayís (April 24) paper, where she bashed Donald Trump as an ěobnoxious, self-promoting loudmouth.î
ěWhatever happened to substance … or credentials?î she asks. She then lists President Obamaís credentials, but all she can come up with is ěa jewel mind and two years in the U.S. Senate.î
Iíll add some more for you, Bonnie: a failed stimulus package, a third war that we canít afford, $5 trillion more debt, a credit outlook now labeled ěnegativeî by Standard & Poors, an unemployment rate around 9 percent, a moratorium on deep-water drilling while giving Brazil a permit to drill here, and $4 a gallon gas. Heís also called police officers stupid, apologized for America and bowed to our enemies, and let some of the Gitmo detainees return to the battlefield against American soldiers.
Bonnie makes fun of Trumpís ěbad toupee.î She seems to think the fact that Trump has lost money on certain ventures make him a bad person. But he always bounces back and has never had to ask American taxpayers to make up for his losses. Obama, on the other hand, wastes trillions and then orders more money printed to make up for what he wasted.
Bonnie says since some people support Trump, that this is a ěsign that the end is almost here, and we are in serious decline.î Sheís right ó the end of Obamaís policies would save this country. Until 2009, America was a proud, hard-working nation of people, which Obama is trying to destroy by sending even more jobs overseas.
My mother taught me that you canít judge a book by its cover. Looks are only skin deep; itís what the person is inside that matters. Trump is an American-born businessman who loves his country, and he doesnít even need a teleprompter.
ó Doloris Pender
Rockwell