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Today's Opinions

  • Letters to the Editor for 01/18/10

    New school is a waste of money

     

    Why are we building this expensive new Grayson Highlands school up toward Troutdale, when our school-age enrollment is declining and state funding is decreased?

    This sounds nuts to me.

    The building at Bridle Creek Elementary, where I vote, is solid as a rock.

    The academic program has won a presidential citation for excellence. It's small enough that teachers know the children and families by name.

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  • Letters to the Editor for 01/25/10

    Get ready for painful budget cuts

     

    I must be psychic. My last letter pointed out that there would be many state and local cuts coming because of Medicaid funding changes, when and if this healthcare plan passes.

    Lo and behold, cuts are taking place well ahead of time, much like credit card companies scrambled to increase interest rates well ahead of the February deadline that they were given by the feds.

    If you look at the cuts reported in The Gazette Dec. 21, it is amazing but pretty predictable.

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  • Letters to the Editor for 01/11/10

    Planning process too early

     

    The announcement that the Carroll County Supervisors want citizen input for a new comprehensive plan is an encouraging sign of change, but the timing makes no sense.

    It would have made sense to have formulated the plan before the Exit 14 land giveaway and before borrowing millions of dollars to extend water and sewer connections to Galax. These were extremely significant decisions for economic development, and it is unfortunate that citizen input was not solicited.

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  • School of the future

    On a warm July day back in 2008, Grayson leaders broke ground on the first county school construction program in more than 25 years.

    Superintendent Elizabeth Thomas said that day that "young people deserve a school equipped with the latest technology."

    Former County Administrator Bill Ring stated that with the new facility, students "don't have to take a back seat anymore."

    Seventeen months later, a beautiful school stands where an open field once was, ready to educate the future of Grayson County.

    Click here to read more...
  • Letters to the Editor for 12/28/09

    Smoking a privilege, not a right

    I’ve read the Hotline calls of irate smokers (and one non-smoker) who claim their rights were trampled by the recent law going into effect that bans smoking in restaurants.

    I certainly understand their anger, given how unreasonable it is to ask them to walk 20 feet to the door, open it, and stand in the open air to smoke. How unreasonable!

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  • Fiscal Foresight

    Foresight is a thing that's refreshing to find in government on any level.

    It's even more rare when desperation seems to run rampant, as it did while officials worked on their finances in the midst of the Great Recession last year.

    But the Carroll County Public Schools leadership managed to both avoid budgetary pitfalls and help prepare to meet future fiscal challenges for 2010.

    The federal government stepped in to help localities avoid crippling layoffs through the recovery act. Many places used this one-time infusion of cash as a short-term fix.

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  • The Gazette's 2009 Editorial Awards

    Many memorable events marked 2009, but most we'd like to forget.

    It was a year of economic turmoil, swine flu freak-outs, bank robbers in fake wigs and partisan political pandemonium.

    A bear got loose in a Hillsville corn maze at Halloween, but Carroll County punished dogs by enacting a trespassing law aimed at them.

    Two women were fired for taking nude pictures of nursing home residents. Why, we don't know. Is there a market for “Grandpas Gone Wild” videos?

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  • Letters to the Editor for 12/14/09

    Country road is not NASCAR track

    I live in a small community with tranquil woods, hills dotted with cattle and pretty little farms and houses.

    However, the country two-lane road that cuts through our sleepy village connects U.S. 58 with Interstate 77. This is a shortcut or bypass of the 58/I-77 intersection, and is the subject of my complaint.

    What used to be a rural winding country lane has turned into a veritable Autobahn with no posted speed, no traffic signals, no stop signs.

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