Bullying
There are all different forms of "bullying," according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, so I would like to mention a case in an article published Oct. 20 in Relish. Cruel is the word, maybe, when you single out one downtown resident and attack this person and tell the person if you don't like the noise downtown and can't sleep, move to Yadkin County. As an eight-year resident of downtown, I can say we don't wish for anyone to leave our vibrant Center City, we surely can work with the bar/restaurant owners, bike patrol, city leaders to resolve the yelling and screaming and the emptying of bottles any time between 2 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. I personally love the sounds of the streets, but not after, say, 2 a.m. Winston-Salem Journal, please let's stop the bullying.
J.B. EDWARDS
Winston-Salem
Clemmons' future
The referendum on the coming Nov. 8 municipal election ballot in Clemmons involves more than roads. There is still a substantial clique of nice elderly folk in Clemmons who have driven village affairs since they incorporated with a tax cap of 15 cents per hundred dollars of assessed value.
Clemmons' city tax currently stands at 11.5 cents, compared to Winston-Salem at 47.5 cents. Many state they want Clemmons to be as it was; for these oldsters, that means conditions that existed decades ago, when the population was below 10,000 (today it is approaching 19,000). Oblivious to congestion and the higher costs of materials such as asphalt, and fearful of taxes, these well-meaning folk are opposing a well-considered bond or line of credit, even though it specifically addresses urgent issues of safety and safe access to existing businesses. The referendum will reveal whether the backward-looking still rule the roost, or whether the substantial numbers of more forward-looking arrivals finally turn out to vote. If they don't, that will send a disheartening signal to the village council, which has labored long and hard to align its conservative outlook with today's realities and tomorrow's necessities.
ALBERT "AL" HARBURY
Former councilman
Clemmons
Disappointed
I was extremely disappointed in the editors of Relish on Oct. 20 when it published Jelisa Castrodale's snarky and condescending rant against those opposing the change in the downtown noise regulations.
Before identifying an individual by name in a personal attack published in the community newspaper, it would seem to me that a responsible journalist would contact that individual to ensure she has the story straight. Instead, Ms. Castrodale used her bully pulpit to intimidate and harass an individual who simply sought to voice concerns with maintaining a balance between lively downtown locales and the residents slumbering above those establishments.
No one wants to stifle the growth of downtown. After all, that's why anyone moves downtown in the first place. But let's be honest about who is on a patio downtown after midnight. It's folks who are imbibing more and more and raising the level of their voices louder and louder. It's not unreasonable for working folks living downtown to want a reasonable endpoint to the outdoor debauchery. Stereotypically painting those downtown residents as spoiled and selfish does nothing to advance the discussion.
HANNAH ALBERTSON
Winston-Salem
Sum It Up
Do you think that Federal Court Judge Catherine Eagles ruled correctly in blocking the part of the new state abortion law that required women seeking abortions be shown an ultrasound image of their womb?
Correspondent of the Week
There are all different forms of "bullying," according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, so I would like to mention a case in an article published Oct. 20 in Relish. Cruel is the word, maybe, when you single out one downtown resident and attack this person and tell the person if you don't like the noise downtown and can't sleep, move to Yadkin County. As an eight-year resident of downtown, I can say we don't wish for anyone to leave our vibrant Center City, we surely can work with the bar/restaurant owners, bike patrol, city leaders to resolve the yelling and screaming and the emptying of bottles any time between 2 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. I personally love the sounds of the streets, but not after, say, 2 a.m. Winston-Salem Journal, please let's stop the bullying.
J.B. EDWARDS
Winston-Salem
Clemmons' future
The referendum on the coming Nov. 8 municipal election ballot in Clemmons involves more than roads. There is still a substantial clique of nice elderly folk in Clemmons who have driven village affairs since they incorporated with a tax cap of 15 cents per hundred dollars of assessed value.
Clemmons' city tax currently stands at 11.5 cents, compared to Winston-Salem at 47.5 cents. Many state they want Clemmons to be as it was; for these oldsters, that means conditions that existed decades ago, when the population was below 10,000 (today it is approaching 19,000). Oblivious to congestion and the higher costs of materials such as asphalt, and fearful of taxes, these well-meaning folk are opposing a well-considered bond or line of credit, even though it specifically addresses urgent issues of safety and safe access to existing businesses. The referendum will reveal whether the backward-looking still rule the roost, or whether the substantial numbers of more forward-looking arrivals finally turn out to vote. If they don't, that will send a disheartening signal to the village council, which has labored long and hard to align its conservative outlook with today's realities and tomorrow's necessities.
ALBERT "AL" HARBURY
Former councilman
Clemmons
Disappointed
I was extremely disappointed in the editors of Relish on Oct. 20 when it published Jelisa Castrodale's snarky and condescending rant against those opposing the change in the downtown noise regulations.
Before identifying an individual by name in a personal attack published in the community newspaper, it would seem to me that a responsible journalist would contact that individual to ensure she has the story straight. Instead, Ms. Castrodale used her bully pulpit to intimidate and harass an individual who simply sought to voice concerns with maintaining a balance between lively downtown locales and the residents slumbering above those establishments.
No one wants to stifle the growth of downtown. After all, that's why anyone moves downtown in the first place. But let's be honest about who is on a patio downtown after midnight. It's folks who are imbibing more and more and raising the level of their voices louder and louder. It's not unreasonable for working folks living downtown to want a reasonable endpoint to the outdoor debauchery. Stereotypically painting those downtown residents as spoiled and selfish does nothing to advance the discussion.
HANNAH ALBERTSON
Winston-Salem
Sum It Up
Do you think that Federal Court Judge Catherine Eagles ruled correctly in blocking the part of the new state abortion law that required women seeking abortions be shown an ultrasound image of their womb?
Correspondent of the Week
Works both ways
If State Senator Peter Brunstetter, R-Forsyth, is "dismayed that some judges are comfortable in intervening in what are clearly legislative matters," how dismayed must doctors surely be that legislators are comfortable in intervening in health and medical matters?
KATHERINE MCGINNIS
Winston-Salem
If State Senator Peter Brunstetter, R-Forsyth, is "dismayed that some judges are comfortable in intervening in what are clearly legislative matters," how dismayed must doctors surely be that legislators are comfortable in intervening in health and medical matters?
KATHERINE MCGINNIS
Winston-Salem
Do you think that Federal Court Judge Catherine Eagles ruled correctly in blocking the part of the new state abortion law that required women seeking abortions be shown an ultrasound image of their womb?
ReplyDeleteI don't know why anybody should be surprised that a left-wing liberal judge, nominated and appointed by Barack Obama, would rule against a state law passed by Republicans in the State of North Carolina.
Wait 'til the Democrats force ministers to marry people and sheep and other such beasts. That oughta be a fun to watch.
Here comes the bride will take on a whole new meaning.
Mattel Inc. has decided to produce a tatooed Barbie.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait until they come out with a 'Gay Gary', complete with an enlarged anal cavity and different sized interchangeable appendages so he can have 'fun' with his gay friends. It's surely not far behind with liberal Democrats in charge. Don't you just love change?
I'm always fascinated by what's on a person's mind at 9am on a Sunday morning.
ReplyDeleteMake's one wonder how they spent their Saturday night.
ReplyDeleteBucky spent his Saturday night dreaming about bucking buckaroos.
ReplyDeleteTore it up today didn't we?
ReplyDeleteWW...nice weather, long walk, longer nap...
ReplyDeleteBut Buckminster was right...you'll never see this in the liberal press, but I heard about it through one of the crackpot websites...
During a long night of debauchery on Fourth Street, Miss Eve Angel met a handsome devil named William Gruff and fell in love with his dainty little cloven hooves.
They decided that they wanted to get married. William said that he was a Baptist, so they went to Calvary Baptist Church, but the minister refused to marry them.
So they got one of those liberal commie ACLU lawyers and filed suit. The liberal commie judge, appointed, of course, by Osama Obama, issued an order.
The couple returned to the church with the judgment and a police escort. After an hour of waterboarding and with a gun at his head, the minister performed the service.
Mr. and Mrs. Gruff have lived happily ever after and when I walk by their place I hear the patter of several sets of little hooves.
Christians beware..."they" are coming for you.
Well, I did a long walk, two brief naps and 2 football games. No other creatures crossed my path out here in the county. Except 3 deer about 8:30 this am. They walk around on my yard all the time.
ReplyDeleteWW...haven't seen any deer downtown...yet. We have plenty of wildlife, mostly birds.
ReplyDeleteFalcons have nested on the ledges of the Reynolds Building, but did not see any this year. Two pairs of red-tailed hawks have made downtown their hunting preserve. And mockingbirds are everywhere, frantically trying to protect their nests from invaders. You'd think that crows could recognize a no-fly zone when they see one. they don't, so are efficiently escorted from the zone by the mockers.
But we do have coyotes...four sightings in the last 18 months down along the railroad tracks, always late at night. Interesting critters...one second they are there, the next they simply vanish.
I have seen and heard coyotes many times while camping in the desert out west. Our urban ones do not sing like their desert cousins. Maybe a survival adaptation.