Fatcow Icon
Opinion
Playing ball with McCrory
Gov. Pat McCrory threw a curve ball last week to a delegation from the liberal advocacy group NC Progress that wanted to deliver petitions asking for more school funding. Several children were part of the group. A spokeswoman told the visitors to the Capitol that the governor was tied up in a meeting. In fact, as a photo taken minutes later showed, he was outside playing catch with a security officer. Later in the week, NC Progress organi...
full story
‘It’s about the farmers’
It’s no secret that since the first whisper I’ve heard about it I’ve been a fan of Pilot Mountain Pride, if for no other reason than it’s a deceptively-simple-yet-absolutely-brilliant program. The idea? Provide struggling local farmers a venue to market their products. Because let’s face it: If you’ve grown 20 bushels of squash it’s going to be much more difficult to sell than if you had 200 bushels to market to a grocery store or restaur...
full story
Thumbs up
To area libraries for running their summer reading programs. For the kids this can be a fun, exciting series of events that keeps them interested in reading and learning — even if they don’t realize that’s what’s going on. It also will doubtless make great memories for the young ones, who will recall with fondness those summer reading programs well into adulthood. ***** To the Mount Airy Elks Lodge 2061 for its annual community Flag Day ob...
full story
Certain about a grandfather’s pride for his grandson
I rounded the corner at the foot of the stairs at the Broyles home Wednesday morning to see Number One Son in his new uniform preparing to leave for training. He’s a big guy and looked sharp in the dress blues. After many years of work and a degree in criminology and psychology, Wee wifey and myself have been overjoyed to see him finally get a break into the criminal justice field, even though his talk with us on hostage policy unnerved me on...
full story
One-time windfall may not be good reason to cut taxes
Mount Airy commissioners are considering selling timber on the city-owned Westwood Industrial Park for an estimated $400,000, and some board members see this as a way to drop the city’s tax rate in the upcoming budget year that begins on July 1. The 2013-2014 budget under consideration already calls for a 2-cent decrease, from 56 cents per $100 of assessed value to 54 cents. If enacted, that would be a total tax rate decrease of 4 cents sin...
full story
‘Dig into Reading’ at a young age
Vividly, I can recall sitting on the carpeted floor with other children listening as the lady in front of us reads a book and shows us the pictures depicting the action. I remember going home with a stack of books, reading them, then taking them back and getting them counted toward my summer total. Yes, as a child, my family frequented our local library often, especially in the summer time once I was old enough to start reading on my own. M...
full story
No new taxes might work this year, but long-term another solution needed
Despite Surry County Manager Chris Knopf’s proposal to the contrary, it appears the county board of commissioners will not raise taxes in the upcoming budget year. Knopf had suggested a 2-cent increase in tax rates, from 58.2 cents per $100 of assessed value to 60.2 cents. That increase still was not enough to cover all the county’s needs — his proposal also called for dipping into the county’s year-end fund balance again this year, taking ...
full story
ACLU marginalizing itself?
Local law enforcement officials are unfairly targeting men for arrests in cases dealing with marijuana. The statistics are clear on this point. Of 83 people charged or cited for marijuana-related cases from June 2012 until now, 74 were male and just 9 were female. In other words, 89 percent of those charged were male. Given the fact that only 49 percent of Surry County’s population is male, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, this is a c...
full story
Thumbs up
To the Surry County Board of Commissioners for setting a public hearing on a proposal by board member Larry Phillips to consider combining the department of social services and the health department. We’re not saying combining the departments is a good idea (nor are we saying it’s a bad idea), but it’s good that the public will get a chance to weigh in on the proposal and we hope all board members will approach the hearing with an open mind. ...
full story
NSA spying is one more reason to distrust government
I admit I’m not the best “Facebook friend” in the world — in fact I fail miserably in that role, based on accepted social media standards. Of course, I do maintain a Facebook account, mainly for work purposes to stay in the loop with certain events, and a profile page — albeit a skimpy one with no bells or whistles or extensive bio information. When people attempt to add me to their friends list so we can network about our activities, I t...
full story
Tax hikes inevitable in county budget plan
Surry County Administrator Chris Knopf presented his budget proposal to the board of commissioners this week, and that budget includes a tax rate hike of 2 cents, to 60.2 cents per $100 of assessed value. No one enjoys the idea of a tax increase. But they are, from time to time, necessary if a locality is going to continue offering services at a consistent level — services such as law enforcement, the court system, social services, educatio...
full story
Call me Pinball Wizard
I love pinball. For sure, pinball machines are my all-time favorite arcade game, but they have become quite rare. If I see a pinball machine anywhere, I’m hopelessly hooked, sometimes for quite a long time because I’m pretty good at it, and I tend to win lots of free balls and sometimes free games. Pinball takes a combination of hand-eye coordination, quick reflexes, and the ability to think ahead and change at a moments notice. I will be...
full story
From a lone hen to backyard chicken ranching
Several of the staffers who frequent the cublet environs of the news side of our building have urged me to do a chicken column. Previously, I have flatly stated I was an active beekeeper until absolutely awful tactical judgment resulted in the loss of my only two hives. It is a tribute to The Mount Airy News staff’s compassion they frequently endure stories of my adventures as a small-scale chicken rancher, which was heretofore a lesser kno...
full story
Saying_good_bye_to_one_of_the_NBA’s_class_acts0_1370394711.jpg
Saying good-bye to one of the NBA’s class acts
The NBA lost one if its best ambassadors this week when Grant Hill announced his retirement. The former Duke star was one of the class acts in sports, even earning the respect of this lifelong Tar Heel fan. I didn’t want to like Grant Hill when he first arrived at Duke. Not only was he going to the wrong school, his dad was a former Dallas Cowboy and his mom was a college roommate of Hillary Clinton. He wasn’t one of those underprivileged...
full story
Explore the state during 2nd Saturdays
The fact that state historic sites are available to visit year-round doesn’t mean everyone is going to go spend time at them, so the 2nd Saturdays series sponsored by the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources is a way to have more available to attract visitors to our state’s treasures. Yes, they are treasures. Locally, Horne Creek Living Historical Farm is a North Carolina Historic Site participating in 2nd Saturdays, which kicks ...
full story
Weather
Sponsored By:

Lottery
Sponsored By:

Stocks
Sponsored By:

Gas Prices
Sponsored By:

Featured Businesses
Recipes
Sponsored By: