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Supporting public education

Ah, the Tyranny of the ‘or.’ It was difficult to miss in the full-page ad taken out by the Metcalfs in the April 28 edition of the Courier. While the Metcalfs certainly have the right to express their support for their chosen candidates, I’m not sure why they feel the need to mislead about teachers’ unions. There are no teachers’ unions in NC — they are prohibited by state law, and as a former school board member, I’m sure Mrs. Metcalf is well aware of that. Of the eight candidates endorsed in the ad, only three responded to questions from the Winston-Salem Journal, and one of those had trouble making a case for public education. In a district with over 50,000 students, a candidate who can’t (or won’t) come up with a reason to support public education is probably not a good fit for the job.

— Jennifer Ellington
Clemmons

Helpful voting resources

Early primary voting is upon us already! If you’re not sure who you’re voting for or how to vote, the League of Women Voters has an excellent online voter guide to prepare for election day. Vote411.org helps you get personalized ballot information by simply typing in your address and, for the primary, choosing your party; you’ll get a list of all the races and who is running for each seat. The league works hard to survey all the candidates, and the statements you’ll find on this website are directly from the candidates themselves, unabridged and unedited. There is also information on registration deadlines, ID requirements, early voting, polling places and absentee ballot requests. The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization formed in 1920 with the mission of educating the millions of new women voters after the ratification of the 19th Amendment. They continue that mission today with helpful free resources such as Vote411.org, so you can be confident about your choices when you enter the voting booth.

— Audrey Muck
Clemmons

Picking up grass clippings

As I drive through my neighborhood in Clemmons, I see that residents are unaware that the Village of Clemmons will no longer pick up their grass clippings which are left at the curb. Like you, I am amazed that the Village Council decided that 8% or 9% of the residents will not get their grass clippings taken away, even though the village raised our taxes over 30% this year. More tax and a drop in services. I was told by one official that I should mulch. I asked what I should do with all the leaves on my lawn during a drought, like last year, and was told to mulch those dead leaves, too. The cost to drive the truck all over Clemmons seeking to find and retrieve the grass for only 8-9% of the homes was too much money. I can understand how costly it is to drive all over Clemmons for grass clippings. I reminded them that before Clemmons had universal grass, limbs, grass and Christmas tree pick-ups, I paid $50/year for limbs, grass, leaves and Christmas trees to be taken and I would be happy to pay for the service in addition to the 30% tax increase, now. Also, I suggested that someone could use some 21st century technology and let us inform the village of our clippings, and that way a truck would not need to drive all over Clemmons. The truck could target homes which notified the village. The driver could go only to the homes with grass. It could continue on a bi-weekly basis as well. Monthly would even be fine with me and one of my neighbors who is not too pleased about this. If that was not enough, the village notified us of a new app called SeeClickFix which allows us to report items in Clemmons that need repair or other attention. So, the village bought that app. I have no doubt that those of us who have grass clippings could use that app and the village could provide the service in a lower cost way and utilize 21st century technology. One person did tell me that there was a concern that grass could get washed down the drains. That has never happened to my clippings (or leaves, either). Also, a friend asked me to remember that our jump in tax from 11.5 cents to 15 cents is still lower than the Lewisville tax. I agree except I do not wish to compare to another town. I have heard worse things about Lewisville leaf collection. But that is just one person’s comment. C’mon, Clemmons. Think about this 21st century challenge instead of raising taxes and cutting services. Eight percent of homes is still a large number.

— Paul Johnson
Clemmons