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Editorial - January 2004 |
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Reflections on war, weather and growth |
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Published January 2, 2004 |
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War and weather made the news in 2003. Lincoln County had many of its own in the Iraqi war, and occasionally our reporters would talk to these soldiers, or we would get an e-mail or a letter which we would publish. Some of these messages were poignant and powerful. In October the Lincolnton based National Guard unit, C-Battery 1-113th Field Artillery unit, was mobilized for an eventual assignment in the operation Iraqi Freedom. The news of these service men and women with Lincoln County links will continue through 2004 and we hope the stories will eventually tell of safe returns. The year 2003 was marked by a huge snowfall and a deluge of rain, and even a tornado that ripped through west Lincoln. In late January approximately 10 inches of snow accumulated in parts of the county and temperatures dropped below zero. In May a furious storm ripped through Lincolnton just as the annual Relay for Life was set to begin at Lincolnton High School. The economy wasn’t doing much the past year. Unemployment remained at around 6 percent and the applications for assistance at local charities were way up. But there were signs of life. McMurray Fabrics and RSI announced expansions, and Timken was creating new jobs with new assembly lines. Lincoln County’s newest high school, North Lincoln, officially opened its doors. We also opened another elementary school, St. James, in eastern Lincoln County. But those schools will not accommodate the anticipated population growth during the next few years. Voters will be asked in the spring to approved a $47 million bond issue to build another middle school and fund major expansions and upgrades of existing schools. Coping with growth issues will dominate the news in 2004, particularly in the eastern Lincoln County. The difficult task for commissioners is to determine if county resources are available to accommodate proposed new projects, and what needs to be done to prepare for this growing population.. New neighbors and new development can mean progress and opportunity if they are handled in an orderly manner. We’ll hope for the best as we watch the landscape change with the new Fatz Café coming to town and an expansion of Gaston College’s Lincoln campus. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll see upstairs apartments lighting up Main Street in downtown Lincolnton.
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© 2001 Lincoln Times-News |
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