Thanks for P.J. Stanley blood drive

Thanks for P.J. Stanley blood drive

The Claremont community blood drive was held on Dec. 5 in the St. Mark’s Lutheran Church FLC.  

The drive was held in honor of former Claremont City Council PJ Stanley who died after returning in September from helping a Red Cross recovery effort after Hurricane Irene.   

A total of 81 donors registered and receiving over 65 units. Many people came out for the drive waiting over two hours or more to give the gift of life for PJ.  We would like to thank everyone that presented themselves to make the donation. We had many first-time donors who said that they were doing this for PJ. 

Thanks to the many volunteers that worked for hours to make this a successful drive. Thanks to the ones that made the homemade desserts. Thanks to Brenda, PJ’s wife that donated her blood and stayed at the drive until the end.

PJ is one that will never be forgotten. He was a member of the Claremont Lions Club, fireman, rescue squad, and a former policeman. He was always there to help anyone in need and never turned anyone down that needed assistance in anything.

Chris Cloninger

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church

Blood Drive Coordinator

Claremont

Letter-writer omits certain facts

The 250-word limit must have gotten in the way of Buzzy Lowe giving us all the facts in the Dec 27 letters to the editor.

Admittedly, I am not a Fox News kinda guy. Just can’t make myself support a media company whose CEO is so brazen as to allow hacking into the private files of public figures, and so arrogant as to think he can manipulate democratic governments, here and abroad, for the benefit of his personal quest for power and wealth.

The facts Mr. Lowe shared are quite representative of what one might hear on Hannity or Fox and Friends. What you likely will not hear is that gas prices hit record levels in February ‘08 and the $1.72 per gallon correlates to the depth of the economic meltdown when we were dropping over 700,000 jobs a month. What you will not hear is that the Bush tax cuts, two wars, and prescription drug program did not stop contributing to the deficit the day Obama took office.

Unemployment of 8.6 percent is bad but a lot better than 10.2 percent. We will never know how much better we could have been had the administration had a Republican party more interested in the welfare of the nation than defeating Obama.

Finally, the House bill for the one-year extension of payroll tax cuts was full of provisions Speaker Boehner knew full well would kill the bill, such gems as shortening unemployment periods and drug testing for benefit recipients.

If Obama’s approval ratings have improved, it could be because people are beginning to see that the nation and the unemployed are paying the price for the sheer determination by Republican leadership and their media supporters like Fox to defeat the President.

David Turman

Hickory

Thank goodness for honest people

I am grateful for honest people.

I mistakenly left my purse in a shopping cart at Sam’s Club on Monday. A couple who were shopping at Sam’s turned it in to Customer Service and an employee graciously called me to say the purse had been turned in.

The couple did not leave their names which means I can’t personally thank them, so I want to publicly thank them for their honesty and for taking the time to return my purse to a store employee.

I am extremely grateful — especially since the purse has a lot of sentimental value — not to mention the time and hassle saved by not having to replace identification items.

Danette Steelman-Bridges

Morganton

A not-so-friendly welcome to area

I just took a job and am in the process of moving to the area.

As you might imagine I am not altogether familiar with the roads here in the Hickory area.

So just as I transition from a 65-mph to a 55-mph area on 321, a very friendly Catawba County Highway Patrolman pulls me for speeding.

I apologetically explain how I'm new to the area and how I thought I was in a 65-mph zone. Quite unapologetically he hands me my ticket and says "have a nice day."

So my welcome to Catawba County is a hefty fine plus court costs, a day off work I can ill afford and a wasted day in court.

Thanks for the warm welcome Catawba! Burke County here I come!

David Killion

Wake Forest

Media are president’s friends

According to the Bureau of Labor, there are 2 million less Americans working than there were in February 2009. On Jan. 20, 2009, unemployment was at 7.8 percent, gasoline was $1.72 a gallon and the national debt was at $10 trillion. Today those numbers are 8.6 percent, $3.20 and $15 trillion.

Yet, Obama's approval numbers are approaching 50 percent. How can this be? The answer is the progressive mainstream media.

I'm a Fox News kinda guy, but I also like to see how the other outlets are reporting the same story. For example, I was watching the story of the Payroll (FICA) Tax Cut Extension. I turned to CNN and MSNBC. Both networks were saying the Congressional Republicans were not wanting to cut taxes to help the poor and middle class but were all for keeping the rates low for the rich (the top 10 percent pay 72 percent of federal taxes).

The real reason the Congressional Republicans were balking was that they wanted to extend the cut for a full year, not two months. But I sure didn't hear that on CNN or MSNBC. All I heard about was the evil Republicans and how Obama had outsmarted them. They showed Obama at the podium with a group of "average" citizens whom purportedly were for the two-month extension.

Also, Obama lied when he said the average saving was over $2,000 a year. According to the CBO, its around $1,000. But the two networks let his lie slide. Question to the reader. Wouldn't a year extension be better than two months? What if another extension isn't passed? Can you imagine the accounting nightmares our businesses will go through?

Dear Reader I would suggest to you the following: If you are still struggling in this economy with higher unemployment, higher energy costs, and higher health care costs and you wonder why you're not feeling as much love for Obama as your news network is, there is nothing wrong with you.

Try other news outlets. Use websites such as the CBO, Dept. of Energy and Bureau of Labor. You would be surprised what you can learn when you have all the details!

Buzzy Lowe

Hickory

Be Christ-like this season

Okay so it’s Christmas time again and I feeling lead to share a conversation I had with our Father. 

First let me say I wish you all peace and that good will be upon all on the earth. Now that being said let me start by asking a simple question. When did Christians become so militant? 

By this I mean why do we take offense to everything the world tosses at us? The nativity for instance, we get upset because there are some who seek to take this out of the public eye. Most nativity scenes are not even accurate, for the wise men didn’t come until later. Read the account in Luke. But we do get our feathers ruffled don’t we? What happen to turning the other cheek?
 
Another qualm I have is the whole one nation under God thing. We ready for battle, but if we do indeed believe the word of God as I, then the earth is His foot stool. So why get upset with those not knowing the love of Jesus by our actions when they seek to do something they grasp as right? So much for when asked to go a mile we go two.
 
What about prayer in school? I know this upsets a lot of you, that it is taken out, but is it? Who stops your child from praying in school? They if done as Jesus said, in the inner room, can be done in silence. Imagine if prayer in school was once again admitted, which do they say first, to Buddha? Allah? The wicca prayer? I think none of the before mentioned, but allow me to pray in silent. Remember, we are to teach as we get up, as we walk, and as we lay down, not the school system. Here again where is the, if he asks for your coat, give him your shirt as well.
 
We are instructed to love all, even those who would do us harm and in this they may see the love of God through Jesus in us. But instead for some, and they get the attention, we make a big noise and say my way will not be taken from me. How sad we miss the chance to show love by allowing the world to be the world. For it shall be this way if they do not see the love of Christ in us.

So as this year ends, and the next one begins let us have an attitude of love towards those who would mock us. I believe this is the way of our savior, to give even up to our very lives for those who would hate us, showing them that it isn’t about poor me, but our King who so loved the world.

Peace to all of you, and may you all be richly blessed. To those who do not know my King, and lover of my life I apologize for my brothers and sisters who miss the mark. For maybe in love, you can see.

For my brothers and sisters who put their rights before the will of God, I ask that you revisit your first love. No greater love is there than when one lays his life down for another, replace life for will, for that to is appropriate.
 
May you all be as blessed as I am.

Jeffrey L Spangler
Hickory