BY JEFF JAMES COVID-19 has undoubtedly influenced our everyday life and changed the world as we know it. In March, many were sure that this pandemic would be short-lived. Unfortunately,

BY H. STEPHEN SHOEMAKER On November 9 and 10, we remember the beginning of the public and official path to the Holocaust in Hitler’s Germany. We call it Kristallnacht, The

BY JEFF JAMES One of the most challenging decisions a school district can make involves deciding when to close schools due to weather. These decisions are not made in a

BY DARREN CAMPBELL With Halloween rapidly approaching, I have received many questions about how this year’s events will be effected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many businesses and churches have canceled

BY JEFF JAMES Known by some, but not all, Crosby Scholars is a program that all Iredell-Statesville Schools students should explore. It is free to students in grades 6-12 in

Editor’s Note: October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. BY PATTI WEST Domestic violence is an uncomfortable issue to discuss. Most would prefer to pretend it doesn’t exist or deny the

BY JEFF JAMES It is sad that our society has to deal with the issue of human and sex trafficking. Unfortunately, North Carolina is one of the top 10 states

BY DARREN CAMPBELL Over the past several weeks, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office has received an increasing number of reports from citizens and businesses about various scams. In order to

BY DIANE HAMBY Why do decent, brilliant, fair and open-minded U.S. Supreme Court justices matter? What difference could it possibly make? Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on September 18,

BY JEFF JAMES September is designated as Suicide Prevention Month. I think all of us can agree that one suicide is one too many. Suicide is the second-leading cause of

Editor’s Note: This is the first column in a regular series by the new Iredell-Statesville Schools superintendent. BY JEFF JAMES Iredell-Statesville Schools, like many of the 115 school systems in

To the Editor: September is National Suicide Prevention Month, a time where we especially emphasize reaching out to those who may be struggling, as well as those who may have

BY ROY COOPER RALEIGH — This pandemic has affected every corner of our state, including our state budget needs. For many families, it has also shifted their priorities. Last week,

BY REV. STEVE SHOEMAKER What kind of sign would Jesus put in his yard? Of course, the “Son of Man who had nowhere to lay his head” had no yard,

BY DARREN CAMPBELL We have all heard the saying, “There’s an app for that.” “Dad, what’s the Apple ID?” asked one of my boys the other day. So, of course

BY WILLIAM MORGAN JR. Several few years ago, in my role as a member of Statesville City Council, I was in Washington, D.C., advocating for the Larkin Industrial Development Project

BY H. WAYNE WILKINS EnergyUnited is defining a future for our members and the community we all share – a brighter future that continues our commitment to delivering reliable electricity

Editor’s Note: This viewpoint was submitted by the president and advisory board of Our Schools First. Six and a half years ago, the children at Cool Spring Elementary had to

BY GOV. ROY COOPER RALEIGH — North Carolina has seen more than its fair share of devastating storms, particularly in the past few years. When hurricane season comes around, we

To the Editor: We have all heard recently from the Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control, that we could stamp out COVID-19 in four to eight weeks

BY BRIAN SUMMERS Today, we learned of the passing late last evening of Congressman John Lewis, an icon and giant of the Civil Rights Movement and life-long advocate for voting

BY DARREN CAMPBELL One of the most poignant and most recognized sentences in the English language, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal….” is

BY RACHEL ANDERS What if I told you most of what you learned about the Civil War was incorrect? What if I told you it was written by the victors,

BY MIKE FUHRMAN A friend and I were discussing the current state of affairs in our country recently when he recited a Bible verse that has really resonated with me:

BY SARAH KIRKMAN I am sorry that Mr. Scott thinks that I have declined to meet with him. I spoke with him by phone during the time when we were

BY THOMAS KIMBRELL It was the late 1960s and we were living in a revolution, arguably the last revolution up until now, 2020. The revolution of the 60s was the

BY JANE HINSON I have made exactly three visits to retail stores in the past three months. Two were to my usual pharmacy and one was to a local grocery

BY ROBERT W. LEE IV If you were to sit outside the Old Courthouse on Center Street in Statesville, you’d witness many people passing by the old Confederate statue, which was

BY DARREN E. CAMPBELL As most of us are terribly aware, 2020 has been trying to say the very least. This year has already seen its fair share of major

BY DALE FOLWELL RALEIGH – North Carolina is reeling from more than 1 million new unemployment claims filed since mid-March, triggered by an economic virus that demands action equal to

BY BRYAN DUNCAN I-CARE Inc. unequivocally denounces all forms of racism and white supremacy. Period. The events we have witnessed in the past few months – the murders of Ahmaud

To the Editor: All of us, in one way or many, are living through a variety of extreme challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. We need to acknowledge the serious

BY BRADY JOHNSON Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and the countless Americans who have been the victims of racial

BY JAMES HOGAN The Boys & Girls Club of the Piedmont exists to bring hope and opportunity to children in our community who need it most. We seek to provide

To the Editor: The Statesville Human Relations Commission was re-organized in 2016 to provide the community with a resource and vehicle to stand up against acts of hatred and racism

“A leader takes his people to a different place that is better.”