Opinions for week ending: Sunday, December 07 2008

(12.05.08) Road woes
Americans are driving our roads into the ground, and we can't find an easy fix. Highway maintenance lags far behind the need for it, while new roads (and transit options) linger in line for funding. Construction costs keep rising, but fuel tax revenue, which pays for most of the road work, is fading.

(12.05.08) Board should keep countywide teams as future goal
If money is truly the reason for the Jackson County Board of Education rejecting countywide middle school athletic teams, we accept that decision. We would never want money for an athletic program, no matter how well spent, to be used to the detriment of academics. However, the way the matter was handled at last week’s school board meeting makes us wonder if money is the real reason or just a convenient excuse to keep the same system – five K-8 schools having teams for seventh- and eighth-graders in most sports.

(12.05.08) As goes Bridgestone, so goes Wilson
There are certain headlines that should make everyone in Wilson hold his breath.One of them came Tuesday, when it was announced that Bridgestone Firestone was laying off workers. Fortunately for Wilson, the tire manufacturer announced that it was laying off 158 employees at its plant in La Vergne, Tenn., and that no one in Wilson was affected by this decision. But news like that should make everyone pause and think for a second about how important companies like Bridgestone Firestone and BB&T are to the Wilson economy.

Return to the Opinion Archive