Ups and downs: Lifesaving lawman; plucked property; and freedom and justice for all

Published: Friday, October 19, 2012 at 11:10 AM.

It’s part of a police officer’s job to serve and protect. Still, it has to be pretty special to know a life was probably saved in the line of duty. THUMBS UPto Graham police Lt. Brad Shirley, who had such an impact on Wednesday. A man was threatening to jump off a bridge into the Haw River on I-85 near Alamance Community College when Shirley happened by, stopped, and spent the next 40 minutes reasoning with the man, who eventually relented his self-destruction and was taken to Alamance Regional Medical Center for observation. That’s a pretty good day’s work right there.

 THUMBS DOWN to the Burlington City Council’s rush to annex Lake Mackintosh to “protect it” (after umpteen years of “unprotection?”). A public hearing was advertised, but no signs were posted of the impending action, and surrounding property owners were not otherwise notified. Both Councilman Bob Ward and Mayor Ronnie Wall suggested it would be “neighborly” and “common courtesy”  to postpone action to get more comment. Sadly, neighborliness and courtesy didn’t rule the day. And beware when city officials start using words like “contiguous.” In our dictionary that’s defined as “future city property.”

 THUMBS UPto the news that national United Way funds allocated to supplement emergency food and shelter programs in the county are taking a nice jump in 2012. The United Way of Alamance County announced this week that it expects to receive $76,219 this year. Last year, the county received $19,652. The funds are used to pay for meals, rent and mortgage payments, and utility bills for local residents facing economic challenges.

 THUMBS DOWNto the ongoing flap at Elon University about whether Chick-Fil-A can operate on campus even though it has a publicly espoused stance in opposition to same-sex marriage and gay rights. It is indeed a freedom of speech — and choice — issue that should be determined by the marketplace and not by decree. Chick-Fil-A’s owners are free to voice their opinion and customers are free to either buy the chicken sandwich (with a pickle!!??) and waffle fries or not. If it’s the latter, the business will close on its own. If it’s the former, the students as a group will have spoken. Elon leaders are installing a committee to further discuss the issue before a decision is reached. We hope diversity and freedom for all win the day.

 THUMBS UPto Jameion Harvey, a Williams High School junior who set the single-game school record with 354 rushing yards at Eden Morehead last week. Harvey scored on the first snap with an 83-yard run. Good start. Then he burst out with scoring runs of 66, 57 and 3 yards among his 23 carries. He broke the school mark of 285 yards set by running back Tre Harris in 2000. Don’t get in this guy’s way.

 THUMBS UPfor Elon this week and to the Princeton Review for ranking the university as having the country’s No. 2 “best administered’ business school and also listing Elon as having one of the top business schools in the Southeast in the 2013 edition of the “Best 296 Business Schools.” The annual guide is based on information provided by schools and a survey of 19,000 business school students nationally.

 THUMBS UPto Ace Speedway and its racers and spectators for supporting the Mischa Sell Memorial race this past week to honor the wife of Limited Late Models driver David Sell. She died earlier this year after a six-year battle with breast cancer. The race was held to benefit families who affected by late stage cancer through the Jack & Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation.

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