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LETTERS / The Golden Rule Applies to Government

Dear Editor,

I read with dismay and grief at the war between the Town of Boone and our County Government regarding the sale of the old high school property.  Most of the citizens including myself are not concerned with which lawyer is the most clever or which one is legally  right, or which one is settling old scores via this dispute.  We are concerned that our elected officials do the right thing, and the right thing is that each of the government entities help the other achieve its  goals on behalf of the citizens.  This means that you must treat one another with dignity and respect not only as human beings but also as officials who have been duly elected by the majority of the electorate.

Whether accurate or not, many feel that some of the Town building ordinances are used as a vendetta against Phil Templeton and perhaps his lawyer, and you know that perception is everything.  All of us know for a fact, on the other hand, that taxes are not to be used as a punishment but for necessary revenue, and I truly believe that if this change in the allocation of sales tax revenue is enacted by the County as punishment for the Town that the Supreme Court will strike it down and all of Watauga County will have mud of its face in a very public way and huge legal bills.

I implore the Town of Boone to help the County sell the old Watauga High School property.  The County stuck its neck out to do the bidding of the majority of the people by building our amazing new high school.  The County truly needs to sell the property to pay off the indebtedness.  And if Templeton is willing to designate a spot for a recreation center for our youth, a long deferred promise made to our youth, many of whom are now parents and grandparents, then let us make haste to work out a compromise.

I implore the County Commissioners not to use taxation as a bludgeoning tool and to help the Town of Boone meet its goals of careful long-term development.  After all, Boone is our County Seat and the home of our beloved Appalachian State University.

By simply applying the Golden Rule to government, the citizens win.

Yours truly,

Mary E. Moretz