Vote Yes on the War Memorial Renovation Bond

I just wanted to say out loud how much I have appreciated David Hoggard and David Wharton's intelligent reporting and opining on the War Memorial Stadium Bond issue. I for one will support the bond and hope a majority of the voters will do likewise. The structure is historically worthy of our protection as a Memorial to the Great War. So, we spend money building other memorials and let this great historic memorial slide? That makes no sense to me.

And different from many other memorials, this one has been actively used. It speaks to and honors a part of our history and the men and women who sacrificed their lives in that great effort. But it also participates in history. It has been a living memorial. If we could but see a collage of all the great games and great ballplayers that have walked its field. Now we have a chance to make the stadium available to ball players of all ages for a long time to come. We have a chance to extend the Stadium's ability not just to remember and memorialize history past, but to make history present. We should do it.

And we should also do it for the sake of the Aycock and surrounding community of which it is a part, a community that was snookered by the proponents of the new stadium (an effort which I confess I reluctantly supported, but did so with the understanding that we would preserve and protect War Memorial Stadium). An active and vital War Memorial Stadium, attracting quality tournaments and made available for various sorts of leagues and games would be an economic asset to a community it seems we're trying to forget as we drool all over every sort of downtown renovation. I like downtown. But there is more to our city than downtown.

So, go out and vote. Even if many of the polilitical races are too uninspiring to get you to the polls next week, go out to support this bond effort, if nothing else.