Columns

By Rep. Frank Iler

Guest Columnist

The North Carolina House of Representatives was busy last week. We honored a beloved deceased former member of the House, we passed a major regulatory reform bill and we had a special House page helping us for the week.

While the full Appropriations Committee chairs and top leaders from the House and Senate put the finishing touches on the 2017-19 state budget, both chambers got busy on the bills that remain to be handled. We were assured we were close to having a final budget on which to vote this week.

By Dr. Mike Walden

Guest Columnist

My wife has now been retired for 10 years. She taught elementary school for 32 years, usually putting in 12- to 14-hour days when classroom time, after school grading and lesson plans are included. She was a teacher for so long that many times she taught the children of former students. She took pride in the accomplishments of her pupils, and even today is thrilled to see some of them — of various ages — about town.

By Dr. Mike Walden

Guest Columnist

My wife and I have one foot in rural regions and the other in big cities. We were both born and raised in small towns — I in an unincorporated town (meaning it wasn’t big enough to qualify as an official municipality) in Ohio and she in a recognized town (but still tiny) in upstate New York. I have a vague memory of my mother pulling me in a little wagon to the country store for groceries. On the way home, the groceries were in the wagon and I would walk.

By Rep. Frank Iler

Guest Columnist

Last week was an unusual week in the North Carolina House of Representatives. We worked into the night on the state budget, we passed bills concerning juvenile justice and shared medical expenses, and I was able to attend an important event two states away.

This column is being written on a beautiful Saturday morning in north Georgia, just outside Atlanta. I will explain near the end.