1. “None of that will stop our ability to open and for people to come and visit the center.” — County Manager April Snead

2. “The premise behind this is to make sure when we bring in additional officers, that we don’t bring them in above our officers that are currently here. That not only builds our morale but also gives me room to make sure that as we bring in officers, we are competitive with other agencies.” Laurinburg Chief of Police Mitch Jonhson

3. “It’s hard to get them off their screens, but they love this. We come every year and they can’t wait to ride the ponies and try all the old gadgets like this corn thresher. Personally, I like the shopping,” John Blue Cotton Festival attendee Vernie Locklear said.

4. “Ed (O’Neil) and his fellow Patriot Project honorees represent the best of the best our country has to offer,” said Richie Lay, a Purple Heart recipient and chairman of the National Purple Heart Honor Mission. “America’s Purple Heart veterans have given so much to defend freedom and that sacrifice must always be remembered. These brave men and women are true American heroes. We were privileged to be able to provide this unique salute to service for our Purple Heart heroes.”

5. “I would urge you to consider what are the long-term sustainable solutions … $500,000 is a lot of money but if you’re talking about something that is going to be sustainable over 18 years where it dips down to over $127,000, we start figuring in staff that might be involved, cost of supplies, capital … That’s something where $127,000 to be able to fuel a program addressing this challenge is really not that much. It goes quickly,” said David Pope, who is to soon become the Scotland Health Care System’s CEO.

6. “The candidates elected in November will make important decisions for local communities, such as setting tax rates, approving new developments, deciding how many police officers and firefighters to hire, and choosing where to build parks and sidewalks,” said Karen Brinson Bell, State Board executive director and the state’s chief elections official. “If history is a guide, some municipal contests will be very, very close, and ties are not unheard of, so every vote matters.”