Six sets of eyes
From all accounts, there were seven sets of eyes on the scene of the murder of Joshua Bailey. Six of them emerged from the woods that day and now six individuals are facing first-degree murder and kidnapping charges.
It is very likely that some of those alleged to be there that day will seek a plea and as a result of that we are likely to learn in great detail what happened.
It’s already clear, through warrants and other documents, that the scene was horrific, ending in an act post-mortem that was utterly macabre.
Statistically, we are not a murderous society. But this area is known now as the scene of two brutal murders.
We will learn much more in the months ahead about the causes and motivations in the Bailey and Carson cases and hear in great detail how each murder unfolded.
Let us not just gawk at the awful scenes depicted. We should resolve to channel our revulsion into something useful.
Thorpe’s service
Bill Thorpe had an edge to him. And in his years of service, he wasn’t one to mince words. He spoke from the heart and he spoke with the experience of someone who’d seen this community when it was light years from where it is today. At certain mileposts, that meant being direct.
Chapel Hill is better off for his service, whether in his first, second or third era as an elected official, or in a hiatus in which he fought to change the name of the town’s key artery after his hero, Martin Luther King Jr.
So next time you’re headed down that grand boulevard, tip your hat to William Henry Thorpe.
And please don’t call it MLK.
Makes sense to us, too
Rarely does an elected official care to acknowledge defeat, and even rarer is one that votes against constituents and personal convictions in order to support the rule of law.
Board of Aldermen member Jacquie Gist may have rubbed people the wrong way in her opposition to what she saw unfolding at the 300 East Main Street project. And she certainly did herself no political favor by voting, ultimately, to approve the project.
But Gist knew that the fight over the redevelopment of downtown, particularly the mass of buildings and their height, was settled several years ago when she opposed the push for five stories and lost.
So she took a moment to point out that the development, in her judgment, did meet the rules required and could go forward. And so she pointed out that to vote against the project would validate disregard for the law by elected officials — something she noted this country has seen all too much of late.
It may seem like a small point being made in a small town, but we appreciate the sentiment and pray it’s contagious.