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Besse will work for the environment

As a state, North Carolina is abounding with natural resources and beauty, from the crisp, cool mountain air to the pristine coastal sands. Balancing commitments to protect our environment with the needs of development that provides jobs and resources for our state never is an easy task.

Dan Besse, who is running for North Carolina House District 74, understands that North Carolina has a fundamental obligation to protect clean water and air for all our people. He will ensure that our public health and environmental protection agencies receive the funding and support they need to ensure our water supplies and our air.

Dan has worked on environmental issues for decades, and he knows that a clean environment is compatible with a strong economy. In fact, the long-term health of our economy requires that we protect our natural heritage of farmland, forest, fishing, and wildlife from the mountains to the sea.

Dan is committed to developing our vast potential for clean, renewable energy sources, especially solar and wind. He supports improving vehicle efficiency and providing green transportation alternatives, including public transit. His experience includes serving for 20 years as a governor-appointed member of state rulemaking commissions charged with protecting clean water and public health. He can put his experience and knowledge to work, representing Forsyth County in Raleigh.

— Jessica Siusedo
Winston-Salem

Besse supports the community

What will North Carolina need as we emerge from the pandemic in the days ahead? We will need representatives in Raleigh who will work together to bring us together, and help our state catch up on all that gridlock and the pandemic have hindered. We need someone who can help our economy recover and who has respect for our natural heritage and environmental issues. In House District 74, we have an opportunity to send Dan Besse to the General Assembly as a voice for all of us.

Having worked with Dan on promoting Winston-Salem’s and open spaces, I have seen how he address needs and concerns and finds solutions. I watched as the Little Creek Greenway became a reality. I watch as he worked within the city council to dealt with storm water issues. As a resident of his ward, I saw his concern for the neighborhoods there. He offered a monthly update to the folks who lived there, not only on ward events, but keeping residents up to date on all city issues.

Dan will bring that commitment and sense of community to the General Assembly where he be our voice in maintaining our transportation systems, dealing with healthcare availability and costs, and welcoming new opportunities for all of North Carolina. Please join me in supporting Dan Besse for North Carolina House District 74.

— Henry Fansler
Lewisville

Vote yes to Zengers Apartments

I have been a property owner on Shallowford Road for over a decade now. I own Aristopets, which is located at 6606 Shallowford Road, as well as Chem-Dry of Winston-Salem which operates from the same location. When I was a young man, I purchased this lot for a few reasons. It is a combined-use lot, which is very appealing to me for many reasons. Through the years, my family lived at the residence at times, now it is used for my businesses. I was raised in Lewisville, this is my home and I wanted to do business in my home town. I have paid attention to the hopeful long-term plans of the downtown district, and desired more than anything to be apart in the culmination of that vision.

Today, I write to you for two reasons. The first is to express my absolute displeasure in the current planning board and council for allowing a building built on Shallowford Road that doesn’t conform to Lewisville’s standards that have been set forth in the past. As I am excited to see another business go up on the street, especially one that has synergy with mine. I am absolutely appalled at the building. I have been in meetings with different associates of the town many times through the years, never have I ever been given an ounce of leniency when it came to deviation from Lewisville’s standards. Personally I can’t believe that the structure was approved for a number of reasons. The most obvious being the HVAC units so blatantly displayed to the road frontage. Does the building have a front entrance? I think it’s only a side door. Anyways, as I am happy to have the business, it brings to light that the planning board, and council utterly failed to do their jobs on this one.

Now standards are just that, whether I agree or disagree, whether I like or dislike them, they are a set of rules that have been predetermined and approved. Remember they mean nothing, absolutely nothing, if you do not hold everyone to the same.

The second reason I write to you is after coming back from an eight-week trip, I see all of these signs. This multitude of signs saying to “vote down Zengers Apartments.” If I am being honest, the first time I saw them, it gave me a guilty satisfaction that he was receiving opposition. To say that Jeff (Zenger, former Lewisville board member and now running for N.C. House of Representatives) and I don’t see eye-to-eye would be an understatement. We have been neighbors for a very long time, and not the friendly type that wave at each other — quite the opposite if I am being truthful.

Now my personal grievances aside, I did my own research. I called the town, then proceeded to call and have a conversation with Jeff. I have referenced the plan, and the town’s ultimate long-term vision. I find nothing in what he is wanting to do that would negatively impact the town at all. In fact the positive long-term benefits well outweigh any one individual with hurt feelings, or displeasure towards this project. I think it would bring something to the downtown that has been missing for a long time, and urge you to approve the zoning request.

On a final note, as Jeff and I are not necessarily on the best of terms, I know what kind of man he is, and the standards he holds. He is an accomplished builder, and I am confident that anything he puts his name on downtown will be within the towns standards, if not exceeding them by leaps and bounds. I urge both the planning board and council to look at the project, the ultimate benefit, the positive impact it will have on the community, Jeff’s willingness to comply with standards already set forth, and make a sound decision. Do not be biased by signs and people that do not even have a complete understanding of the scope and details of the project. I guarantee half the people against this are seeing “apartments” and they are assuming something completely different than what is proposed. Please don’t be swayed by ignorance.

— Michael Leon Hansley Jr.
Lewisville