Ready for that headline? Well, just give it time and it’s sure to appear in this paper. Why? Because we think we are better than nature. Enter the stupidity of the Cary leash law. As ridiculous as it sounds, cats in Cary cannot be let out of the house and off the owners’ property without a leash.

Yes, I admit it. I was one of those law breakers that allowed my cat to go outside and hunt every day — without a leash. She would average at least a half dozen mice and moles a week, along with an occasional snake and bird. It was sad to see the bird on my doorstep, but that’s just nature. She was born to hunt, and I was brought up to understand such things as perfectly natural and accept it. But let’s not have that in Cary. While we are at it, we should also watch the mice and mole population grow because we’ve removed a key natural predator.

Well, expect worse because you have also set the table for another member of the food chain — large snakes. Doesn’t it make sense that they will selectively increase because they are next up the chain? So the next time you go out to your garden, thank the Cary leash law that you no longer have to worry that the neighbor’s cat might have dug up your bulbs. But check behind the azalea, a large cottonmouth might be ready to thank you in turn.

Paul Nowicki, Cary

Arts need piece of stimulus

As Congress considers the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the arts and culture sector must be included. The arts are essential to the health and vitality of our communities. They enhance community development; spur urban renewal; attract new businesses; draw tourism dollars; and create an environment that attracts skilled, educated workers and builds a robust 21st Century workforce.

Nonprofit arts organizations are proud members of the business community — employing people locally, purchasing goods and services within the community and involved in the marketing and promotion of their cities. In fact, there are more full-time jobs supported by the nonprofit arts than are in accounting, public safety officers, even lawyers and just slightly fewer than elementary school teachers.

According to Americans for the Arts, a $50 million investment in the National Endowment for the Arts will provide critical funding to save 14,422 jobs from being lost in the U.S. economy. This is based on the ability of the NEA to leverage $7 in additional support through local, state and private donations for every $1 in NEA support.

There are approximately 100,000 nonprofit arts organizations, which spend $63.1 billion annually. Without an economic stimulus for the nonprofit arts industry, experts expect about 10 percent of these organizations to shut their doors in 2009 — a loss of 260,000 jobs. In a report released in mid-January, the National Governor’s Association stated, “Arts and culture are important to state economies. Arts and culture-related industries, also known as ‘creative industries,’ provide direct economic benefits to states and communities: They create jobs, attract investments, generate tax revenues and stimulate local economies through tourism and consumer purchases.”

Then-NEO Chairman Dana Gioia issued the following statement prior to his departure, “Arts organizations have been hit enormously hard by the current recession. They’ve seen their support drop from corporations, foundations and municipalities. This infusion of funds will help sustain them, their staffs, and the artists they employ. We are hopeful that Congress and the new administration will support this important investment.”

Catherine Parrish, Cary

Spilt milk

At a recent Holly Springs Town Council meeting, a vote was taken that troubled me and I could hear my mother saying, “Don’t cry over spilt milk.” Yet, the more I thought about it the more it troubled me.

There was a motion introduced to spend $10,700 to redesign the town’s Web site. Only one councilman questioned why the contract was to be awarded to a company in Charlotte. He was the only one to question if companies in Holly Springs had been invited to bid on the site’s redesign. The town staff informed him no local companies had been advised the town was going to redesign the Web site.

Mayor Sears and the Town Council always say how they want businesses to come to Holly Springs, and yet in this case they turned their backs on providing the opportunity for local companies to bid on the redesign.

It is not that they don’t care. They have done a great many good things for our town. That is why I find myself crying over spilt milk, because they could have postponed the vote and afforded local companies the opportunity to bid. The vote was 4 to 1; the motion passed. The only councilman who represented the interest of local businesses was councilman Vinnie DeBenedetto.

Now I don’t always agree with DeBenedetto, but in this case I raise my glass and say thank you for trying.

Tracey Goodwin, Holly Springs

More ‘dynamic’ suggestions

During the past couple of years, I’ve driven by several of the gaudy “dynamic” message boards scattered on the edges of our Cary community. Ninety percent of the time they stand tall, dark and void of any vital information for the citizens of Cary. However, I have been lucky enough on occasion to catch a few interesting snippets: 1) A rather long- worded warning to “boil my water” a few years back, which I was not really sure why because I could not read all the details in the amount of time it took to drive by it. I later got all the information on the news and radio. 2) An alert to “road construction,” which was a nice gesture but said construction and traffic cones had started a good 1/2 mile before the sign and I was already in it.

Perhaps a better message would have been “Be patient, stay alert.” 3) My personal favorite, a notice that Cary would be conducting a “snow plow and snow removal exercise” on Harrison Avenue — in October.

Since it seems these “informative” signs are here to stay, might I suggest Cary provide useful information. I'll start with something as easy as time and temperature. Or even more encouraging, have a contest to allow the citizens of Cary to be guest message providers. I challenge Cary News readers to offer up their suggestions and let’s get these “dynamic” message boards to be just that.

Randy Murray, Cary

Party for Yow

I am going to have a memorial birthday party for Coach Kay Yow on March 14. A cake with her picture on it will be served to the public free of charge, and food will be on hand. A candlelight vigil will take place so please bring your own candles. Everything will be held from 6-9 p.m. at my home in Raleigh.

I was a big fan of Yow and her team. My 50th birthday is March 28 so I’m having this in her honor.

Thomas Allen, 5515-1/2 Plantation Circle, Raleigh