Last year, North Carolina voters had record high turnout in the midst of a historic contest for the White House.

But a year later, voting booths could be sadly silent if pivotal local elections are overlooked by the same voters who flocked to the polls last November.

It doesn't have to be that way.

Research by the N.C. Center for Voter Education shows that the No. 1 reason why voters don't go to the polls is because they don't know enough about the candidates.

Local elections may not have the flashy ads and celebrity endorsements of presidential contests, but they do deal with such vital issues as the water we drink, the neighborhoods we live in and the schools our children attend.

Indeed, our votes will never carry as much weight as they do in local elections.

Let's get the facts on the candidates, then let's go vote.

Bryan Warner Raleigh

The author is the director of communications for the nonpartisan N.C. Center for Voter Education, a partner in NCVoterGuide.org.

Supporting those who listen

Our public school system continues to fall short of our expectations, and Cary in particular has not fared well under the current administration.

So we need to focus on the October elections for Wake County School Board.

Parts of Cary are in School Board districts 7 and 9, both of which have seats up for election.

Patti Head and Eleanor Goettee, the incumbents, have declined to run for another term.

There are many issues in our schools which must be addressed.

Most of them were caused by a school board that didn't listen.

Our students have been reassigned too many times, and too far from home.

Many Cary parents who have helped open schools and build PTA organizations have found themselves and their children on the outside, shipped off to yet another school.

Families have been further impacted by unwanted assignment to year-round schools.

Year-round schools are great, if they work for a given family.

But they don't work well for all.

We need to elect new leaders who will face up to these problems and harness the brainpower of citizens to implement sensible solutions.

Joe Ciulla Cary

Planning land, but not cuts?

Your article on town planning during a period of slow growth ["Slowdown lets towns plan," Sept. 23] is very revealing.

It appears that while permits and inspections are down this year compared to 2006, towns refuse to make any staffing cuts.

Those people must be all sitting on their hands!

Kent Misegades Cary

Getting up after being hit

I want to thank you for the wonderful, inspirational article you wrote about my son Ashton Rodgers ["What now, bus?" Sept. 9].

If you would have been there to see the horrible scene that I saw when I made it to the hospital, you would understand my amazement.

He is truly blessed.

No one gets hit by a bus and gets up on his own.

Carol George Cary

Considering speed bumps

Regarding "Neighbors renew push for traffic safety" [Sept. 23]:

Our children have no chance against a vehicle going beyond 25 mph limit or by someone going the advised speed yet distracted by a cell phone.

There should be a more progressive approach such as mandatory speed bumps in all residential areas where we can be forced to pause to expect the unexpected and look for children being children.

Let's put our heads together and find a way to make sure this does not happen to one more child in Wake County residential areas. I hope that the Georgetown at Preston homeowners' association in concert with the town of Cary will place speed bumps to protect the children and drivers there.

It may seem too late, however it is the very least that can be done to provide more protection and to prevent accidents of this nature.

Karyn Jean Daguerre Apex