Creating an attractive, inviting County
Ann will work to help Rockingham County thrive by striving to make it inviting, accepting, and attractive on many levels. Especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, our county needs decent opportunities for people to support themselves and their families; a strong and successful education system; a healthy environment and citizenry, universal access to internet and cellular services, and safe communities and schools. Rockingham County needs to be safe, smart, and strong.
Restore and Create Jobs
Rockingham County must be inviting for professionals, skilled workers, and new businesses. Currently our focus needs to be to support local businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic and to restore jobs that have been lost. Subsequently, we need improved employment opportunities and to facilitate the training needed to be successful in those opportunities. Economic development is complex and multidimensional. Policies to improve our economy must focus on improving employment opportunities through effective education and workforce development programs; incentives for future new manufacturing and distribution companies; provision of county-wide internet and cell access; and encouragement of small businesses, tourism, and recreation.
Additionally we need to find ways to expand internet and cell phone access across our county; our businesses and schools depend on this service! The current crisis has only highlighted this need. |
Support 4 Public Education
The future of our county depends on strong and positive public education and community college systems. Schools are especially challenged as they balance protection of our community (by moving to remote learning) with the need for direct and in person learning. Ann believes strongly that public officials should support public education! The current commissioners passed a resolution supporting school choice thus encouraging non-public school options. Quality public schools depend on many factors; adequate funding is certainly one major requirement. Making our county an inviting place for people to live and work will certainly help recruit and keep qualified and caring educators who could move to Guilford for higher pay. Schools must continue work to improve school safety and security using proven solutions. The commissioners can help these efforts through careful budgeting of available resources as well as by encouraging and creating positive and safe school environments.
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Improve Health Care Access
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to improve and expand healthcare in Rockingham County. In the short-term our community needs to come together to reduce disease and death (as of Aug 30, there have been 798 lab-confirmed cases and18 deaths). We need to trust our health care professionals. Public officials including commissioners should advocate for and model appropriate measures such as wearing masks in public, keeping appropriate distances, and washing hands. We also need to follow mandates with respect to gatherings and other restrictions.
Access and quality of healthcare in Rockingham County remain compromised by two main features, namely, those in our county who are uninsured and underinsured and the shortage of capable health care providers and systems. Commissioners can help the former by advocating for Medicaid expansion. Medicaid expansion would not only benefit those who would gain healthcare access, it is estimated that it would provide 43,000 NC jobs. For the later, Commissioners can help recruitment with a robust attempt to make our county the kind of place in which health care professionals wish to live and raise their families. |
Protect Our Environment
This picture shows Ann's home; she is very pleased with her solar panels. We must work to improve the use of alternative energy options as well as to protect our wonderful, beautiful county from practices that will harm it. She will support practices that preserve clean air and drinking water.
She is very opposed to the Mountain Valley proposed pipeline that will cross 81 streams and rivers in North Carolina, destroy trees and habitats, take private land through the process of eminent domain if needed, and provide no fracked gas or sustained economic benefit to our county. She also partners with Dan River Basin Association and the Good Stewards to work to protect our environment from fracking, coal ash discharges, the pipeline, and other threats. The MORE DETAILS button links to the Good Stewards of Rockingham County website. Ann is an active member of this group. |