You can add Knightdale to the list of critics of the Wake County school board redistricting proposal.

As noted in today's article, Knightdale community leaders are lobbying the school board to change a proposal that would put the town into three different board districts. They're currently now in District 1 but the plan would send part of the town to Districts 2 and 4.

"The ability for us to have any influence on the board is certainly diluted," said Knightdale Mayor Russell Killen.

Progress Energy is not planning to layoff workers in Florida in response to that state's decision to deny the company's request to raise electricity rates. However, the company's 4,300 workers in Florida will likely see skimpier paychecks.

Bill Johnson, CEO of the Raleigh-based power company, said Thursday the company will resort to a range cost-cutting measures to adjust to the lower revenue that will result from last week's decision by the Florida Public Service Commission.

"I am not planning cost-cutting layoffs at this time," Johnson said. "I'd prefer to see everyone in the company sacrifice and do things cheaper than laying anyone off."

Dr. Mike Walden addressed business people in Knightdale today and said the worst of the recession is over.

Of course, Walden left some wiggle room as to the validity of his forecast. He quoted  economist Milton Friedman who when asked what the stock market was going to do the following year said "fluctuate."

Walden's point of course was that economist's forecasts aren't perfect.

It sure would be good if Walden is on the money. With 11 percent state unemployment rate, and 8 percent in the Triangle, we need some good news.

Walden also said we aren't out of the woods yet. He was referring to the $1.8 trillion the country has borrowed and money the Federal Reserve has printed to keep the economy afloat.

He used the analogy of a pit. We had fallen into a deep pit with the recession, and we've now stopped falling and are beginning to climb out. But Walden says it will be a slow climb, and a long time coming to return to pre-recession wealth.

He also told these business people that though it's counter intuitive to start a business in the middle of the recession, he had watched people take the risk and be successful. That entrepreneurial spirit is the foundation of our economy, he  said. In one respect, he was preaching to the choir Thursday with the room full of business folks, some of whom had ventured out on their own.

But who doesn't need a sermon to bolster the faithful.

Billy Wilder has watched his labor of love disappear piece by piece.

A professional landscaper and Knightdale Chamber of Commerce volunteer, Wilder had to rebuild much of his 12-foot walk, wall and water fall outside the chamber building. He says thieves made off with about a pallet of flat, Mohave stone from the work as it was in progress.

“I didn’t realize there was going to be that much love in it,” says Wilder wryly.

A retired executive director of the Nurserymen and Landscape Contractors Associations, Wilder offered to put his skills to use when the chamber decided to remodel.

He returned to the chamber one morning recently to find pieces of stone for the walk missing. He had split the Mohave stone and laid it out for installing the night before. After the theft, he got more stone and did the work again.

After Wilder almost finished, the thieves struck again.

In the most recent hit -- July 31--- they made off with the rock around the water feature.

In all, Wilder estimates they took about a ton of stone.

“They apparently had a pickup truck with badly worn tires,” says Wilder. “They rode across the topsoil out front.”

The work is labor-intensive. Wilder progresses at about two feet an hour and that’s after he’s split the stone.

“It’s really sad that we’ve tried to beautify the chamber and the town and to have someone steal something like this from us,” says chamber executive director Jennifer Bryan. “We’re trying to make improvements and someone keeps coming in and helping themselves.”

Knightdale Police Lt. David Simmons said police have no leads.

“We don’t really have anything to go on,” says Simmons.

“Decorative rocks -- it has to be for somebody’s persona1 use,” he says. “It’s not like you could pawn it or resell it. It’d have to be somebody who’d use it in their own yard. There’s no real way to track rocks.”

Simmons says years ago when he was a sheriff’s deputy he saw landscaping theft from new developments, but it’s never happened in Knightdale before

Bryan and Wilder are hoping a member of the public will have seen the culprit or, at least, that knowing about it raises awareness so if anybody sees anything suspicious in the future they will call police.

For now, the chamber will be leaving more lights on, Bryan says.

If you have information that will help, call Detective Tracy Solomon at 217-2268.