Lawnmower racing is not something that would be at the top of everyone’s entertainment priority list, but we are a diverse county.

Now we have a Racetrack and Motorsports Events ordinance that mediates the interests of diverse parties.

Some residents are gearing up for a dramatic production of “On Golden Pond” at the Ashe Civic Center. Some are tinkering with hotrods in their garages and some are doubtless interested in both. Artistic folk are not without the need for speed. Speed lovers frequently see the value of artistic expression in the traditional sense of painting and photography and stage productions.

We raise this dichotomy of our community because it is one that frequently raises its head as an ugly dispute of us against them, locals against people from off the mountain.

Perhaps the quiet surrounding the Racetrack and Motorsports Events ordinance indicates that we are learning to live together and that ordinances such as this one are helping us do it.

Ashe County needs to be careful not to destroy its natural beauty and quiet coves that have, to this point, made it a desirable spot for monied people from somewhere else to land and spend some of that money.

The ordinance sets restrictions on the proximity that racetracks can be to other people and places and ensures that operations there will have to abide by the county’s noise ordinance.

As more people decide to live in Ashe, opportunities for conflict will arise. Of course the more people decide to live in Ashe, the more money property owners will make selling land and restaurant owners will make selling dinners and newspaper GMs will make more money selling advertising.

We need to consider the advantages of growing our population and our business interests and participate in developing good ordinances to mitigate and mediate the conflicts that arise around growth.