Letters to the Editor 5-12-10

Person who tossed puppy out on highway a coward

To the Editor:

On May 2, 2010, I traveled to McCreary County from North Carolina to visit a sister. 
As I exited off the Williamsburg exit and headed to McCreary County, I witnessed an olive-green truck pull off to the side of the road (four lane highway across from Wal-mart).  As it sped away, I saw a puppy rolling on the curbside of the highway!  I immediately pulled over and ran back to pick up the puppy and I didn’t try to look at the license plate of the truck. 
I have included a picture of this pitiful puppy for anyone and everyone in Williamsburg to see.  If you know who owned this puppy and threw it out of a truck, please call the authorities. 
To whomever you are that threw out this puppy, you are evil, cruel, doomed and a worthless human being. You are a coward!
Hopefully, the citizens of the city could work with authorities to spay and neuter their pets so that this type of cruelty can be avoided by people.
I know that this worthless citizen does not represent the citizens of Williamsburg. I am sure there are many people who take great care of their pets. Citizens of Williamsburg, don’t let this type of person represent your city. Tourists will avoid visiting your city if this scenario is what they see when they travel to or through Williamsburg.

Mrs. Velma (Young) Schmider
North Carolina

Parents need to talk to their kids about underage drinking

To the Editor:

We are nearing the time where many young people will celebrate a lifetime of accomplishments as they graduate from high school and move toward their life goals.  Family and friends will gather together for a festive occasion to commemorate this awesome milestone.
Traditionally, this is also a time when alcohol enters into the mix and brings tragic results for all involved.  Alcohol is the most commonly used drug among American youth and it kills 5,000 teens every year.
Some consider underage drinking a ‘Rite of Passage.’  In Kentucky, we consider it against the law.  Last year 4,014 teenagers under the age of twenty were arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and twenty-two of those were under the age of 14.
750 million dollars.  That’s a lot of money.  It’s the amount that was offered to purchase the ‘Facebook’ internet domain.  It is the amount of funding NASA requested to send a solar probe to the sun.  It is the gross domestic product of Turkey.
It is also how much underage drinking costs Kentucky taxpayers every year. 
With the continued emphasis on our state budget to conserve every dollar, it is more important than ever to reduce the financial burden that underage drinking places on our stretched-thin state.
As a Trooper, I have seen first-hand the consequences that result from youth alcohol related incidents, including driving under the influence, underage drinking parties and alcohol poisoning.  Any law enforcement officer will tell you that notifying a parent that their child has been killed in a senseless accident is one of the hardest things we must do. 
As a Father, I implore parents to talk to children about the dangers of underage drinking.  Sixty-five percent of kids who drink alcohol say they get it from their own home.  As parents, we are the greatest influence in our children’s lives.  The more you connect with them, the less likely they will be to give in to peer pressure.
It is my sincere hope that we all will celebrate the achievements of our Kentucky youth during graduation 2010.  Please join with me in making every effort to let our children know the dangers of underage drinking and where we stand on this important issue.

Lt. David P. Jude
Kentucky State Police Headquarters
Frankfort, Ky.

Criticism of Superintendent search committee was unfair

To the Editor:

As a concerned parent and educator from Whitley County I’d like to express my feelings about; the superintendent selection panel. Whitley County is an excellent school in all aspects. We have excellent teachers, administrators, coaches and staff members and a great board of education (publicly elected). Our test scores are continuing to improve district wide and if you take a look around at the elementary schools as well as the main campus you can’t help but see the improvements that have been made here over the past 17 years.
No one can be superintendent and make everyone happy. Superintendents and administrators alike must make decisions that affect a large number of students and employees. There are always going to be some who don’t agree with decisions that are being made.
With that being said, you try your best to find someone who is level headed, experienced and has the students, school district and area’s best Interest at heart. In a previous letter to the editor in the May 5, 2010 News Journal, there were some offensive comments made, one of which included that the panel didn’t need to be comprised of “a merchant, carpenter and others”. Well, there was a carpenter who made a pretty large impact around the world a little over 2,000 years ago. His name was Jesus Christ.
I see no problem with local citizens serving on the selection panel: it happens every day. This is the USA and carpenters, merchants and people from all walks of life come together every four years to elect the President of the United States: the leader of the free world. Why would they not be qualified to share their input on the selection of a Superintendent?
There was also a comment made that the panel should Include professional educators. It does! There are certified teachers with several years of experience and Master Degrees and beyond serving on the panel. I see no problem with having college
professors serving on the panel. We have many parents in our district that are college professors. They could have been selected to serve on the panel If they’d chosen to try and were selected. But, I think you will find that college professors don’t really offer any further knowledge for serving than any other educator. Our teachers have the same qualifications and are qualified to teach at the college level. In fact many do teach night classes and summer classes at the college level already. That has little to do with recommending a person to serve as Superintendent. We have to assume that the Individuals who were selected by the entire district are highly qualified people capable of serving.
Just a footnote, you will find that the outspoken leader of the Whitley Concerned citizens for Education actually served as a board member  here in Whitley. County. This was of course before the present administration turned the district around. Oh yes, during which time the state had taken over our schools!

Rob Powers BSE AEd
Williamsburg

Reader says magistrate failed to keep promise on road sign

To the Editor:

This is a few reasons why you don’t need Roger Wells as your first district magistrate.
When Roger was campaigning he came to my house and I told Roger that I had seen politics change many people. Roger told me, “Shorty, here is one person that won’t change, and if I can ever help you let me know.”
Before Roger was elected, him and his wife would call four or five times a month or more if Rogers was having beaver or coyote trouble. They have not called once after he was elected.
Right after Roger was elected a person told me he used the GPS system in his wife’s car to find my home and when he got to my driveway it showed Underwood Cemetery Road. My driveway turns off Hwy. 511 and dead ends. Underwood Cemetery Road turns off Hwy. 26 and dead ends.
My mother was living with me and was in her nineties and in bad health so I called Roger about getting a road marker on my road. Roger and another county worker came over and Roger said he would get one put up. I wanted C. Widener Road, but Rogers said he would make it Widener Cemetery Road because I have my own family cemetery. The other worker will tell you that I told Roger again C. Widener Road would be better and should not cause any trouble. The worker asked Roger where to put the marker and Roger told him at the entrance to my driveway. The worker told Roger it would get torn down and Roger’s reply was we will put it back up just as fast as they tear it down and the marker only lasted a few days.
I went to see Roger about the problem and he said a person at Rockholds had called and raised all mortal hell and that he didn’t know who took the marker down. Roger said the person ran the phone off the wall and that it looked like he would have to get his phone number unlisted or get caller ID. He then told me that taking the magistrate job was the biggest mistake he ever made in his life. He said the job was costing him more than the job paid.
A good man told me he visited the Judge-Executive’s office about a matter and told Pat White about my problem and the judge said he would look into the matter. This was about two months before my mother passed away. The lady in charge of the ambulance service said that road markers would help the ambulance service.
I wonder if Roger and Pat thinks my mother wasn’t worth a dollar and a half piece of plastic.
Roger if this statement isn’t true we can invite the public to and open hearing with you and myself hooked up to a polygraph machine. I hope you do this before the election or after. I just want the people to know the truth.
Everything you have done as magistrate has been done for your own personal gain. You have got new roads taken into the county road system and you have black topped and graveled these roads while there are roads in the county system that was county roads before you were born that needs repaired bad.
Also we may need to talk about gravel, blacktop and culverts showing up in strange places.
There is much more we could and may need to let the people know about.

Charles “Shorty” Widener
Rockholds