Published: May 29, 2007 04:09 pm            

5/27/2007 Letters to the Editor

Every child deserves to live

Dear Editor:



Each day, almost 30,000 children under age 5 die from preventable and/or treatable diseases such as diarrhea, pneumonia and measles. For those fortunate enough to live, almost 77 million children worldwide lack access to basic education up to the sixth grade.

But there’s good news. America’s leaders have heard from members of the ONE Campaign who’ve said that this is unacceptable, and as a result, the U.S. Commitment to Global Child Survival Act was introduced in the House and Senate. This bill promotes the use of effective, affordable preventative measures such as immunization, antibiotics, clean drinking water and vitamin supplements, which would save the lives of those children who are dying from preventable, treatable diseases.

In addition, our leaders introduced the Education for All Act, which would expand access to education by training teachers, building infrastructure, promoting life skills training as well as supporting initiatives that reach the most disadvantaged populations.

Every child deserves to live. Every child deserves an education. Every member of Congress should hear from us on these issues. Visit ONE.org to learn more about why these bills are important, and then write or call your representative and encourage them to support these important bills.



Joshua Orr

Burleson



Thoughts on the Hate Crimes Bill

Dear Editor:



When the so called “Hate Crimes Bill,” (commonly called the “Thought Crimes Bill”) HR 1592, hit the scene in the House of Representatives to be voted on, it passed 237-180. An astonishing thing is that 25 Republicans voted in favor of it, and 14 Democrats voted against.

This bill was another thrust by the diabolical homosexual crowd to achieve special favors. This bill would lay the framework whereby Bible believing pastors, business owners and individuals can be persecuted and prosecuted because of a word that might be uttered against that lifestyle. An interesting thing that stood out like a sore thumb is this: These are the states whose Democratic Representative, had the intestinal fortitude to go against their party for morality’s sake and vote against the bill: 1-AR. 2-OK, 10-PA, 5-AL, 4-TN, 2-IN, 8-IN, 6-TN, 7-NC, 3-LA, 7-MN, 4-AR, 11NC AND 4-MS. Those who do not appear here voted for the “Thought Crimes Bill.” Do you see any district and state missing?



E. G. Frey

Cleburne



Warning to cowards

Dear Editor:



Editor’s note: This is an open letter to the individuals who tried to burn down the oldest log courthouse in Texas.



Webster’s defines a coward as a person with tail between the legs; connotes a sneaking, malicious cowardice that is manifested in a despicable act. Yes, that is what you are — cowards. You did this for a kick, a thrill to prove how big you are. You did this for attention. Well, punks, you are going to get your wish. We are coming after you with a full-court press. There will be substantial reward offered to bring you to justice, so you better be careful. All investigative law enforcement powers are on your trail. The media have you marked. By defacing a historical building, destroying historical artifacts along with a U.S. flag, you may have more than local authorities after you.

Mark it down, we are coming after you. We don’t care if no one understands you. We don’t care what kind of a family you came from. We are not interested in your phony excuses for doing this. If you were drunk, we don’t care. If you were high on drugs, we don’t care. What you did was attempt to destroy the oldest log courthouse in the state of Texas. Just as you haven’t succeeded with anything in your pathetic lives, you failed to burn the old logs. You see, this is a tough old building, built by tough people. You have been successful in one thing. You have made a lot of good people fighting mad. So you enjoy your freedom while it lasts. You have already told too many people about what you did. When the reward gets big enough someone will turn you over, and we will be there to see that you get the maximum for what you did. We know you are young. We know there was more than one of you.



Appeal to the public

Anyone passing by Lake Pat Cleburne between midnight and 5 a.m. early Sunday who might have seen anything regarding this fire please contact the police or sheriff’s office. We have a partial description of a vehicle but would like to have any information about any vehicle or activity. This whole project is being done by volunteers who want to bring this historic site back to life. It is by far the best-looking entrance coming into Cleburne. When someone, anyone, commits this type of act, they don’t deserve to live in an orderly society. Help us find them. If you have information and don’t want your name disclosed, we can do that.



Reward

We already have a reward fund set up that is getting to be serious money, but we need more in order to get some one to talk. If you would like to add to this reward fund, call your local banks.



David Murdoch

President

Johnson County

Heritage Foundation



Thanks for support

Dear Editor:



My name is Ethan Puckett. I am a sophomore ag student at Cleburne who showed broiler chickens in the Johnson County Junior Livestock Show in February of 2007.

I want to thank you for supporting all the participants who received money for making the sale, especially me!

I plan to use this money to pay off my wheels that I put on my truck and put some back to pay for my college classes I am planning to take my junior year.

Thank you for supporting me in the show.



Ethan Puckett

Cleburne



Black and White Gala to celebrate 15th anniversary

Dear Editor:



August 1993, Cleburne on the Rise is in full swing and the final touches are made to the decorations for the first annual Black and White Gala. The “Gala” is the brain child of Kay Walls, through her involvement at the time on the Cleburne ISD school board, she became aware that Johnson County had one of the lowest immunization rates in Texas. The vision was for gala proceeds to fund no-cost immunizations for Johnson County children in coordination with the Texas Department of Health. Shots for Tots was born. Great fun was had by all as they listened to Gary Morris. The evening was a success, and the rest, as they say, is history. Since it’s inception more than 60,000 children have received immunizations through the program, and the program has received numerous awards such as Texas Department of Health Outstanding Local Partner and Volunteer and the Texas Department of Health Innovation and Creativity and Collation and Community Groups awards.

With the tremendous support of the community the gala proceeds grew year after year, so in 1996 chairwoman Sue Rebstock and the gala committee added a new initiative, Mammograms are a Must! Educating women on the importance of breast health and the critical need for a screening mammogram each year starting at age 40 was seen as an important health issue for the committee to address. Since it’s inception thousands of Johnson County women have been educated about breast health and through 2006, 2,059 Johnson County women have received no-cost screening and diagnostic mammograms.

The year 2000 brought a sense of newness to the world and for the gala a new venue and another new program, Know Your PSA. Under the guidance of LuLane Ward, 2000 gala chair the committee once again forged ahead into new territory. Men’s health was the only area the committee hadn’t tackled and prostate cancer was receiving a lot of news. Early detection through the PSA test and a simple examination could be a life saver. Ninety-eight men received no-cost PSA screens in 2001 our first year and in total through 2006 four hundred and nineteen men have participated in our PSA health screenings.

Children’s Advocacy Center of Johnson County has also benefited from the Black and White Gala. Family violence is one of the initiatives of Texas Health Resources, the parent company of Harris Methodist Walls Regional Hospital. The donation the gala makes to the advocacy center is its way of supporting that initiative.

The community’s support of this annual fundraiser has continued to grow year after year and has enabled the committee to continue to support all of the original programs and to branch out into other areas. The committee allocated $150,000 to support the construction of the nursery for the new Ann Marti-Schmidt Women’s and Infants’ Services Unit as well as committing $100,000 to the current emergency department renovation. This year the committee has made a commitment to provide $100,000 for future expansion of the hospital surgery department.

The generosity of Black and White Gala supporters has made it possible to improve the health of Johnson County through screening and prevention programs and support new construction projects at Harris Methodist Walls Regional Hospital to fulfill our mission, “To improve the health of the people in the communities we serve”.

Please join us and celebrate our 15th anniversary Aug. 4 at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel in Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth.

For information, call 817-371-5248.



Black and White

Gala Committee



School board made wrong decision

Dear Editor:



What is wrong with our school board? I have to say that I was very disappointed to hear that the school board changed the policy on the graduation ceremony. What type of message are you sending to our children? That it’s OK to fail. If you have to pass the local requirements and the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test in order to receive a diploma, then you should NOT be allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony. That’s what the ceremony is all about. To walk across the stage to receive your diploma. You are just letting those kids that fail believe that it is OK not to accomplish everything you need to in life in a timely matter. Did you ever think to ask the kids that worked hard to pass the local requirements plus the TAKS test how they felt about it? I guess not. It’s not fair to the ones who did what they should have done to be with the kids who did not. Principal Justin Marchel said he even polled teachers, and 75 percent of them said they should not participate in graduation if they have not passed the TAKS test. Once again, what type of message are you sending to our children? Since the principal didn’t listen to the majority of the teachers, then it’s OK for our children not to listen to the teachers. Why did you even bother asking the teachers if you weren’t going to listen to them? The teachers are the ones who know the kids best, and the school board needs to listen to the teachers when asked their opinion. A student has several times to pass the TAKS test, and if they cannot pass it, then apparently there is a major problem and the parents need to find out why before it’s too late. I feel the school board is only allowing our children to say it’s OK if they didn’t accomplish all the requirements but they can still tell family and friends they graduated because they participated in the commencement. That is not right or fair to the other kids who worked hard. Where are the ethics at for our schools? As a parent, I am very appalled by the school board’s decision. Then we wonder why our world is the way it is these days.



Kim Crawford

Cleburne



Can justice be bought and paid for?

Dear Editor:



Justice.

Can it be bought and paid for?

It is now obvious to anyone with access to the media that our nation’s symbol of “justice” should now include a PayPal account number and instructions for those of us wealthy enough to pay for the following services.

F Reduction in sentence (time and severity).

F Preferred treatment (time off for good behavior) Showing up for court on time?

F And in the case it becomes absolutely necessary to do hard time, your choice of facilities in which to do your time.

All for a price.

It is my belief that our Lady Justice should now include a pair of ear muffs to keep her from hearing the coins of the rich and famous falling into the coffers of those who profit by and have made a mockery from our system of justice.

It is now painfully obvious all one needs is a famous last name and deep pockets to avoid the penalties paid by the rest of American society.

Case in point: Mr. John Doe, Johnson County

Third DWI in 10 years, second in the past two years, none of which included an accident. Just three DWIs.

Punishment — 10 years probation, fines that total $2,500-plus, six months in a Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility, 90 days in a halfway house, loss of driving privileges for one year, breath machine in all vehicles being driven for one year after release (not cheap), probation fees for 10 years, and the list of expenses does go on.

I’m not saying it’s OK to “drink and drive,” it’s not, and this single father of two girls under the age of 10 should be punished, but fit the punishment to the circumstances for this person just as they are for others in this system we call justice.

In closing I just wonder what kind of “donations” must have been made to Mothers Against Drunk Driving to keep them silent when celebrities are charged and why they aren’t in arms to insure justice is being done in these cases as well.



James C. Newton

Cleburne



Dems should oppose Bush

Dear Editor:



Democrats were elected in November to take some control away from the Bush administration because they are running the country into the ground.

If Democrats don’t oppose Bush, they are opposing the American people. Stop Bush!



Barbara J. Armstrong

Burleson

        

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