Speakout 3/10

Wednesday, March 10, 2004

This is a rhetorical question. When the Stone Age was here and cave men were here, where was God then when they were created? Who created them? They were here before Adam and Eve.

Have you ever heard of a man who likes to be the center of attention in a woman's mind or eyes, but when the tables are turned, they run?

I read your Feb. 27 editorial. How appropriate it is for a "leap day." The adoption of your strategy on dealing with abandoned and dilapidated Section 8 houses would put our community "leap years" ahead of where we are now. For reasons which have never been explained, our city government has been all too willing to bail out slumlords who have milked these structures for every penny of the taxpayers' money possible; then simply quit paying taxes on the properties and finally laughed up their sleeves as the city went to Benton and paid off the tax bill when the property is purchased at a tax sale. Why do we not pursue the unpaid taxes and the cost of tearing down the structures against the slumlords who are ultimately responsible? Isn't it about time that City Hall started earning some of the confidence that we taxpayers have bestowed upon our leadership? If they do not, isn't it time for a change?


I agree with your Feb. 29 article. If the property owners are living and financially able, there should not be any public money used to buy and demolish their property. Why not enforce the building codes to deal with these landlords? They should be cited and fined monthly until the property is brought up to city codes or demolished. Public funds should only be used for properties that have been abandoned by the owners, deceased property owners and those willing to deed the property to the city without compensation if they are incapable of fixing the property or demolishing the property.


Why doesn't the fire department finish burning some of the houses in a controlled burn to expedite the demolition of these houses, rather than paying a contractor to demolish and haul off the remains? It would be cheaper to haul off the residue after a controlled burn than the entire structure. A controlled burn could be used as a training exercise for the fire department.

The EPA has effectively stopped this method of property removal.


As soon as the city razes a building, the lot should be sold at a public auction or by sealed bids. The city should not be in the real estate business. The selling of the lots would return the property to the tax rolls and eliminate the city from having to maintain these lots.

I am a local farmer and in answer to your do-do's who don't realize farmers are entitled to make a profit like every other business. We have finally gotten there - we have let farm prices get so low that farmers have quit producing. Cotton has almost doubled in price, wheat is back to $4, corn is $3 and beans are over $9 a bushel. I hope you enjoy paying much higher prices for food. It is coming. This country wasn't subsidizing farmers. They were subsidizing consumers. Get ready for higher prices. You deserve it.

I want to encourage other parents of East Prairie to join in and stand up for our children. They are being used by our school (R.A. Doyle). Our children are slowly being divided into the haves and have-nots. Money, money, money. Face painting, selling things (by the way we never see anything being bought for our children). Now bring money for Relay for Life, money for weekly ice cream and more for future face painting. Many of us are struggling to pay our bills and cannot afford to constantly send money with our children for school whims, causing my child to feel inferior to the one sitting next by. It should not be allowed. Please stand up for our children.

How anyone who reads the Bible can think that homosexual marriage is OK is beyond me. Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 calls homosexuality an abomination. Romans 1:26-27 condemned the practice. I Corinthians 6:9 lists it with other sins. Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:4-6 and Ephesians 5:31 define marriage as being between a man and a woman. God did not create people to be homosexual, gay or lesbian. It is a choice, it is a sin and it should not be accepted as having the same rights as straights. The sanctity of marriage is at stake in America and acceptance of homosexuality will certainly lead to God's judgment (Romans 1:32).