Opinion
Letter to the Editor: Affirmative Action
Dear Editor, The purpose of affirmative action in the United States was to create government programs to overcome the effects of past societal discrimination by allocating jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women. There is no question that past societal discrimination occurred in the United States and perhaps the only appropriate remedy {at the time} was affirmative action.
Letter to the Editor: Letter in Support of Benton County Veterans Affairs
Dear EditorI do not feel we should be attacking Ms. Martin for asking to go part-time. If she can complete her job to the standard put forth by the commission, who says it must be 8 Hours a day. I have no doubt that she will be there to assist the veterans as needed. When was the last time anyone heard of a government department returning money?As a Purple Heart recipient, you would think VA Benefits would be automatic.
Letter to the Editor: Buchanan County resident asks for residents to take notice
Dear Editor, While Benton County did an admiral job of keeping wind farms out of the county, if NextEra Energy gets its way in Buchanan County, folks in the northern parts of Benton County will be subjected to the same destruction of their quality of life as those of us just “across the border”. NextEra Energy has proposed placing a wind farm just north of the Benton/Buchanan Road and about a mile west of Brandon.
Letter to the Editor: Vinton parks rock!
Dear Editor, I accidentally found Vinton city Park along the river. What a fantastic park you have. Got my heart beating walking up snowhill. And saw your beautiful playground with so many different activities for the kids. Swimming pool, pickleball and tennis courts, ball diamonds, stage for bands plus more for kids of all ages. How thoughtful to put part of your park close to the retirement centers.
Letter to the Editor: When do pleasant thoughts arrive?
Dear Editor, I recently had a health scare. Believe me...I was scared. Vinton has an excellent ambulance service! They arrived immediately, and they were both professional and compassionate. When I was teaching in Kansas, I had the occasion to be in two different hospitals. One in Minneapolis, Kansas, and the other in Salina, Kansas.
Letter to the Editor: VA Representative
Dear Editor, I can't believe our Director of Benton Co. Veterans Affairs only needs 20 hrs, a week to take care of our Blenton Co. Veterans. This is a giant step backward. Not long ago our Director was in the basement of the courthouse in a small office the size of a closet. The Veterans of this county deserve better. If she does not want to work 40 hours, resign and replace with someone who will put forth the effort.
Happy Father's Day to all the High-Value Dads
This Sunday is Father's Day. If you have a good dad, you're blest. If not, your mother is apologizing for that. This week I listened to a reaction video of a guy watching a pimp discuss what a high-value and low-value man is. Yes, my eyebrow was cocked through the whole thing in that "Huh? Did he REALLY just say that?" mode.Ironically, the pimp was pretty on target when talking about his gender.
Letter to the Editor: Living in the Present, remembering the past
Dear Editor: This period was during basic undergraduate pilot training at Webb AFB, Big Spring. Texas (1964). I was midway through Training in the Northrup T-38 supersonic trainer. This particular mission was a two-ship formation with the lead being dual (with a student) and me as the wingman ( #2) solo. The preflight of a solo mission meant that the rear seat straps and other switches were in the proper position which would not interfere with the forward cockpit; that was where the solo pilot sat.
Trump, DeSantis, Kennedy Jr. and Doug
Ah, 'tis the political season. It's been somewhat comical to see all of the hats flying into the political ring.So far, on the Republican side, there are now 11 candidates. There's that one guy that no one knows anything about, Donald Trump, followed by Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Perry Johnson, Larry Elder, Asa Hutchinson, Tim Scott, Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, Mike Pence and Doug.
Letter to the Editor: Cemeteries
Dear Editor, As we celebrated Memorial Day, we honored those who died in battle or after injuries sustained in battle. As I drove through Evergreen Cemetery I was happy to see the flags that were placed on veterans graves to honor them. We must never forget the sacrifices that veterans have made and the sacrifices that current military men and women are making for our freedom.