Thursday, July 12, 2006
Community | Obits | Editorial & Columnists | Society | Sports | Education | Classified Ads | Calendar of Events | Features | Newsbriefs | Legals | Archives | Photo Gallery
|
||
Thursday, July 12, 2006 |
||
Community | Obits | Editorial & Columnists | Society | Sports | Education | Classified Ads | Calendar of Events | Features | Newsbriefs | Legals | Archives | Photo Gallery |
|
Letters to the EditorPeace and understanding?: I would like to take a moment of your time if I may. I am just wondering, out loud I guess, as to what it would take for neighbors to get along with each other. I am not asking why we cannot love each other as we are taught as children, but why we cannot simple coexist! I see stories everyday of human suffering that is almost beyond my comprehension. I know that we are blessed enough to live in a country where we may not have everything we want, but our needs are amply supplied. I would simply pray that I might be able to live in peace. I may not necessarily like someone or agree with the way they live life, but it’s theirs to live. I only ask for the same consideration! If we cannot just all get along then let’s agree to disagree and each just leave the other be! This has even come down to a judge having to sign orders so that we may each have peace and quiet. When you cannot, as adults, obey the orders of an elected official, how can we condemn the youth of our community for failing to heed the same officials? When we sit back and wonder what has happened to our youth, our communities, our hometowns, I will suggest that we look no further than our own backyards (and across those fences to those neighbors whom we were told to love...and by the way, I don’t think that was meant as just a suggestion!) I see a lot of people with the slogan WWJD on everything from T-shirts to truck tags. We have all gotten good at talking the talk but do we walk the walk? So in closing I will ask...WWJD, neighbor? Praying for a peaceful resolution. Marilyn Campbell Animal control I: On July 3 I attended a community meeting about the stray animal problem in Marshall County. Prior to the passage of the vicious animal ruling, my little dog was attacked by a stray pit bull, a few feet from the porch. A neighbor’s dog was also attacked, but whether by the same dog is unclear. However, the vicious dog law, good as it is, is only a first step towards controlling the staggering number of stray animals in Marshall County. Concerned citizens and leaders alike need to work together in solving this giant problem. While there are no easy solutions, it’s good to see the community interest and involvement. I live in District 4, and wish that my supervisor had attended this meeting, and hope that he attends future sessions on this issue. Sincerely, Animal control II: A large part of the county is rural. These areas have become dumping grounds for unwanted animals. There is no shelter for these animals. There is no authority one can go to for help. This is not a situation that reflects well on our area. This is a serious problem throughout Marshall County. To those of us who love animals, it is heartbreaking to see a stray romping merrily in our front yards, and then finding them dead in the road just a day or so later. An injured or frightened dog can be very dangerous. We should not have to fear our children or ourselves being attacked by a wild dog. Saturday morning, June 25, some unkind, heartless person abandoned eight very young puppies. What can be done for these poor creatures? The county will only take custody of vicious dogs, which are then euthanized. The Humane Society has no room for them. It should not be left up to a few compassionate individuals to attempt to meet the needs of these abandoned animals. Please live up to your responsibility to the citizens who elected you and provide a solution to this tragic situation. Our county needs an animal control policy now! A shelter and an animal control officer are absolutely essential for the safety of the community. Licensing should be required for every dog. The fees charged should be used to help fund a shelter. Anyone owning a dog, allowing it to run free, should be fined a minimum of $25.00. A graduated schedule of fines should be applied to those who repeat this offense. Maltreatment and abandonment of an animal should be punishable by a huge fine, imprisonment or community service, such as working at an animal shelter. I have been told Marshall County cannot afford a shelter or animal control. That argument is invalid. The first time our county is sued by a victim of animal-induced injury or accident, the payment for such a suit could well bankrupt Marshall County. Rabies vaccinations should be required for all cats and dogs. Spaying and neutering information should be provided to pet owners at the time of licensing. There is no excuse for any animal not being spayed and neutered in this county (unless they are kept for breeding purposes). The Marshall County Humane Society, a completely volunteer run organization, provides such a service at low cost. Some argue that it is cruel to leash a dog. I would suggest that cruelty allows a pet loose to be killed. It may be inconvenient to leash your dog and take it for a walk, but it is the responsibility of all pet owners. Animals that are found running loose should be removed from the streets and sheltered. If, within a reasonable amount of time, no one claims the animal or a new owner is not found, euthanization is the only answer. This is a necessary performance of government. Have a heart. Do the right thing! Do it now. Peggy Tritinger Taypayer’s
lament: The taxpaying people of Mississippi get it in the shorts again! The Speaker of the House Pro Tem (stand by) J.P. Compretta (D) Bay Saint Louis, will continue to earn an extra $3,300 a month regardless of what is best for the taxpayers of Mississippi or what is morally right. The people of Mississippi already pay Representative Billy McCoy (D) Rienzi, to serve as Speaker of the House at the hefty salary of $60,000 plus expenses; that equals over $99,000 a year. Not bad for a part-time job. When Speaker Billy McCoy (D) Rienzi, fell ill in 2004, J.P. Compretta took over his duties, Compretta has received compensation that amounts to more then $196,500. This money is in addition to the $1,250, plus expenses, per month pro-tem pay he already receives for his part-time job. Last legislative session, which convened January 3, 2006, Speaker McCoy returned to his position at full strength. However, the Management Committee never returned Compretta’s pay to the correct pay scale per the laws of Mississippi. Smells funny, huh? Here is where it gets very muddy. J.P. Compretta is the chairman and Speaker McCoy sits on the Management Committee. Yep, it looks like politics as usual in the democratic House of Representatives again. No wonder Mississippi is considered the most politically corrupt state in the union. Rep. Rita Martinson, (R) Madison, who asked Speaker Billy McCoy to either lower his top lieutenant’s salary or step down, questioned Compretta’s pay last week “We were just brought up to speed on what he’s been doing,” Rep. Eric Robinson, R-Quitman, said after the three-hour meeting held mostly in private. Representatives “had no idea what duties he was performing until today,” Robinson said. The Management Committee met on Wednesday and voted to keep Compretta’s pro tem pay at this level. Management Committee members would not disclose the vote, but said it was not unanimous. The reason given for this latest move in Democratic partisan politics? McCoy stated “J.P Compretta has a major role in legislators related to Hurricane Katrina. He faces challenges that no other speaker pro tem has seen.” McCoy, that’s an amazing statement! The House and Senate are full of legislatures playing a major roll and facing challenges in the Katrina Recovery. Do each of them deserve $3,300 additional a month? Our Legislators are elected to serve the will of the people. It appears to me that the Democrats in the House are doing whatever they believe they can get by with to pad their pockets. Taxpayers took it in the shorts to the tone of $55 million with cull cow beef plant deal last year. You know the one you and Rep. Holland dreamt up on the Natchez Trace. We came close to getting the shaft to the amount of $14 million with your Warm Springs “Wishing Well” project. You remember this too, that was the business park that no company wanted to build in or even help off set the cost. In my opinion, you certainly have not done what is best for our state in this matter either. This decision will cost the taxpayers thousands upon thousands of dollars we don’t have. Taxpayers in Mississippi pay enough in taxes. I for one do not need you blowing additional dollars because you think an elected legislator’s job is getting tough on him. McCoy, times are a-changing in Mississippi. The taxpayers of this great state are watching you and your band of tax and spend cronies. Just as a suggestion -- if I were in your shoes, I think I would have the Management Committee meet again, at our expense, and require the Pro Tem repay all the salary overpaid to him. That, sir, would be the morally correct thing to do. I bet the citizens/voters in Mississippi would like that, too. Dave Young, Report News:
(662) 252-4261 or south@dixie-net.com
Web Site
managed and maintained by |
|
