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The Columbus Packet, P.O. Box 53, Columbus MS 39703
Roger Larsen, Editor/Publisher - Phone/Fax: 662-329-1741
Editor:
People of Highland Circle signed a
petition indicating a desire and need for a
speed bump on the circle and a stop sign
at the East end of our street. Even the
police chief wanted a stop sign there. I
took the petition to a meeting with the
mayor and city council pleading our case.
Mayor Smith, Jay Jordan and Joey
Hudnall stated at the meeting that something
needed to be done. That was over a
year ago, still no speed bump or stop
sign.
I was pleased to see the goals our
Mayor has for us in 2008. They were
printed in 1 Jan dispatch. Especially
item #6 in his letter, he stated, "I am
committed to the safety and security of
our citizens and their property." This is a
high priority goal but we're still waiting
for our stop sign and speed bump.
Other cities in MS have speed bumps in
their residential areas, why can't we?
What about the speed bumps on Hwy 45
between Hwy 82 and Brooksville where
the speed limit is 55 mph? If that's legal,
then why not speed bumps on residential
streets where the speed limit is 15 mph?
Now, why can't we have a stop sign at the
end of our street to slow down the
through traffic? The following is an
answer to that question: Our ward 5
councilman, Mr. Jordan, told me that
everybody would want a stop sign if he
put one there. Then Mr. Kevin Stafford
told me that stop signs don't prevent accidents.
Both men are well educated but
comments like that show a mind set in
direct opposition to the Mayor's goals for
08.
Because of those comments and Mr.
Jordan's reluctance to help us, I plan to
qualify ASAP and run as an Independent
Candidate for Ward 5 Councilman.
Another reason I plan to run is the smoking
ban that seems to be tabled indefinately.
It doesn't take a whole lot of common
sense to know that we shouldn't be
dragging our feet about this issue. I think
there's very little room for debate when it
comes to health and safety issues, don't
you agree?
Raymond Gross
Columbus
Editor:
The National
Global Youth Service
Day at ICS Coleman
Head Start was a
great success due to
our many volunteers
and contributors.
Our America Reads Mississippi team
would like to say that you so much to the
following:
The Commercial Dispatch, WCBI,
Priscilla King/Shelter Insurance, Youth
Challenge, Roy Tate/Southern Elite
Catering, Leo’s Luxury Limos,
McDonalds Hwy. 182, Baptist Memorial
Hospital, Jimmy Adams/Twice the Ice
House, House of Tux, Capt. Martin
Andrews, Columbus Fire Dept., Mayor
Robert Smith, One of a King Screen
Printing, McDonald’s Hwy. 45, Bank
First, Jumpers LLC, Sqwincher,
Chancery CLerk Lisa Younger Neese, 4
County, Skeet’s Hot Dogs, Delta Sigma
Theta Sorority Inc. of MUW, Check into
Cash, and the Columbus Convention &
Visitor’s Bureau.
Also, special appreciation to Angie
Verdell who entertained everyone as our
Clown.
Thanks to each of you, our students,
parents, and staff truly enjoyed the day’s
activities.
AmeriCorps/ARM
MSU Members
Sara Singleton
Ann Summerville
Roger:
I have been thinking about this:
In Columbus some teens had a fight
Various people can't decide who is right:
The one who took a chance
And asked the "wrong" girl to dance
Or the several who beat him up out of
spite.
or—a more confrontational version:
The Heritage teens had a fight
Ms. Vaughan cannot decide who is right:
The one who took a chance
And asked the "wrong" girl to dance
Or the several who beat him up out of
spite.
Saul [Vydas]
Dr. Vydas is a psychiatrist and he
can’t figure it out either—at least not
from the news accounts and Dispatch
editorials. But if he could get the teens
and the parents on the couch for a few
months.... Ed.
Editor:
Class A at ICS Coleman Headstart
would like to say Thank You to Jan &
Oop Swoope for the tour of Rock Hill
Stables.
They were very kind and patient
with our young students and the students
really enjoyed learning about the horses.
Annie Bell, Ann Summerville
Class A. students
Editor:
Who has made the decision to call
people at home to campaign for office
and make it legal? This is harassment
pure and simple! To be awakened 5-8
times a day is tantamount to torture. With
all due respect, please cut it out! I am a
nurse and I work the night shift... so I am
trying to sleep during the day. I pay my
phone bill so I can have family and
friends contact me when it is needed,
they know, unless it is dire not to call me
during the day. I do have a friend in hospice
care... and a mother that is 73 years
old so I do not turn off my phone when I
am asleep.
I am a voter and I do listen to the TV,
research on the internet, read newspapers,
read all the signs you litter our roads with
and make an informed decision on how I
need to vote. What I do not need is someone
calling my home trying to get me to
vote their way, if it is a must that you call
my home, at least have the taste to do it in
person and not a recording!
Come on people of Mississippi, stand
up and scream. Many of you that have
seen my other letters to the editor have
said how glad you are that someone has
complained. Well only one person is not
going to get anything done. Call the
offices, people, and or write letters of
your own. My only other wish is that I
could find their
phone numbers and
give them a call at
3:00 a.m., and I
would have the
decency to do it in
person, to discuss the
merits of the person
they want me to vote
for.
Truly Tired,
Jeanna Alexander
Editor:
A Columbus Packet Success story:
I would like to thank the Columbus
Packet for running the ad in last weeks
paper about our missing Pomeranians.
They were both returned to us Monday
May 5th. We would also like to thank
everyone that called trying to help us
locate them. And especially to the lady
that called that brought them back home.
We are a family that is whole again
thanks to everyone in this community.
Donna Biltoft
We don’t charge for lost-pet ads and I
encourage people to place them. By the
way, several weeks ago one of my dogs
clawed through the fence on the South
Side and disappeared along with another
one who followed him out. I suspected
that they stayed near the shop and that
someone dropped a tailgate and they
jumped in. One was a young black lab
and the other an old, rough-looking part
boxer with a bad right eye. The lab is the
type of dog that would be find a home but
the boxer is not and would be at great
risk. I should have advertised them earlier
but assumed that someone took them
on purpose. I hope anyone who knows
anything about them will call 329-1741.
Editor
Editor:
In response to the letter in last week's
Columbus Packet, as manager of the
shelter, I have an overwhelming responsibility
for the number of animals that
come through this door on a daily basis. I
don't think people realize how many animals
get picked up by Animal Control or
are surrendered to us. It is my duty as a
Christian and member of this community
to humanely care for these animals and
make the hard decisions we have to make
regarding their welfare. The letter I read
in the Packet was very hurtful and obviously,
the person is misinformed about
us. The letter appears to have several
issues; one is that
we are just about
the numbers and
do not care about
the individual animals.
If that were
the case, I wouldn't
waste my time
with the animals
that are not adoptable.
If anyone
wants to come by
and see my dogs
and cats at my
house, which I
have saved from
being euthanized,
feel free, especially
my mange
infested dog,
Charlie.
I guess most
people don't know
about the poor dog
with a collar embedded
in its neck 2 inches
deep that we treated
and found a home
for, or the poor puppy
with a missing paw
we nursed back to health and found a
home for, or the poor little kitten that we
bottle fed and got adopted. I guess they
don't know about feral cats that we have
neutered and released instead of the alternative
which is death. No, I suppose we
just look at numbers! I also bet that they
don't know some of the shelter employees
work an extra 15 plus hours some
weeks for free to get these animals adopted
at off-site events, or that some of us
even come here at night to check on animals
we are treating or to check the outside
cages for "dump outs" so they won't
be out in the weather at night. I also bet
they don't see the tears that sometimes
fall when the decision is made to euthanize.
It takes a special person to be able to
handle this kind of pressure, to love these
animals for a few months, not find them
a home, and have to make the decision to
end its life to make
space for a new one.
I pray you never find
yourself in the position
to have to put
down healthy animals
because people
won't spay or neuter
their animals in order
to stop the birth of
unwanted animals.
Shame on you for
saying that me and
my team don't care!
Come to the shelter
and volunteer to help
me handle all the animals
that come
through this door and
then you may judge
me and my staff and
our board, who by
the way, all have
their own personal
jobs and family to
worry about but, still
make time to help us;
if they didn't care
they wouldn't even be here.
The other issue seems to be that we
are [accused] of taking revenue from the
local veterinarians with our low-cost
spay/neuter program. First of all, to be
eligible, one has to be on some type of
federal or state assistance to even qualify;
it is targeted toward those who can't
afford the 100 plus dollars it cost to have
an animal altered at a veterinarian clinic,
of which some of these people have several
pets. However, I'm sure that there
are those who will abuse the program and
not take their pet to their personal vet but,
then again, vets make their money via the
health care of the animal through its lifetime,
not the one time spay or neuter cost.
Another issue seems to be the pediatric
spaying/neutering. This practice is
taught and approved by the American
Veterinary Medical Association. The
MSU Veterinary School would not teach
future vets this procedure if it were not
safe. You will find that "old school"
teaching is that dogs and cats must be
around six months of age; however, veterinary
schools, only fairly recently, started
teaching pediatric spay/neuter so,
most veterinarians practicing today did
not learn these technical procedures in
vet school. There are a number of benefits
from an early age spay/neuter program;
the information is out there to look
up or just call your vet school for more
information on this matter. I can't stress
enough, in a shelter setting, the importance
of early age spay/neuter; can you
even imagine how many lives have been
saved because of this?
The letter states that she wonders how
many puppies and kittens are dead in
their cages in the morning from spaying
and neutering; well,
the MSU vet school
was just here last
week and
spayed/neutered 20
plus puppies and kittens.
When I got to
work I saw the 8
week old puppies
playing in there cage
and looking at me
wondering "where is
my food". I also, saw
the one pound kittens
playing with their
ball. In fact, I can
only speak for the
time I have been here, which is going on
two and half years, and I have only seen
3 surgery related
deaths out of over two
thousand plus surgeries.
The fact is, any
surgery is risky; if it
weren't, anyone could
do it. I'm sure death
occurs once in a
while; you hope
things go well
but, remember,
there is always a
risk no matter if it
is a puppy, kitten
or adult animal, or
a human. It was
also mentioned
we don't provide
follow up treatment
but, there is
a telephone number
on the postoperation
instruction
sheet to call
in case of emergency.
Our veterinarian
has been
in practice for
over 11 years and
she is very wonderful,
competent,
and available
24/7.
The facts are
simple; we are
trying to safe lives
here and nothing
else. Let me share
with you some facts that you may or may
not want know. Because of human irresponsibility,
we take in an average of 65
dogs and cats per week and we can only
house so many. In fact, last Monday we
took in 36 dogs and cats then on Tuesday,
of the same week we took in another 22
animals. Where do they all go? You tell
me. The sad reality is there are not
enough good homes for these pets. We
manage to only connect about 10 lost animals
to their owners per week. We also,
only adopt out around 70 per month. Did
you know that last year we took in over
3400 animals and had to euthanize
around 1700? Why do we have to euthanize
so many? Three reasons, two of
which are major contributors: 1) Animals
are not tagged or chipped and the owner
never thinks to check the shelter (these
animals shouldn't have to die, but they
do); 2) we get litters and litters of
unwanted puppies and kittens because
irresponsible people won't get their animals
spayed or neutered; and, 3) the least,
of which, is owner surrender, can't keep,
and never gets adopted.
If we let animals go out un-altered
just because they are puppies and kittens,
then there would be cases where people
wouldn't bring them back to be
spayed/neutered, or the animals would
get loose and whoops, now she is pregnant
or he got a female pregnant. How
many more would those offspring reproduce,
and so on and so on…We are putting
down too many healthy animals
because of irresponsible pet owners.
I have the best and worst job in the
world; it is rewarding and heartbreaking
all in one. So, before you criticize on
something you know nothing about,
come down and talk with us and see what
we go through everyday. It is always
much easier to judge than to jump in and
lend a helping hand. The fact is, we have
a competent staff and board whose goal is
to protect these and all animals and,
hopefully one day in our community, to
drastically reduce the number of animals
euthanized. To the person who wrote the
article, if you could spend a week in my
shoes, I bet you would change your mind
about us, the Columbus-Lowndes
Humane Society.
Sincerely,
Jason Nickles
Shelter Manager
Editor:
Everybody has their own beliefs.
Based not on certainty, but on what seems
right and true or probable.
Why can’t you all give this man Mr.
Studdard a chance to help these children?
The prisons are full, over-crowded with
kids that couldn’t help themselves
because the lack of funds. If this man
wants to do a good thing, let him. It takes
a bail of money to get a good lawyer.
It might not be your children, maybe
that’s the reason you don’t want him to
help others. But the way God looks at it,
all children are ours - white, black, whatever
color. I am a Christian, I love the
Lord, and I love any
idea that can help
our children and
grandchildren.
So, I am asking
whoever this
building concern.
In the name of
Jesus, I pray you
will give him a
chance. Prayer
works! Because
Jesus said anything
we ask in Him
name, His Father in Heaven will give it to
us. That’s my prayer.
A concerned
grandmother,
Gertrude Shanklin
Editor:
As a parent, I have great concerns
about the abilities of our so-called leaders
in the school system.
In 2007 Caledonia hired a Coach to
represent our school as the Lady Feds
Fastpitch Coach. Prior to her becoming
the Lady Feds coach, we were District
North half and State Champs. When you
came to the Lady Feds Field, you could
feel the love of the game in the air, spirits
were flowing, bleachers packed to capacity,
fans cheering,
and the Lady Feds
playing their hearts
out. Now I am sad to
say, this has ended,
bleachers near
empty, spirits broken,
and the love of
the game ripped from
their hearts. This
coach benched 3 seniors,
who have
played for 6 years,
and repeatedly questioned
their abilities -
she said, “due to the
lack of leadership.”
Is it lack of leadership
that we question
our coaching inabilities?
I believe that
leadership should
start and also be
shown by your
coach, which she
failed to do, and furthermore,
since when
is it written in stone
that seniors have to
be the leaders? This
is how our Coach plays ball. She gets
mad and quits talking to the girls, she distances
herself from the team as if she is
ashamed of them, declines comment to
the newspaper after losing a ballgame,
and not talking to the girls, but talking
about them to others. She tells me that
she would rather quit coaching than to
coach my daughter, but yet picks her to
play and represent the Lady Feds in the
2008 All-Star Games for the State of
Mississippi. Isn’t that what we would call
a double standard? Well, coach, you like
to quote scriptures? I have one for you:
James 1:8 “A double minded man is
unstable in all of his ways.”
This program is for our children.
They are the ones who dedicate and sacrifice
social events, family gatherings,
and many other things too numerous to
mention, but yet it doesn’t seem important
enough to our Athletic Director,
Principal, or the Superintendent to
address these issues that we as parents
have presented to them. Without our children
you have no program, or does it
truly matter as long as pay-day comes?
When you are a leader and it involves our
children, ask yourself at the end of the
day have you done all you can do? We as
parents need your support in backing our
children when it comes to doing what’s
right, as this is the future that will lead
America one day. I ask that you continue
to pray for our leaders, that they will
make the right decision for the good of
the children. So, to our seniors, Kelsey,
Savannah & Kristen, through the curve
balls the coach threw you, you showed
true leadership and that makes you the
winners!!!!!
Valerie Riley
Editor:
My letter is to the “Humane Society.”
I have been a patron of the Columbus-
Lowndes Humane Society on one or two
occasions. I am appalled at the “treatment”
that is going on at the Humane
Society. I work at a vet clinic here in
town and was witness to a 15-oz. kitten
that was spayed at the CLHS. Per the
owner, they begged them not to spay this
kitten that they would give them the
money and come back because she was
just too little. The Humane Society said no, they couldn’t do that, and that they
had to “maintain their statistics.” Despite
the treatment we could give, that kitten
died.
I am sitting here wondering to myself
what the statistics are on the kitten and
puppies they spay or neuter and find dead
in the morning. The “Humane Society”
no longer seems to care about the inividual
animal, just the statistic. It should be
malpractice to provide surgery and other
services without follow-up treatment
when they screw up. We as veterinary
professionals are losing clients and revenue
to low-cost spay/neuter programs
that some of our clients are perfectly able
to pay for and we end up seeing the animals
when they get sick from the lowcost
surgery.
My opinion is you get what you pay
for as far as that is concerned. I don’t
think the shelter is so much a shelter anymore
as a processing plant. The faster we
can get them in and out our doors dead or
alive, the better. I think the shelter management
and the board need a complete
overhaul and find
someone who cares
about the animals as
individuals and not
just the numbers.
Sincerely,
Heather Reynolds
Editor:
Open Letter to the Good People of Our Community
Columbus’War on Drugs:
As you might already know,
Columbus is in a battle. We, as police
officers, are sad to say we are losing this battle. “The battle” we are referring to is
illegal drugs. There is a big misconception
that our community has been
immune to this problem. We have arrested
people that are trafficking large
amounts of cocaine, marijuana and meth
through Columbus—our community!!!
With your help, we can turn the table on
drug dealers in Columbus.
Specially trained dogs are the only
way to detect and help conquer this “battle”
with drugs. They are able to locate
drugs that have been concealed inside
automobiles and houses that a human
would not be able to detect. This workload
is now falling on one dog due to the
recent “retirement” of several older
canines. We are in desperate need for
more dogs that will tremendously help in
our “battle.” These dogs will be dual purpose
canines trained in detecting all drug
types as well as apprehension and protection.
The price to purchase just one of
these dogs will be $12,500. Our police
officers can only do so much to bring
drug dealers under the judicial boundaries
that our normal citizens are living
under without the use of these highly
trained canines.
The cost of 2 canines is a financial
mountain that we haven’t been able to
overcome. If we could get help from people
and organizations like you in sponsoring
some part of the cost of these dogs,
the training and cost of the three week
class will be paid by the city. If we can’t
make a stand against drug dealers or
keep drugs away from the kids of
Columbus, who will? To get further information
or to speak to
someone directly,
please call one of the
following officers at
any time:
Sgt. Glenn
Culpepper - 364-
2456
Patrolman Wade
Beard - 251-2077
Patrolman Heath Beard - 386-7906
Shelia Elder, Secretary to the Chief
of Police - 244-3528
Working with you for a safer community!!!
Joseph St. John
Chief of Police
Dear Roger:
Just a note to let you know how much
Carol and I enjoyed the picture of Mother
and Daddy with Frances Stinson, and the
accompanying article. It really brought
back fond memories of days gone by. It’s
remarkable to know that she’s been a
“government employee” for over sixty
years!
We love the pictures and articles of
days past and hope you continue to print
some.
Sincerely,
Becki Propst Vassar
Dear Editor,
It seems that Dr. Del Phillips and the
Columbus Municipal School Board are
blinded by short sighted gains mostly
with regards to funding. The 54-acre site
they selected on Hwy 45 is perfect for the
60 kids from Columbus AFB who left
with their federal funding for the
Caledonia Schools, but does nothing for
the rest of the Columbus community, let
alone the children of the city of
Columbus. Selecting a school site 3-5
miles north of town, outside of the city
limits, on the most heavily traveled five
lane road in the
county is a poor
selection with a
lot of drawbacks.
Less than 50
children from the
air base will be
eligible to attend
this new school
at any one time
and they will
have an easy
short drive down
373. But for the
vast majority of
students who live
east of downtown
Columbus,
the board has
selected a one
hour one way bus
ride for them;
and to participate
in extracurricular
activities, staying
after school
hours, their parents
are locked
into a 30 minute
round trip venture
thru rush
hour traffic in
"small town
America." All
this in the face of
rising gas prices
and diesel for
buses at $4 a gallon, double the price
paid for bus fuel in
2006. What is the estimated
increased bus
fuel costs for this new
location at $4/gallon
(How much will it be
when the school opens
in 2010?), which now
includes a minimum 3
mile one way ride out
of the city limits, past
the 10 other possible
sites?
I don't think Dr.
Phillips chooses to
know how much that
will cost the taxpayers
of Columbus or the
parents of the children
who live in east
Columbus. He and the
CMSB are too
obsessed with chasing
the federal funding
they lost a year ago.
Did the board have a
discussion about the
safety issues surrounding
placement of the
school site on the
busiest stretch of road
in the county? I didn't
hear about that plan. Who will pay for
the street lights, the extra law enforcement
needs? Will that be bond money?
Who knows, not the school board. The
last issue is that of Community pride.
Why will a majority of the parents of the
fine middle school aged children of this
town have to travel an inordinate amount
of time, paying a premium for gas, to participate
with their children at school, be it
a daily drop off or pick up, watching a
play, conferencing with teachers, or
watching a basketball game? Is the federal
money worth it? Perhaps not.
The Citizens of Columbus voted for a
bond issue worth $22 Million and now
the fruit of their efforts will be represented
by another annoying stop light on the
way to Tupelo. Poor choice, hastily
made, Dr Phillips. Thank goodness the
deal is not final yet, call your school
board representative at 241-7400 and
leave them a message and let them know
how you feel about their decision.
Jordan Smith
Columbus
Editor:
Once again, the originator and organizer
of "Grillin' on the River", Harvey
Myrick, has another feather in his cap!
Harvey, along with the affable Chuck
Cook of Magnolia Motor Speedwa, made
all who participated in, or attended the
"Grillin' on the River" event feel welcome.
Sherry Whitehead of Cumulus
Broadcasting was our Guardian Angel.
She was everywhere at all times promoting
our cause with the individuals and
groups in attendance.
We, as the Columbus-Lowndes
Humane Society, were fortunate to be the
recipients of donations made and are
deeply grateful. It was an added plus for
us to be able to bring eight dogs and cats
to the site and find loving homes for each
of them. The event was well planned and
very well organized. Everyone in attendance
enjoyed themselves - from the
grilling teams, the
older adults, the
young couples with
children, to the
numerous vendors.
Last weekend was a
compliment to the
City of Columbus.
Thank you, Harvey
and Chuck, for allowing us to be a part of it.
Sincerely,
The Columbus-Lowndes Humane
Society Board of Directors and
Employees
Post Office Box 85
Columbus, MS 39703
Editor:
Even though the prosecuting witnesses
swore "to tell the truth, the whole truth
& nothing but the truth, so help me God",
they told BIG lies that had a BIG impact
on the jury for the Feb. 19 & 20 trial of
Michael Gene Ray at the Lowndes Co.
court house for the stabbing death of
Daniel Hudson June
17, 2005. This took
place in Mike Ray's
yard, near The Slab
House on
Caledonia/Vernon
Road, Caledonia,
Miss. I've known
Mike all his life. He
is a caring, compassionate
man that loves his family--not a
murderer ! Mike did what anyone else
would have done in his situation--defend
his sister, himself and his home. Had he
not, he would have easily been the victim
instead of Danny because Danny was
throwing dangerous concrete rocks at
Mike (I saw them). Had one of the rocks
hit Mike in the right spot, it would have
killed him. He acted in self defense.
Mike has been a better daddy figure for
Alecia than Danny because of Danny's
two stints in prison most of her life due to
armed robbery. He had been released an
approximate year when the stabbing took
place.. Alecia's time with Danny was little
and that time with him was also shared
with a woman Danny was living with
outside of marriage--another bad example
for a parent/child relationship.
I was present both days of the trial
and easily saw in the beginning that the
trial was unfair for Mike. The court
house had a poor sound system. When I
complained about not being able to hear,
the first deputy said "I can't either." The
2nd. one "we've been trying to get a better
one, but not so far." The 3rd. said "go
tell the judge." That was impossible because there's a wood divider with a
gate that we weren't allowed to go
through.
Alecia, a sweet, precious, Christian
girl, was only 11 yrs. old June 2005.
Even though a bright and intelligent
child, it was impossiible to remember
step by step in correct order after 2 1/2
yrs. before the trial. Doris & Sheila were
too scared/ex- cited to report some
important facts to law officials present
that night.They were concentrating on the
present, not upcoming days in court; otherwise,
Sheila would have told about
Danny's knocking the trailer door facing
& lock off (this I also saw)so he could get
inside to physically abuse her like he'd
done a lot of times in the past & Doris
would have thought to report Danny's
threat to kill Mike. Jimmy Wright (operator
of Slab House)denied Danny asking
him, “Where's Mike? I'm gonna' kill
him—the S.O.B,” yet Danny was talking
directly to Jimmy, who has no hearing
problem, but obviously has a problem
with telling the truth—like Renae. His
reason for lying shows his cowardness of
the truth. Renae said when she saw
Danny lying on the ground, his intestines
were coming out of the stab wound—
NOT true! Sheila and Alecia were closer
longer to Danny as he lay on the ground,
no intestines were visible! Several of the
medical field that are familiar with such
said those statements were made out of
ignorance and stupidity. Renae also said
there were no rocks even though there
were pictures available for proof and
again, I saw the rocks! These oversights
and lying witnesses (products of The
Slab House and other hell-hole beer
joints like it) made the case easy for the
prosecuting attorney.
I'm only one
of the many that
wonder why God
hasn't directed one
of the most damaging
tornados
thru these
s o r r y / r o t t e n
places, tearing
them to splinters
and scattering
them all over the
world! Maybe
there's worse yet
to come ?!?!
Nothing good
comes from these
places only illicit
sex, violence and
crime—this stabbing
death is only
one good example.
The scars last a
l i f e t i m e - w i t h
hatred, bitterness,
sadness, tears,
worries, suffering,
heartbreaks, etc.
Reba Cooper
Birmingham,
Ala.
Editor:
Is Evolution
Theory Racist?
I believe a
recent Associated
Press story titled
Creation Museum founder releases book
calling evolution theory racist was inaccurate
and misleading. The writer, Dylan
Lovan, put the usual
spin on the topic in
an attempt to discredit
Ken Ham’s
position that evolutionary
theory is
racist. To this end he
quotes David
Schultz, a biology
Professor, who said
that Darwin had a
history of “speaking
out against slavery”.
“Darwin was not a
racist”, he further
quoted Schultz.
In defense of
Darwin— Internet
sites maintained by
ardent Darwinists
attempt to defend his
racial views. They
quote his writings
that decried slavery
and the mistreatment
of indigenous individuals
by European
explorers. But they
failed to point out
that you can be a racist and still oppose slavery.
Missed the point— I think the writer
of that AP story and the sources he quoted
all missed the point. The basic premise
of evolutionary dogma presupposes a naturalistic
process that can be explained
totally without reference to the
Supernatural. Although most people in
our country have heard of Charles
Darwin’s famous book, I’m guessing few
have read it. Even fewer probably know
its full title: The Origin of Species By
Means of Natural Selection, Or the
Preservation of Favorable Races in the
Struggle for Life.
Hitler and evolution— And if
Survival of the Fittest is the supreme rule
of the Universe, who’s to say it’s wrong
for a despot like Hitler to try to improve
the human condition for all time by eliminating
those whom he considered “inferior”?
If superior races survive, won’t the
inferior ones perish? If so, then he was
just helping things along; speeding up the
inevitable. No, we are told in Lovan’s
article, quoting Eugenie Scott, executive
director of the National Center for
Science Education, that “Hitler rarely
mentioned evolution”. Hitler also mentioned
God, we are also told, though I’m
not sure what this adds to the argument.
Darwinian influence on Nazi policies
- Biology professor Dr. Jerry Berg writes
“Leading Nazis, and early 1900 influential
German biologists, revealed in their
writings that Darwin’s theory and publications
had a major influence upon Nazi
race policies. Hitler believed that the human gene pool could be
improved by using selective
breeding similar to how
farmers breed superior cattle
strains. In the formulation of
their racial policies, Hitler’s
government relied heavily
upon Darwinism, especially
the elaborations by Spencer
and Haeckel.”
No, the argument that
evolution theory is racist is
not a “ploy to get evolution
out of the curriculum” as
reported in the AP article.
Instead, the evidence adequately
supports the contention
that it is racist,
unpopular as this is among
Darwin followers.
Darwinists are crying like
stuck pigs over the Ben
Stein movie “Expelled”,
which opened last week in
the top ten in box office
receipts. This movie is filled
with examples of those who
have lost their jobs, mostly
within academia, because
they dared to question the
Darwinian dogma. Most
Darwinians seem to detest
the notion that there may be
an intelligent designer
behind the origin of life. And
yet, as we saw in “Expelled”,
leading evolutionists have
not the foggiest notion of
how life began.
Gerald McKibben
Starkville
Editor:
My wife, Cindy, and I moved from southside two years ago back home to the Sessums community in Oktibbeha county. Sessums is located approximately midway between Artesia and the MSU MSU campus. We built a house down in my horse pasture where 15 years ago we built about a three-acre lake just down the hill from our house site.
For five or six years in a row, we have had a pair of Canada geese nest on the little island in our lake. We named them Gus and Gussie and we can differentiate by the fact that Gus, the gander, is a good bit larger than his mate and I presume you know that Canadas mate for life. I feed the geese corn over on the far bank of the lake and as you may or may not know, geese love green grass and they graze in the pasture with our horses who have become quite used to them. Just across Crawford Road from our lake is a big open soybean field, unplanted as yet and very grassy, so Gus and Gussie often fly over there to forage. If you will watch a pair of Canada geese, they take turns feeding. One always stands guard with its head up while the other grazes.
Friday afternoon about six-thirty I had gone down to the far end of my pasture to feed my horses. Cindy was sitting on the front porch when she noticed a truck slow and stop just past our driveway. She heard one shot and then another. She said they were small caliber rifle shots. We have had trouble with road-hunters before and she yelled for me but there was a wind and her cries went unheard. When I came back to the house she said that a very shiny, silver, four-door truck had stopped and shot from the road at something over in the big field. As we do on most days, I had seen wild turkeys in the bean field earlier in the day and assumed that the road-hunters had shot at them. I jumped in my truck and rode to the south and saw the truck my wife had described at a trailer about nearby on Crawford Road. I stopped to find two boys and a girl, MSU students on the front porch. They admitted that they had just returned from “riding around” but denied they had shot from the road. From the nervous way the truck owner acted, I was sure I had the right party but at least now he knew that in this community we won't tolerate road-hunters. Please bear in mind that, at this time, I was fairly calm because I thought he was shooting at the turkeys. Please read on.
Returning home, I didn't really notice Gus and Gussie. They fly around the neighborhood some but are always here at night. Just after dark we begin to hear the most disconsolate honkings from the lake. It continued even after we went to bed and I remarked to my wife that our geese were mighty upset over something. Each year other pairs of Canadas attempt to take over Gussie's Island and I presumed it was just the normal “goose wars” or maybe a racoon prowling the bank. Saturday morning as I drove across the levee of the lake, I saw something grey in the water, caught up on a willow limb at the far end of the lake. As I drove closer, my heart sank, it was a goose, floating belly-up. I jumped out and pulled Gussie from the water and found the place the bullet struck her, a gut shot, just beneath her breast, yet somehow, mortally wounded with the painful gut shot, she had made it home. Now it put a tear in my eye to wonder if all the honkings were Gus calling for us to help. Gus was gone and we haven't seen him since.
Now I knew what the road-hunters were shooting at so I doubled back to get my wife and we headed south. As we topped the hill and came in sight of the trailer, my wife said “I see the truck.” I asked her if she was sure and she said
“absolutely.” No one was home but we took the tag number.
I called the game wardens but of course, the shooter denies it and with no clear-cut proof, we have no case but, you know, in this world we live in these days, we have crackheads, methheads, thugs, vandals, looters and thieves. Would we not like to think that “MSU students” would be cut from a different cloth, fine young men and women who would live by higher standards of conduct?
To me every person in that truck who held his or her tongue to let this degenerate young man shoot our goose is just as guilty as the shooter. His actions reflected upon MSU, his family, his raising, and especially, his father. What kind of father would raise a son that would, with no qualm or moral twinge, out of season, from a public road, during nesting season, with her lifelong soulmate standing guard beside her, trusting that he had just stopped just to admire his beautiful mate, shoot our sweet Gussie? And now he isn't even man enough to admit his misdeed and offer and apology.
But even if we can't prosecute, the dean of students and I aren't through with him yet.
(Attached picture is of Gussie just after I pulled her from the water.)
Mike Reese
Sessums
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