Letters to the Editor 01-21-1999
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
- Wilcoxson Responds - Beware The Circus - President And Public Opinion
Wilcoxson Responds
Editor, Times-Union:In October, Mr. Beall produced an article on Winona Lake. At that time, I responded to him, in writing, to clarify some issues and to point out some errors in his article. That was done on a personal basis as opposed to a letter to you. My hope was that he would then take more care in researching his articles so that facts were presented accurately. Alas, my hope was ill founded. In the January 19, 1999, issue of your paper, Mr. Beall produced another article on Winona Lake. While interesting, the article was, unfortunately, based on an incorrect presupposition and contained factual errors. All of this could have been avoided by asking appropriate questions and receiving answers.
The incorrect presupposition is that Winona Lake is making a trade off between Park Avenue and a fire truck, or storm drainage, or other streets. The fact is that all of these have been approved and are capable of being funded within our current financial means. (The comment about the sanitary sewer should not be included since those funds, by state law, must be segregated for the sewer utility. Thus, street funds and property taxes cannot be used for the sewer utility and, conversely, sewer utility funds cannot be used for streets, etc.) If you had bothered to check the records you will find that the fire truck purchase was approved on a three to two vote. This should (and in fact, does) show that there is some question about the need for the new tanker. Despite this concern, the council approved spending $120,000 on a new tanker, but the sole bid received (in spite of the fact that there are numerous companies who supply tankers for fire departments) was for nearly $180,000. You surely would agree that a tanker can be found that will adequately protect Winona Lake residents for the approved amount of $120,000. Just as the council removed over $50,000 from the Park Avenue project, including sidewalks and turf repairs to private land destroyed in the process, a tanker can be purchased for an amount within our budgeted means. The issue is not whether or not the town has the money, it does, but whether a suitable piece of equipment can be acquired for a reasonable price.
Your cynical remarks regarding daisy merchants probably do not belong in an intelligent discussion of matters. Since no one has ever promised anything of the sort, the comments border on fabrication. In my discussions with potential occupants of the commercial district, I have had no one ask about fire protection. Since an 800-acre lake, a canal, fire hydrants, and other responding department tankers are within spitting distance, the merchants are not overly concerned about the purchase of a new tanker to haul water. They understand that the excellent department personnel and the equipment currently on hand are more than sufficient to fight any potential fires in the area and they will not directly benefit from the purchase of a new tanker.
I believe if you look at the amount of money Winona Restoration has spent on municipal infrastructure improvements you would realize how ignorant is the premise contained in the title of your article. There certainly should be no reason for the public to feel any friction since Winona Restoration, as a private concern, has paid for storm drainage for city streets, curbs, street lights, paving, repair to damaged turf areas, sidewalks and sanitary sewers that are actually the responsibility of the municipality.
It is interesting that the writer should single out spending $115,000 on Park Avenue, when nothing was heard about spending $90,000 on Pierceton Road, or $150,000 on Kings Highway, or $30,000 on 14th and 15th Streets, or any of the numerous street projects completed in Winona Lake over the last three years. Did the town really benefit from these expenditures or should the money have been spent on a new tanker, or a five story ladder truck, or putting in our own asphalt plant, or maybe starting our own landfill.
It would appear that you are sounding an old tune that was off key in the first place. The next time you want to raise issues, please make certain you know what you are talking about before using your position to authenticate fabrications. Responsible journalism demands that.
Brent Wilcoxson, Winona Lake
Editor's Note: The articles Wilcoxson refers to were opinion columns written by staff writer David Beall. While opinions may differ, Beall stands by the facts presented in those opinion columns. In order to allow Wilcoxson to respond, the 500-word limit on letters to the editor was waived.
Beware The Circus
Editor, Times-Union:It's almost time, once again, for that "fun" and "educational" experience called the circus. But before paying for the tickets and loading the kids into the van, I would just like to ask all those potential circus-goers to think about how "educational" the circus really is for their children, or how "fun" it is for the elephants, tigers and bears.
For years, the public has been led to believe that the performing animals in a circus are treated with kindness; that they are trained by being rewarded with treats by their patient trainers. The truth is, that what really goes on behind the scenes is so unbelievably cruel that many people find it easier to look the other way.
Instead of apples and carrots, whips, prods, bull hooks and food deprivation are used to "tame" the terrified animals into submission. These animals are forced to perform unnatural, even painful acts, often while ill. Animal's noses may be broken, or their paws burned during training. Newly captured baby elephants are "broken" by being chained by all four feet and beaten daily for up to a month. Their sensitive skin is sliced with sharp bull hooks during this training, and later, to control them throughout their lives in the circus.
If the training isn't enough, the animals are then forced to endure life on floors of cold concrete, in tiny cages, chained and traveling from place to place. Often, circus animals are not provided with adequate veterinary care. Many animals have died as a result of this incompetence. Animals will usually show signs of distress such as pacing, swaying and other unnatural behaviors that aren't exhibited in the wild. Some will become so distressed that they become dangerous, even deadly, to their trainers and to the public.
So before taking the kids to see elephants standing on their heads, tigers jumping through rings of fire and bears on bicycles, think about this: Have you ever tuned in to the Discovery channel or Animal Planet and seen an elephant standing on its head in a grassy savannah, or a tiger playing with fire in the jungle? What is the circus really teaching your children? What price do the animals pay? There are many circuses that do not use animals. Urge those who organize the circus to bring these kinds of cruelty-free circuses to Fort Wayne instead.
Heather Michael, Fort Wayne
President And Public Opinion
Editor, Times-Union:Your views column in the 1-9-99 Times-Union just about says it all. Congratulations! I truly appreciate this forum you provide to all of us - many views on many subjects are there for our consideration.
The prompt for my letter today was (is) Mr. Jack Anderson, the syndicated columnist. On Thursday, January 7, 1999, Mr. Anderson spoke to the National Press Club in Washington D.C. The topic was the "Presidency and Public Opinion." This was aired via C-SPAN. I saw and listened on Sunday, 1-10-99. I was very impressed with his content and delivery - morals and integrity were his salient points. Presidents Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, Kennedy, Truman and Eisenhower were talked about emphasizing their humility and integrity, also some footnotes on their lives. I recommend this speech to anyone regardless of his or her personal affiliations - political or otherwise.
I guess I was particularly pleased because years ago I thought he was too biased. But I saw and heard a big and balanced man giving his thoughts on the presidency and public opinion. Too bad C-SPAN is the only carrier of this event. I would personally like a tape or print of this event. Also, I feel the 70-80 percent of Americans polled for their popularity rating of our present president could profit from hearing Mr. Anderson, who has 52 years in newswork.
I hope I'm not too long in this letter or that the content doesn't qualify for your column.
P.S. I do want to thank Warsaw city for a fine job of snow removal.
B.J. Walker, Warsaw
[[In-content Ad]]
- Wilcoxson Responds - Beware The Circus - President And Public Opinion
Wilcoxson Responds
Editor, Times-Union:In October, Mr. Beall produced an article on Winona Lake. At that time, I responded to him, in writing, to clarify some issues and to point out some errors in his article. That was done on a personal basis as opposed to a letter to you. My hope was that he would then take more care in researching his articles so that facts were presented accurately. Alas, my hope was ill founded. In the January 19, 1999, issue of your paper, Mr. Beall produced another article on Winona Lake. While interesting, the article was, unfortunately, based on an incorrect presupposition and contained factual errors. All of this could have been avoided by asking appropriate questions and receiving answers.
The incorrect presupposition is that Winona Lake is making a trade off between Park Avenue and a fire truck, or storm drainage, or other streets. The fact is that all of these have been approved and are capable of being funded within our current financial means. (The comment about the sanitary sewer should not be included since those funds, by state law, must be segregated for the sewer utility. Thus, street funds and property taxes cannot be used for the sewer utility and, conversely, sewer utility funds cannot be used for streets, etc.) If you had bothered to check the records you will find that the fire truck purchase was approved on a three to two vote. This should (and in fact, does) show that there is some question about the need for the new tanker. Despite this concern, the council approved spending $120,000 on a new tanker, but the sole bid received (in spite of the fact that there are numerous companies who supply tankers for fire departments) was for nearly $180,000. You surely would agree that a tanker can be found that will adequately protect Winona Lake residents for the approved amount of $120,000. Just as the council removed over $50,000 from the Park Avenue project, including sidewalks and turf repairs to private land destroyed in the process, a tanker can be purchased for an amount within our budgeted means. The issue is not whether or not the town has the money, it does, but whether a suitable piece of equipment can be acquired for a reasonable price.
Your cynical remarks regarding daisy merchants probably do not belong in an intelligent discussion of matters. Since no one has ever promised anything of the sort, the comments border on fabrication. In my discussions with potential occupants of the commercial district, I have had no one ask about fire protection. Since an 800-acre lake, a canal, fire hydrants, and other responding department tankers are within spitting distance, the merchants are not overly concerned about the purchase of a new tanker to haul water. They understand that the excellent department personnel and the equipment currently on hand are more than sufficient to fight any potential fires in the area and they will not directly benefit from the purchase of a new tanker.
I believe if you look at the amount of money Winona Restoration has spent on municipal infrastructure improvements you would realize how ignorant is the premise contained in the title of your article. There certainly should be no reason for the public to feel any friction since Winona Restoration, as a private concern, has paid for storm drainage for city streets, curbs, street lights, paving, repair to damaged turf areas, sidewalks and sanitary sewers that are actually the responsibility of the municipality.
It is interesting that the writer should single out spending $115,000 on Park Avenue, when nothing was heard about spending $90,000 on Pierceton Road, or $150,000 on Kings Highway, or $30,000 on 14th and 15th Streets, or any of the numerous street projects completed in Winona Lake over the last three years. Did the town really benefit from these expenditures or should the money have been spent on a new tanker, or a five story ladder truck, or putting in our own asphalt plant, or maybe starting our own landfill.
It would appear that you are sounding an old tune that was off key in the first place. The next time you want to raise issues, please make certain you know what you are talking about before using your position to authenticate fabrications. Responsible journalism demands that.
Brent Wilcoxson, Winona Lake
Editor's Note: The articles Wilcoxson refers to were opinion columns written by staff writer David Beall. While opinions may differ, Beall stands by the facts presented in those opinion columns. In order to allow Wilcoxson to respond, the 500-word limit on letters to the editor was waived.
Beware The Circus
Editor, Times-Union:It's almost time, once again, for that "fun" and "educational" experience called the circus. But before paying for the tickets and loading the kids into the van, I would just like to ask all those potential circus-goers to think about how "educational" the circus really is for their children, or how "fun" it is for the elephants, tigers and bears.
For years, the public has been led to believe that the performing animals in a circus are treated with kindness; that they are trained by being rewarded with treats by their patient trainers. The truth is, that what really goes on behind the scenes is so unbelievably cruel that many people find it easier to look the other way.
Instead of apples and carrots, whips, prods, bull hooks and food deprivation are used to "tame" the terrified animals into submission. These animals are forced to perform unnatural, even painful acts, often while ill. Animal's noses may be broken, or their paws burned during training. Newly captured baby elephants are "broken" by being chained by all four feet and beaten daily for up to a month. Their sensitive skin is sliced with sharp bull hooks during this training, and later, to control them throughout their lives in the circus.
If the training isn't enough, the animals are then forced to endure life on floors of cold concrete, in tiny cages, chained and traveling from place to place. Often, circus animals are not provided with adequate veterinary care. Many animals have died as a result of this incompetence. Animals will usually show signs of distress such as pacing, swaying and other unnatural behaviors that aren't exhibited in the wild. Some will become so distressed that they become dangerous, even deadly, to their trainers and to the public.
So before taking the kids to see elephants standing on their heads, tigers jumping through rings of fire and bears on bicycles, think about this: Have you ever tuned in to the Discovery channel or Animal Planet and seen an elephant standing on its head in a grassy savannah, or a tiger playing with fire in the jungle? What is the circus really teaching your children? What price do the animals pay? There are many circuses that do not use animals. Urge those who organize the circus to bring these kinds of cruelty-free circuses to Fort Wayne instead.
Heather Michael, Fort Wayne
President And Public Opinion
Editor, Times-Union:Your views column in the 1-9-99 Times-Union just about says it all. Congratulations! I truly appreciate this forum you provide to all of us - many views on many subjects are there for our consideration.
The prompt for my letter today was (is) Mr. Jack Anderson, the syndicated columnist. On Thursday, January 7, 1999, Mr. Anderson spoke to the National Press Club in Washington D.C. The topic was the "Presidency and Public Opinion." This was aired via C-SPAN. I saw and listened on Sunday, 1-10-99. I was very impressed with his content and delivery - morals and integrity were his salient points. Presidents Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, Kennedy, Truman and Eisenhower were talked about emphasizing their humility and integrity, also some footnotes on their lives. I recommend this speech to anyone regardless of his or her personal affiliations - political or otherwise.
I guess I was particularly pleased because years ago I thought he was too biased. But I saw and heard a big and balanced man giving his thoughts on the presidency and public opinion. Too bad C-SPAN is the only carrier of this event. I would personally like a tape or print of this event. Also, I feel the 70-80 percent of Americans polled for their popularity rating of our present president could profit from hearing Mr. Anderson, who has 52 years in newswork.
I hope I'm not too long in this letter or that the content doesn't qualify for your column.
P.S. I do want to thank Warsaw city for a fine job of snow removal.
B.J. Walker, Warsaw
[[In-content Ad]]
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092