Letters to the Editor 08-25-1999
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
- Skateboarding - Evolution - Taxes - Animal Welfare - Accident - Animal Welfare - Pierceton Days - Puppy Hit And Run
Skateboarding
Editor, Times-Union:Hello, I'm a skateboarder writing to you about the problems with the Warsaw police and us "skaters." All we want to do is have fun and enjoy life to the fullest. The Warsaw police seem to not like the idea of us having fun. Sure, they built us a skate park, but it costs money. That's like putting a price on the one thing that you really love to do. I can't skate down my own street without getting harassed by my neighbors. They will call the police on me just for skating down the street. It's ridiculous to think that you cannot have fun without getting in trouble for it. When the police do get there they automatically think that drugs are involved. This is just a stereotype. Not all people who skate do drugs. That is what most skaters try to stay away from. Another thing that the police will do (not naming names), will swear at you and make sure that you are scared of them. I have gotten a $25 fine for skating in town. I had the help of my parents to pay the fine. Then my friend My-Shaun Beam got his skateboard taken away for sitting on a curb with his skateboard in his hand. This is really unbelievable to think that the police don't have anything better to do than bust some kid on a piece of wood.
Another thing that we can't have is respect. Most people think that we are just some loser kids out to cause trouble. All we really want to do is have fun and not get in trouble for it. Actually, most skaters are very polite and intelligent people. Skating is not just some hobby to us it is a passion. It is a way of life. People may not realize it but skateboarding is what keeps us out of trouble. By skating we can express ourselves in a way that people who don't skate can't.
Imagine if you were a basketball player and you went to go shoot hoops with your friend. When you got there, there was a sign above the backboard that said "No shooting." Now if you have spent a good part of your life practicing at basketball and were not about to give up, wouldn't you just wait until the shop closed and then go play basketball? That is what we try to do. People should start giving skateboarding the respect it deserves. It is just like any other sport. Have you ever seen a person get a ticket for dribbling a basketball down the sidewalk? I think that something in Warsaw needs to change. I think the police need to change their attitude toward us skaters. I think the city should give us something to skate besides a skate park.ÊSure ramps can be fun but street stuff is better. I think the city should give us an abandoned warehouse or building that nobody is using. All we want is respect and a place to skate without getting in trouble (besides the skate park). That is all we ask. Thank you for taking the time to read my letter and listening to all of our complaints. Hopefully things will change.
Brandon Sensibaugh, 14, via e-mail
Evolution
Editor, Times-Union:Andy Rooney's Aug. 17 editorial, "Kansas Joins The Ranks Of The Flat Earth Society," berates and insults the Kansas Board of Education for "decreeing that Darwin's theory of evolution be removed from the state's school curriculum." He then waxes nostalgic about pleasant memories of his father-in-law surrounded by volumes of leather bound, literary masterpieces including the works of Charles Darwin. Rooney rues the fact that though people admire such works they have not read them. (I have, has Mr. Rooney?)
He then argues that the theory of evolution should be included in curricula because of its significance to society, stating, "no scientist of any stature doubts the significance of (Darwin's) work. For educators in Kansas to eliminate study of it from their school curriculum is stupidity. Teach kids to doubt it if they wish, but teach it and let them decide." What Mr. Rooney fails to mention is that that kind of open-minded treatment of the subject of origins is precisely what the advocates of the creation model debated there; the creationists simply wanted the creation model to be presented as well as the evolution model. The creationists would agree with Mr. Rooney, "teach it and let them decide." But according to Rooney and those who reason as he does, that kind of open-mindedness should only be applied to the theory of evolution. The evolutionists insist on censoring any mention of creation in the curriculum. For that reason, the Kansas Board of Education decided that the only equitable solution to the impasse was to eliminate teaching on the subject of origins all together.
I submit that Rooney's rationale is not only glaringly hypocritical, it is blindly or willfully ignorant. Would he argue that the biblical account of creation, or for that matter, the entire Bible as a literary masterpiece, is any less significant with respect to its effect on our society than Darwin's "Origin of the Species?" Yet the entire Bible has, by decree, been virtually banned from all public forum, especially from our institutions of education. "Let them decide," is exactly what, and all, that the creationists are asking for in Kansas, and in all public school curricula across the nation. Are creationists looking for a flat Earth, Mr. Rooney? I don't think so -Êhow about a flat playing field.
Ben Scripture, Warsaw
Taxes
Editor, Times-Union:To Senator Gramm ... I saw you stand at the rostrum and address the Senate. The words you spoke were: "The poor don't pay tax."
I believe you mistook or overlooked that the poor have to pay tax on 100 percent of their yearly earnings. As opposed to those who earn enough so that only a portion of their earnings are taxed. So the bigger burden lies on the poor being taxed on 100 percent of their earnings.
Tax is: you must pay or ! Social Security tax is not any different. All tax is for the good used for the many. Where does the tax dollar go? If one were to pay the yearly social security tax, as the poor do, for all their earning years and expire after 64 years and 364 days of age and their spouse does likewise, in such case you can't say that the tax they paid benefited them.
Oh! Oh! Oh! There I go, I said tax.
So Senator Gramm, be blessed as the poor are blessed not paying tax and go ahead, the poor won't mind. Allow the social security branch to dip out of 100 percent of your yearly earnings as they do for the poor and, yes, then tell the poor they do not pay tax.
Here are other items you must believe are not tax: excise, sales, state, city, driver, school, auto, etc.
If the Senators, and there are some, agree with you let them be blessed too, as you would be blessed.
Carl Ottenbreit, Pierceton
Animal Welfare
Editor, Times-Union:We both were sickened when we read that once again the Kosciusko County Council have condemned the homeless animals at the Animal Welfare Shelter to suffering days of triple-digit degree heat because of no air conditioning and death because of resumption of a kill policy to cover up inadequate, inappropriate housing and minimal funding.
Of course, Kosciusko County and Warsaw can build a new Visitor's Center, a multi-million dollar jail and buy the Comfort Inn to house prisoners - no problem. But they won't take care of our helpless animals who can't speak for themselves and only have love to offer.
Come on, residents of Kosciusko County, vote councilmen Bertsch, Tranter and Jones out of office. Let's elect representatives who are in step with Whitley County and other communities and states who have some compassion and have stopped the killing of helpless animals.
Bill and Bonnie Moberly, Warsaw
Accident
Editor, Times-Union:Just writing on account of the wreck that killed 3 people. I work with Daniel's family. Six of them work at the Ramada with me, and also the other young man's stepmother works there. It was a sad day Sunday to come to work and hear that news. At first we only knew about Daniel's passing and then we got a phone call around 10 in the morning and learned of the other. It was all strange trying to figure out if they were connected or not and it was a very sad day. I want to let all affected by this know that I care and am sorry for their losses. All of us at the Ramada are deeply sorry and will be there for you in any way. Not only are you our co-workers but also our friends and we all felt a bit of your pain.
Sarah Foreman, via e-mail
Animal Welfare
Editor, Times-Union:We would publicly like to thank the Warsaw City Council for their compassion and courage in trying to help us survive. Their potential contribution of $10,000 shows that they care about the animals. We are also going to try to obtain similar support from other towns and cities in the county.
Bob Brilliandt, treasurer, Animal Welfare League and Board of Directors
Pierceton Days
Editor, Times-Union:I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people that helped to make our activities during Pierceton Days a success.
The monies will be used for our many programs to help veterans and their families.
A special thanks to Commander Gary O'Dell of Post 258 for helping sell tickets on both days.
Robin Cole, president Unit 258 Pierceton
Puppy Hit And Run
Editor, Times-Union:To the puppy reply letters!
Come on people get real like the family wanted to let the dog and have it killed. You say it's not the driver's fault, well maybe so. But as a licensed driver it IS his or her responsibility to stop and see if maybe the animal was still alive to maybe help it.
So if it is OK to hit and run to an animal that is a family member then you're saying the same comes true for any family member. I can't believe the ignorance of these letters I read. Can we all have a moment to just gather our thoughts ... wasn't that nice? That's what the ignorant need to do before they write another letter or get behind the wheel!
Adam Rothenberger, via e-mail
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- Skateboarding - Evolution - Taxes - Animal Welfare - Accident - Animal Welfare - Pierceton Days - Puppy Hit And Run
Skateboarding
Editor, Times-Union:Hello, I'm a skateboarder writing to you about the problems with the Warsaw police and us "skaters." All we want to do is have fun and enjoy life to the fullest. The Warsaw police seem to not like the idea of us having fun. Sure, they built us a skate park, but it costs money. That's like putting a price on the one thing that you really love to do. I can't skate down my own street without getting harassed by my neighbors. They will call the police on me just for skating down the street. It's ridiculous to think that you cannot have fun without getting in trouble for it. When the police do get there they automatically think that drugs are involved. This is just a stereotype. Not all people who skate do drugs. That is what most skaters try to stay away from. Another thing that the police will do (not naming names), will swear at you and make sure that you are scared of them. I have gotten a $25 fine for skating in town. I had the help of my parents to pay the fine. Then my friend My-Shaun Beam got his skateboard taken away for sitting on a curb with his skateboard in his hand. This is really unbelievable to think that the police don't have anything better to do than bust some kid on a piece of wood.
Another thing that we can't have is respect. Most people think that we are just some loser kids out to cause trouble. All we really want to do is have fun and not get in trouble for it. Actually, most skaters are very polite and intelligent people. Skating is not just some hobby to us it is a passion. It is a way of life. People may not realize it but skateboarding is what keeps us out of trouble. By skating we can express ourselves in a way that people who don't skate can't.
Imagine if you were a basketball player and you went to go shoot hoops with your friend. When you got there, there was a sign above the backboard that said "No shooting." Now if you have spent a good part of your life practicing at basketball and were not about to give up, wouldn't you just wait until the shop closed and then go play basketball? That is what we try to do. People should start giving skateboarding the respect it deserves. It is just like any other sport. Have you ever seen a person get a ticket for dribbling a basketball down the sidewalk? I think that something in Warsaw needs to change. I think the police need to change their attitude toward us skaters. I think the city should give us something to skate besides a skate park.ÊSure ramps can be fun but street stuff is better. I think the city should give us an abandoned warehouse or building that nobody is using. All we want is respect and a place to skate without getting in trouble (besides the skate park). That is all we ask. Thank you for taking the time to read my letter and listening to all of our complaints. Hopefully things will change.
Brandon Sensibaugh, 14, via e-mail
Evolution
Editor, Times-Union:Andy Rooney's Aug. 17 editorial, "Kansas Joins The Ranks Of The Flat Earth Society," berates and insults the Kansas Board of Education for "decreeing that Darwin's theory of evolution be removed from the state's school curriculum." He then waxes nostalgic about pleasant memories of his father-in-law surrounded by volumes of leather bound, literary masterpieces including the works of Charles Darwin. Rooney rues the fact that though people admire such works they have not read them. (I have, has Mr. Rooney?)
He then argues that the theory of evolution should be included in curricula because of its significance to society, stating, "no scientist of any stature doubts the significance of (Darwin's) work. For educators in Kansas to eliminate study of it from their school curriculum is stupidity. Teach kids to doubt it if they wish, but teach it and let them decide." What Mr. Rooney fails to mention is that that kind of open-minded treatment of the subject of origins is precisely what the advocates of the creation model debated there; the creationists simply wanted the creation model to be presented as well as the evolution model. The creationists would agree with Mr. Rooney, "teach it and let them decide." But according to Rooney and those who reason as he does, that kind of open-mindedness should only be applied to the theory of evolution. The evolutionists insist on censoring any mention of creation in the curriculum. For that reason, the Kansas Board of Education decided that the only equitable solution to the impasse was to eliminate teaching on the subject of origins all together.
I submit that Rooney's rationale is not only glaringly hypocritical, it is blindly or willfully ignorant. Would he argue that the biblical account of creation, or for that matter, the entire Bible as a literary masterpiece, is any less significant with respect to its effect on our society than Darwin's "Origin of the Species?" Yet the entire Bible has, by decree, been virtually banned from all public forum, especially from our institutions of education. "Let them decide," is exactly what, and all, that the creationists are asking for in Kansas, and in all public school curricula across the nation. Are creationists looking for a flat Earth, Mr. Rooney? I don't think so -Êhow about a flat playing field.
Ben Scripture, Warsaw
Taxes
Editor, Times-Union:To Senator Gramm ... I saw you stand at the rostrum and address the Senate. The words you spoke were: "The poor don't pay tax."
I believe you mistook or overlooked that the poor have to pay tax on 100 percent of their yearly earnings. As opposed to those who earn enough so that only a portion of their earnings are taxed. So the bigger burden lies on the poor being taxed on 100 percent of their earnings.
Tax is: you must pay or ! Social Security tax is not any different. All tax is for the good used for the many. Where does the tax dollar go? If one were to pay the yearly social security tax, as the poor do, for all their earning years and expire after 64 years and 364 days of age and their spouse does likewise, in such case you can't say that the tax they paid benefited them.
Oh! Oh! Oh! There I go, I said tax.
So Senator Gramm, be blessed as the poor are blessed not paying tax and go ahead, the poor won't mind. Allow the social security branch to dip out of 100 percent of your yearly earnings as they do for the poor and, yes, then tell the poor they do not pay tax.
Here are other items you must believe are not tax: excise, sales, state, city, driver, school, auto, etc.
If the Senators, and there are some, agree with you let them be blessed too, as you would be blessed.
Carl Ottenbreit, Pierceton
Animal Welfare
Editor, Times-Union:We both were sickened when we read that once again the Kosciusko County Council have condemned the homeless animals at the Animal Welfare Shelter to suffering days of triple-digit degree heat because of no air conditioning and death because of resumption of a kill policy to cover up inadequate, inappropriate housing and minimal funding.
Of course, Kosciusko County and Warsaw can build a new Visitor's Center, a multi-million dollar jail and buy the Comfort Inn to house prisoners - no problem. But they won't take care of our helpless animals who can't speak for themselves and only have love to offer.
Come on, residents of Kosciusko County, vote councilmen Bertsch, Tranter and Jones out of office. Let's elect representatives who are in step with Whitley County and other communities and states who have some compassion and have stopped the killing of helpless animals.
Bill and Bonnie Moberly, Warsaw
Accident
Editor, Times-Union:Just writing on account of the wreck that killed 3 people. I work with Daniel's family. Six of them work at the Ramada with me, and also the other young man's stepmother works there. It was a sad day Sunday to come to work and hear that news. At first we only knew about Daniel's passing and then we got a phone call around 10 in the morning and learned of the other. It was all strange trying to figure out if they were connected or not and it was a very sad day. I want to let all affected by this know that I care and am sorry for their losses. All of us at the Ramada are deeply sorry and will be there for you in any way. Not only are you our co-workers but also our friends and we all felt a bit of your pain.
Sarah Foreman, via e-mail
Animal Welfare
Editor, Times-Union:We would publicly like to thank the Warsaw City Council for their compassion and courage in trying to help us survive. Their potential contribution of $10,000 shows that they care about the animals. We are also going to try to obtain similar support from other towns and cities in the county.
Bob Brilliandt, treasurer, Animal Welfare League and Board of Directors
Pierceton Days
Editor, Times-Union:I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people that helped to make our activities during Pierceton Days a success.
The monies will be used for our many programs to help veterans and their families.
A special thanks to Commander Gary O'Dell of Post 258 for helping sell tickets on both days.
Robin Cole, president Unit 258 Pierceton
Puppy Hit And Run
Editor, Times-Union:To the puppy reply letters!
Come on people get real like the family wanted to let the dog and have it killed. You say it's not the driver's fault, well maybe so. But as a licensed driver it IS his or her responsibility to stop and see if maybe the animal was still alive to maybe help it.
So if it is OK to hit and run to an animal that is a family member then you're saying the same comes true for any family member. I can't believe the ignorance of these letters I read. Can we all have a moment to just gather our thoughts ... wasn't that nice? That's what the ignorant need to do before they write another letter or get behind the wheel!
Adam Rothenberger, via e-mail
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