Letters to the Editor 11-14-1997
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
- TV Interference - High School Athletics - Pierceton Problem
TV Interference
Editor, Times-Union:We have lived just off highway 13, close to Barbee Lake, for four years. We have had excellent TV reception with our antenna during that time. But now since the second week of August of this year we have had interference, such as would be caused by a CB radio with a kicker (signal booster), which is absolutely illegal. We have contacted the local authorities about it with no results. So this letter is to let the person who is guilty know that our next step is to contact the FCC to get this problem resolved. I know some people will say put in cable to get away from the problem. But why should I pay for a service that I don't need or want just so another person can do as they please, illegally or not.
Dwight E. Harrell
Pierceton
High School Athletics
Editor, Times-Union:I feel the attitude our community and high school has toward the emphasis and importance in athletics over academics needs to be recognized. As a past student/athlete, I have just recently come upon this issue. With me being a student/athlete/member of the community, I feel everyone in the community shares some of the same value: our concern for future generations, need for fun, equality and physical fitness. I understand totally the enthusiasm we all show toward sports (basketball, for example), and how fun it is to participate in a winning team. But we need to focus on academics as well as athletics; in fact, much more.
My whole idea for this editorial is based on the ideal that college has shown me: academics comes first. Academics are very important to everyone's future. Where would we all be without a good education? Everyone should be able to work as hard as they possibly can without getting made fun of or treated differently. I understand everyone thinks sports are there to make you healthy, but before concentrating on health, you need a job to support yourself. To get that good job, you have to have a good education. The problem is the increasing excitement in sports in the schools, at home, and especially in the media. The importance of Michael Jordan and Greg Maddux is showing that money comes first. Not everyone can be successful in pro sports. Some are going to need a good education to get them through life. For example, compare a pro athlete salary to a teacher salary; what is the media portraying as more important?
School is the first place the importance of academics should be taught outside of the home. However, I feel at my school most of the community shows the importance toward athletics, which persuades others to not place as much attention on academics. An example is when our basketball team made it to state about two years ago. I bet about 95 percent of members of Warsaw remember that event. This is due to the fact that our community places an enormous amount of importance on basketball and other sports. Another example: My first year or two at Warsaw High we had pep rallies when post season came along for the sports teams. Finally, we started having "recognition convocations" two or three times a year to recognize programs such as Spell Bowl, DECA, etc. This was one big step in the right direction, but it was one taken only by the administration. Students and the community need to continue in the same frame of mind. School is supposed to be for equality and education, with athletics on the side.
I am writing to express my concern for all of our future. The media is paying more and more money to pro athletes, and less and less to teachers. As viewers of the media, we need to see the problems they are causing the lives of younger students. They just keep giving athletes more money and publicity, and some have never even finished high school. I would love to see a little change in the school, but I guess I really don't expect one, because of the popularity of sports. But why can't we be like foreign countries where education is most important and athletics are just club teams. If America's future is going to keep up with Japan, and other foreign countries, we need to step in our schools and pay more attention to academics.
Erica Bartlett
Former Student/Athlete at WCHS
Pierceton Problem
Editor, Times-Union:It is unfortunate that towns like Pierceton get trapped in situations of such magnitude. We had nothing to do with the private property that fell down, but since the owner can no longer care for it and hasn't paid taxes on it in years, it has turned into a real dilemma.
The town council has come up with a long-range solution for the problem, which I am sure will benefit the town. They have done an excellent job of solving the problem, we all hope. Unless the job turns into one immense cleanup costing more than $200,000, it will get done eventually. If the cleanup cost runs into much more than that, the town may be faced with something we just cannot afford.
While the plans to clean up the debris and possible pollution are long term and might even not occur because of excess cost, we are still faced with this huge eyesore right in the middle of our town. It will be at least six more months before anything gets hauled away, even if everything happens without a hitch.
Unfortunately, there is no short-term plan to clean up the site and we must all have this mess in our laps. If the long-range plans fall through, there is no plan in place to ever clean up our town's biggest pile.
The town council is afraid to do anything because by doing any work on the site, they may be held responsible for all the cleanup costs, whatever they are. However, there is no other governmental body or private individual that will accept this responsibility. Ultimately, the job will be for our town to cure. Sadly, this may almost financially cripple the ability of the town to take care of other needed public works, such as better streets.
We are all on the same side over here. We just differ a bit on how we want the problem handled.
James Townsend
Pierceton
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- TV Interference - High School Athletics - Pierceton Problem
TV Interference
Editor, Times-Union:We have lived just off highway 13, close to Barbee Lake, for four years. We have had excellent TV reception with our antenna during that time. But now since the second week of August of this year we have had interference, such as would be caused by a CB radio with a kicker (signal booster), which is absolutely illegal. We have contacted the local authorities about it with no results. So this letter is to let the person who is guilty know that our next step is to contact the FCC to get this problem resolved. I know some people will say put in cable to get away from the problem. But why should I pay for a service that I don't need or want just so another person can do as they please, illegally or not.
Dwight E. Harrell
Pierceton
High School Athletics
Editor, Times-Union:I feel the attitude our community and high school has toward the emphasis and importance in athletics over academics needs to be recognized. As a past student/athlete, I have just recently come upon this issue. With me being a student/athlete/member of the community, I feel everyone in the community shares some of the same value: our concern for future generations, need for fun, equality and physical fitness. I understand totally the enthusiasm we all show toward sports (basketball, for example), and how fun it is to participate in a winning team. But we need to focus on academics as well as athletics; in fact, much more.
My whole idea for this editorial is based on the ideal that college has shown me: academics comes first. Academics are very important to everyone's future. Where would we all be without a good education? Everyone should be able to work as hard as they possibly can without getting made fun of or treated differently. I understand everyone thinks sports are there to make you healthy, but before concentrating on health, you need a job to support yourself. To get that good job, you have to have a good education. The problem is the increasing excitement in sports in the schools, at home, and especially in the media. The importance of Michael Jordan and Greg Maddux is showing that money comes first. Not everyone can be successful in pro sports. Some are going to need a good education to get them through life. For example, compare a pro athlete salary to a teacher salary; what is the media portraying as more important?
School is the first place the importance of academics should be taught outside of the home. However, I feel at my school most of the community shows the importance toward athletics, which persuades others to not place as much attention on academics. An example is when our basketball team made it to state about two years ago. I bet about 95 percent of members of Warsaw remember that event. This is due to the fact that our community places an enormous amount of importance on basketball and other sports. Another example: My first year or two at Warsaw High we had pep rallies when post season came along for the sports teams. Finally, we started having "recognition convocations" two or three times a year to recognize programs such as Spell Bowl, DECA, etc. This was one big step in the right direction, but it was one taken only by the administration. Students and the community need to continue in the same frame of mind. School is supposed to be for equality and education, with athletics on the side.
I am writing to express my concern for all of our future. The media is paying more and more money to pro athletes, and less and less to teachers. As viewers of the media, we need to see the problems they are causing the lives of younger students. They just keep giving athletes more money and publicity, and some have never even finished high school. I would love to see a little change in the school, but I guess I really don't expect one, because of the popularity of sports. But why can't we be like foreign countries where education is most important and athletics are just club teams. If America's future is going to keep up with Japan, and other foreign countries, we need to step in our schools and pay more attention to academics.
Erica Bartlett
Former Student/Athlete at WCHS
Pierceton Problem
Editor, Times-Union:It is unfortunate that towns like Pierceton get trapped in situations of such magnitude. We had nothing to do with the private property that fell down, but since the owner can no longer care for it and hasn't paid taxes on it in years, it has turned into a real dilemma.
The town council has come up with a long-range solution for the problem, which I am sure will benefit the town. They have done an excellent job of solving the problem, we all hope. Unless the job turns into one immense cleanup costing more than $200,000, it will get done eventually. If the cleanup cost runs into much more than that, the town may be faced with something we just cannot afford.
While the plans to clean up the debris and possible pollution are long term and might even not occur because of excess cost, we are still faced with this huge eyesore right in the middle of our town. It will be at least six more months before anything gets hauled away, even if everything happens without a hitch.
Unfortunately, there is no short-term plan to clean up the site and we must all have this mess in our laps. If the long-range plans fall through, there is no plan in place to ever clean up our town's biggest pile.
The town council is afraid to do anything because by doing any work on the site, they may be held responsible for all the cleanup costs, whatever they are. However, there is no other governmental body or private individual that will accept this responsibility. Ultimately, the job will be for our town to cure. Sadly, this may almost financially cripple the ability of the town to take care of other needed public works, such as better streets.
We are all on the same side over here. We just differ a bit on how we want the problem handled.
James Townsend
Pierceton
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