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On Your Mind is the Herald/Review’s telephone opinion line and is intended as a public forum for our readers. Comments represent the opinions of callers and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the newspaper or any specific knowledge that we have. Readers may share their opinions by calling 458-0332, or by e-mail to svhoym@transedge.com or regular mail at 102 Fab Ave., Sierra Vista AZ 85635. Please keep comments less than 90 seconds. Comments are edited and limited to 150 words.
June 11
Well folks, here we go again, a disgruntled Sierra Vistan who is upset with Cochise County and specifically Bisbee because of a Mexican film festival to be held there later in June. Evidently, this SV resident is upset with another country “brainwashing American citizens” on the topic of “invasion of illegals and Mexicans.” Gee, hasn’t our great country, the good ‘ole USA, used this tactic in other lands? I wonder where the Mexicans learned this strategy. And what happened with freedom of speech? Isn’t this what the founding fathers envisioned when they wrote the Constitution? As an American citizen and life-long resident of Cochise County and Bisbee, I resent somebody from Sierra Vista who is probably not even from Arizona dictating to anyone here in Cochise County. This is racial discrimination to the max. As a taxpayer, I also resent the thought of using taxpayer money to relocate and build the county seat in Sierra Vista.
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I was surprised to read tax dollars were providing almost 300 cell phones to school district employees. The school tax situation of late has left a “bad taste” in everyone’s mouth — and now we hear cellular telephones have been provided to school employees for their use. Thank goodness the vote carried to stop this. I have had many jobs where one of the provisions of me being hired was that I have a telephone. I am positive that most, and probably all, of the employees issued the cell phones had a “land line” or a personal cell phone available for the school district to contact them. And to add insult to injury, they were allowed to use the telephones for personal calls, as long as they reimbursed the school district for that portion of the telephone use. Again, someone had to administer this reimbursement practice, again with our tax dollars paying his/her salary.
This is about my concern about Buena High School’s graduation. I thought of many things I could say as I sat there freezing. The guests were freezing. The graduates were freezing. I heard you had another plan which was to move people inside by the guests with tickets being moved to the auditorium and the ones without tickets being moved to the theater and see the graduation on a big screen. Never happened because they were waiting for rain. There is other bad weather besides rain. If you don’t ever use your alternate plan, you will never know if it is going to work. To throw out another idea, you could ask the local television station or a Tucson station if they could broadcast the graduation. Never happened before. Oh well, that is where good ideas come from. You need to be commended for trying to please all of the general public.
Being a regular reader of the paper here in Sierra Vista I can’t believe this morning’s edition. The article about the policeman that was killed in Tucson was relegated to Page 5, seven small paragraphs. I’m not in law enforcement, but I think that’s a real slap in the face. Why would we put a story about soccer on the front page? That’s nice; any other time we can do that. I would like to meet the editor that made the decision. This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen.
Editor’s note: Thank you for your feedback. To correct one thing, the soccer camp photos didn’t have a story with them. As far as the officer’s funeral, we consider ourselves a local newspaper that puts local news first for consideration. That’s not to say other events aren’t important.
President Ahmadinejad of Iran has said that they have victory, that they will have a nuclear program and there’s nothing that anyone can do about it. There is something we could do about it. Unfortunately our country is going to worry about doing more sanctions. The only sanction they need is a real promise that they will not be allowed to proceed with their weapons production. Nothing will be safe for them. Median, Mecca, everything is a target. They need another Ronald Reagan; someone they believe will carry out a real threat. We are in a war for our lives and we have people who are trying to play it by the Marquis of Queensberry rules. If we don’t get a president in who has guts we are doomed.
There’s a Mexican food restaurant that’s notorious for overcharging repeatedly. When we go on a regular basis, there’s always items included that we never bought. Buyers and consumers beware of all the clerks and what you’re buying. Always check your tickets. Some clerks might think they’re getting away with it, but in the end they’re not. If they think they’re saving money for the company or making money for themselves, they’ll end up losing.
Editor’s note: If you are having a problem, we suggest you talk with a manager or owner.
Some of the write-ins and call-ins pertaining to our national politics leave no doubt that there’s a sizable amount of livable caves in Cochise County.
June 12
Thanks to the Herald/Review and other local corporations for being one of the corporate Friends of the Library Bookstore Sponsors. The director and commission are very grateful to corporate sponsors because all the activities, collections, programs, advantages, improvements, repairs, and even the building itself are funded in part by the bookstore, which is manned mainly by volunteers! The bookstore patrons also contribute when they join the Friends and each time they buy from that wonderful treasure trove. Thanks to all from a member of the public. The city loves you, too.
Thanks to an IRS ruling the school district has to take away phones from employees. Perhaps they had too many employees with phones in the first place. But isn’t it ridiculous that the IRS is worried about somebody making a few personal phone calls on a company phone? I wonder if they’re going to make people log their personal calls on land line phones? Or maybe if they use a Kleenex at work they should tax them for that, too. The IRS is a money-grubbing, over-powered agency and they need to be brought back into line. What we really need to do is go to a fair flat tax on everyone with zero loopholes.
In the June 11 newspaper there was an article about someone who currently lives in an apartment in Huachuca City who mentions his or her dogs are not allowed in the parks in Huachuca City. If this person has a vehicle and can afford gas to drive to Sierra Vista, Tompkins Park at South Seventh and Buffalo Soldier Trail has two wonderful free areas for your dog to run free. You go into a gated entryway, then go right or left into a quite large area where your dogs can run. There are some restrictions: You have to be with your dogs and they have to listen to your commands. It is well worth your time to go there and take a look.
OK, I’m confused. For the past two years Hillary Clinton’s supporters have been nodding their head at everything she says and rolling their eyes when Obama opens his mouth. OK. Now, when Hillary throws in the towel and endorses the person she’s been slinging mud at for the past two years, all of her followers will nod their heads at everything Obama says? Seriously? I’m also wondering when (if ever) a Barack Obama supporter will explain why they support him. I’ve heard the word “change” over and over again, but I still have not heard what changes he’s planning to make. Also, are we really supposed to believe a man that will not show respect to the United States, makes comments regarding his grandmother being a “typical white woman,” has 20-year relationships with racists, crooks and shady characters. Can you Obama supporters look anyone in the eye and truthfully say he’s the better candidate?
Just for information’s sake, one of the reasons dogs are not allowed in the Huachuca City parks is because of the possibility of disease. A person walking barefoot through the park could step in a dog-dropping and contract worms through their feet. It’s for your safety. As for other concerns, perhaps OYM is not who you need to ask.
When you plan to vote, prepare by collecting facts about the process and the candidates, remembering that the president does not make laws. Congress does that, and any member can change her/his vote before the record is sent to the constituents back home. Clever, eh? Be aware also of the fact that the Electoral College gives your vote to a small group of strangers with their special Party-line interests uppermost in their minds when they decide who’s elected — thanks to those who do not vote in the primary. So, please smarten up and vote.
It is time that Americans should start paying the price and consider our environment, our planet and cut down on our spoils and our greed. Americans should tighten their belts, bite the bullet, and do away with our own vicious greed and insatiable appetite for oil. We can see that just by looking at our highways across the nation. We have destroyed this country.
June 13
Republicans in Congress voted against extending unemployment benefits to those in need. Republicans voted against stopping tax subsidies for oil companies in times of record oil companies’ profits. Republicans were all in favor of spending taxpayers’ money to bail out Wall Street. I, for one, am tired of Republicans picking my pockets to enrich the powerful.
Thank God for Arizona Congressman to the U.S. Congress John Shadegg. He’s bringing to light a ridiculous loophole that you and I as taxpayers get to subsidize, oil shipments to Europe. It’s called splash and gnash. We need to stop this sort of subsidy right now. There’s too much of this kind of garbage going on in Congress. Everyone should be outraged whether you are Republican or Democrat. How dare our U.S. Congress allow this loophole to continue?
I see a lot of people are writing in about the Boys & Girls Club being located across the street from Paul’s Pub and a smoke shop. You can’t control the businesses around you. If you really want to look at it, maybe they shouldn’t be there because there are a lot of mental health offices there as well. Do you think the kids are going to go crazy because they’re across the street? I don’t think so.
I’m not sure if the callers to OYM are whiners or if they just simply think everyone should think the way they do. I’m tired of reading about these kids. If they wrote these letters, then they should be published. It’s freedom of speech. Most of you want to practice censorship. How do you know these weren’t their ideas? Why do we want to limit them to doing stuff kids should be doing as you state? Then you have those people who want to tell everybody how to talk on their cell phones and what to say. If you don’t want to hear it don’t listen. You must be a job to live with. You must stand out on your sidewalk and monitor the goings on in your neighborhood. Why don’t you guys get a grip? This is a free country. Let people do what they want.
I’d like to thank the city of Sierra Vista for its elder care seminars. The more information we have the better off our elders will be. My dearest friend was a victim of abuse. The shame of it all was that he was their third victim. She tried to wipe him out from his bank account and life insurance, and she bought stuff on his charge card after his death. She has still not been prosecuted. So please check out your in-house caregivers and your health care givers very closely before you invite them into your house.
My experience in the California fields is that the employees are illegal aliens in these fields. They are in the sheds, and in places where they package items. Therefore the tomato salmonella crisis we’re having now, the spinach and all the other food crises are caused by the illegal aliens. Wake up, America.
To Editorial Suppression wrote on Jul 3, 2008 8:21 AM: