Published: March 12, 2007 11:07 am      

In Your View — 03/13/07

A double standard on alcohol sales

After reading several letters about the sale of alcoholic drinks at the Kyova Mall, I just had to view my opinion.

To those who are so opposed to the Kyova Mall being able to attract quality restaurants by allowing them to serve alcoholic drinks, I ask, “Do you shop at Ashland Wal-Mart, at CVS and Ashland Kroger’s?” Beer is sold at Kroger’s and Wal-Mart, and CVS sells all types of alcohol by the case. Is there a double standard there?

I also ask those who oppose Kyova’s attempts to build a stronger Boyd County economy if they eat at any of the Ashland restaurants that also sell alcoholic drinks? I know that there are many who would enjoy a movie and dinner at the Kyova Mall instead of driving into town.

My concern is there seems to be a double standard for many who oppose this new change.

Peggy Thornbury, Ashland



Westwood residents still are saying, ‘No’

I read the letter in Sunday’s Independent from Fairview school board member Jeff Preston. He said he wished the utility tax could be discussed intelligently.

I was at the last board meeting and I think the only people who didn't talk intelligently were the board members and supporters of the tax. They were too busy yelling and calling us troublemakers and laughing.

When Jeff Preston was asked if this is defeated when will the board bring it back up, he laughed and said as soon as the election is over. That is an intelligent answer, isn’t it?

The board had no real plans for what they would do with almost a million dollars a year. In Mr. Preston’s letter, he seemed to think the Westwood residents were not intelligent enough to discuss the tax and obviously to choose whether we wanted it. Well, the majority rules, and 16 months ago Westwood residents said “no” and they are still saying “no” by signing the petition.

Maybe Mr. Preston should explain how to his supporters how to be courteous and respectful of everyone’s right to vote.

Dora Stevens, Westwood



Failing sewer lines create sinkholes

Some folks in Ashland might feel a bit smug when they see pictures of the world's largest sinkhole in Guatemala and think it could never happen here. They would be wrong. It already is.

The Guatemalan sinkhole is big enough to hold a 30-story building. It killed several people and swallowed dozens of homes. It was formed the same way sinkholes near Ashland are formed — not by weather, by an act of God or by strange rock. Bad sewer pipes created this sinkhole.

Here’s how: When sewer pipes go bad, sewage gets out, but worse, dirt gets in. The pipes take the dirt from above the pipe and carry it away until a huge cavern forms above the pipe and below the homes above. That is, after all, what the pipes are designed to do.

Last year was the worst year ever for sinkholes in America. This year will be worse.

Here’s why: Most sewer pipes were built 60 years ago but meant to last 50 years. They are breaking at record rates doing record damage all over the country — including Ashland. We ignore them until they break — when it’s too late.

As president of the largest oil, water and sewer pipe company in the world, we have video tapes of what these pipes look like from the inside, including some from the Ashland area. We’ve also repaired large sewer pipes in your area.

Thomas Rooney, President and CEO, Insituform Technologies, Chesterfield, Mo.



Bush should make peace top priority

President Bush is off on his Evita tour through Latin America. Press accounts indicate crowds are not exactly friendly.

Mr. Bush complained this past Friday in Brazil that America doesn’t get enough credit for improving people’s lives and for generosity and compassion. The president then passionately spoke of his commitment to improving poverty, illiteracy and deficiencies in health care. “Hoorah and finally” were my first thoughts. Then I remembered Bush was talking to our much neglected and ignored neighbors to the south.

Doesn’t Bush understand that during his tenure a growing constituency of tens of millions here at home also suffer from being neglected and ignored? Literally, an epidemic of poverty, illiteracy and lack of health care spreads rampant within our borders. How shocking to learn of Bush’s sudden generosity and compassion abroad on these issues.

Why another Bush foreign junket while we’re at war on three fronts — Iraq, Afghanistan and globally counting the “war on terror”? Shouldn’t peace be Bush’s top priority? Are no other American emissaries capable of diplomacy in Latin America?

American soldiers are dying. Our treasury is being wasted and our future mortgaged. Our reputation as moral leader amongst nations rests in ruins.

Yes, Bush is on another junket to change the subject from his wars and domestic woes. Should Americans demand peace as Bush’s highest priority? Should we demand effective diplomatic and military strategies to end needless bloodshed? Should we demand solutions for domestic poverty, illiteracy, and healthcare? Yes, we should, but when will we?

In the meantime, Bush’s actions speak louder than his words. Consequently, Americans and the world remain mystified by his never-ending “double-speak.”

President Bush should fool us no more. He should be generous and compassionate to our nation by focusing highest priorities on peace and domestic healing.

Paul Clere, Nashville, Tenn.



Congress hurting the war effort

On Feb. 16, the U.S. House of Representatives approved 246 to 182 a resolution disapproving of the president’s decision to deploy more than 20,000 additional U.S. combat troops to Iraq.

Now the Senate is set to debate legislation that would begin withdrawing soldiers from Iraq within four months and sets a goal of pulling all combat troops out by March 31, 2008.

These actions only serve to pave the way for Congress to use its powers to intervene in the conflict and demonstrate a lack of resolve to prevail against a determined enemy. If there’s one message to be learned by the antiwar movement and the actions of Congress during the Vietnam War, it is that disunity at home leads to defeat abroad.

Those who dissent are quick to claim that they have the right to oppose the policies and actions of their government. But with free speech comes responsibility, and when that responsibility is ignored, the nation can be imperiled.

The anti-war factions of our country are playing into the hands of the enemy with their rallies and calls for “phased redeployment” and timetables for withdrawal. Public broadcasts of disunity damages troop morale and undermines U.S. credibility in the eyes of the world.

Congress is once again considering resolutions and legislation that undermine our war efforts and the commander-in-chief’s ability to prosecute the war. These actions will only prolong the war and serve to provide aid and comfort to the enemy.

I urge all Americans, particularly members of Congress, to refrain from partisan politics by supporting or enacting anti-war resolutions and legislation. We can prevail if we simply pull together.

Dean Stoops, Frankfort