Letters to the Editors

Rock slide puts Polk in a bind

I believe some of your readers don't fully understand our plight in Eastern Polk County following the rockslide that blocked Highway 64. It is our direct link to the west and our county seat in Benton. The road, originally built in the 1800s, has been improved over the years but is still a very dangerous road that has claimed many lives.

Safety remains a factor.

Rock slides of the magnitude of the one now are not uncommon. Five years ago a major slide closed the road for three weeks. According to TDOT's Geotechnical Office, the total number of Class A, high hazard rock fall sites along the route is a staggering 41.

The current slide has affected most Eastern Polk County residents. Commuters, truckers, vendors, students commuting to college, and our mail carrier are just some who must take a long alternate route. Ambulances and patients going to hospitals in Cleveland and Chattanooga also face this challenge. It's been a challenge for our local law enforcement to transport those arrested to the county jail in Benton.

Polk county has been split in half. There is no good alternate route. I invite anyone who is against building an alternative route to visit and see our plight.

KEITH DILBECK

Ducktown, Tenn.

Harvest concert a memorable one

Sunday afternoon (Nov. 15), Memorial Auditorium was alive with the sound of beautiful music. The Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra chorus, orchestra and David Friberg playing the Austin Pipe Organ presented an exceptional program of music under the excellent direction of Darrin Hassevoort. Thank you, Chattanooga Music Club, for sponsoring the Third Annual Harvest Hymn Festival. Your collaboration with the CSO chorus and orchestra gave the audience a memorable afternoon of inspirational music. I hope this will continue to be an annual event for our community.

PAUL H. DAVIS

Prison established without any plan

I am totally mystified by the hysteria I am hearing about transferring Guantanamo detainees to U.S. soil. Our then=president, George W. Bush, elected to go to war unilaterally. Even Colin Powell counseled him that if we did that the burden would be on us to repair the damage.

That administration established Guantanamo with no plan for what would be done with those prisoners, excuse me, "enemy combatants."

Did we think we could go to war without the support of the global community and then expect the global community to pick up the pieces for us?

Do people think we should just leave Guantanamo open forever? Some people have been there for years with no charges against them. There is nothing in what I have always understood our country to stand for -- justice, for example -- that would permit this.

Yes, I understand that 9/11 was a horrific tragedy which remains a huge grief for us. That does not entitle us to go against those values that have always defined our country or excuse us from accepting responsibility for Guantanamo when we created it.

KATE STULCE

Ooltewah

Republicans need more backbone

Sarah Palin has been heard parroting the word "dithering" to describe President Obama's thought process before committing more troops to Afghanistan. These troops are spread paper thin and battle-weary from multiple trips to the war zones. But they are considered collateral damage by the Republicans, who ginned up the war in Iraq and allowed al-Qaida and Bin Laden to gain safe haven in Pakistan. If these same Republicans had as much backbone as they do mouth, they would be in the military helping out, instead of on the sidelines in their cheerleaders' tutus. Pardon me, cheerleaders, for the comparison.

It was said many times during the previous administration that Rove was "Bush's brain." I believe a better deal could have been struck for Bush and our country ahd he gone with Dorothy down the yellow brick road for a brain from the wizard. Look what it did for the scarecrow.

ALLAN BAGGETT

Trion, Ga.

Early detection way to fight cancer

A new federal recommendation that suggests women do not need regular mammograms for breast cancer detection until age 50 is a dangerous bureaucratic move that hopefully will be ignored.

Early detection of all cancers should be championed, not discouraged. The United States Preventive Services Task Force stated its recommendation aimed at reducing harm from overtreatment. The dire consequences of underdetection are far greater.

My mother died at age 36 after a valiant battle against breast cancer that spread to other parts of her body. If early detection prevents even one more mother from being taken from her children, then it is a worthwhile endeavor.

Hopefully these short-sighted federal recommendations will have a reverse effect and serve as a reminder for those who have procrastinated against cancer screenings. The most logical way for men and women alike to fight all forms of this deadly disease is through early diagnoses and prevention.

RYAN HARRIS

Cleveland, Tenn.

Math professors offer students a lot

As a UTC student, I feel compelled to respond to Sunday's article (Nov. 15) on "revamping math classes" at the university.

In quoting responses from a few select student surveys, the article leaves the impression that UTC is riddled with "bad math teachers," but this certainly has not been my experience. The professors I've encountered have been very knowledgeable, understandable and more than willing to take time to help students.

I wish the student who "liked math, but .. .(wanted to) avoid UTC's math department" would have given herself more of a chance to see what this group has to offer.

Personally, I'm frightened at the prospect of being forced to learn math from a computer rather than from a trained mathematician. I've learned a great deal from sitting and listening to the insights a brilliant mind has to share.

MICHAEL SHERMAN

Chickamauga, Ga.

Don't elevate victims to heroes

The murders at Fort Hood were shocking and horribly tragic, but the reporting has been disturbing as well. Since 9/11, the media have shown a growing inclination to refer to the victims of certain crimes as heroes. A person waiting for a flu shot who is gunned down for being in the wrong place at the wrong time is a victim, not a hero.

After 9/11, it became common to speak of the nearly 3,000 casualties as collective heroes. This is literally not true and does a disservice to the real heroes of that fateful day. The first responders who raced into the twin towers to save others, only to perish themselves, were heroes of the first magnitude. A day trader whose desk is in the path of a 747 is a victim. The passengers on flight 93 who rushed the hijackers were heroes, but simply being on board one of the four planes does not qualify you as a hero.

I don't know why the media need to elevate these innocent victims to the status of heroes, but I do know this; to be a hero, it is not enough to be killed. By definition you must act heroically.

JOHN REIS