Jogger misses park wildlife, other letters to the editors

Jogger misses park wildlife

I love Enterprise South. I jog there four days a week. I used to see deer and turkeys a time or two per week. Since the TWRA hunt at the park last October, I've not seen a single animal.

I've talked to others who frequent the park. They feel as I do that it is nice to see wildlife in their natural habitat. Families bring children on walks there in the hope to see animals.

With so many other vast areas in our great state, would it be so bad to keep a few of our parks as no-hunt areas?

Bob Kerzner

Lawmakers, heed citizens' wishes

I am a Republican, gun owner, voter and a very concerned citizen of Tennessee. I would like to ask my state representatives who they are representing in the state legislature, the citizens or the NRA? I have read in this paper at least twice recently where a representative has said the NRA is concerned about certain bills before them. Have they polled their citizens about how they feel? Do they care how the people who put them in office feel about their actions? NRA has 4 million members, which averaged out means they have 40,000 in Tennessee. There are more than 500,000 gun permit holders in the state. Does this not tell them that not every gun owner agrees with the NRA?

James Brown, Soddy-Daisy

Pay 22-year-old sewer debt

I see in the paper an article about the 22-year-old sewer debt. I think it is a disgrace not to collect on this. Where has all that money gone? Mayor Jim Coppinger says we will not pursue it. Why not? Maybe we made a bad decision in electing him. I bet this won't happen again. It seems like once politicians are elected, all they want to do is find ways for spending money and not collecting what is already owed. If I don't pay it anymore, will they not pursue me either?

Virginia Carr, Hixson

Focus on positive; improve schools

I am a teacher at Howard School. I arrive at my school two hours before the first bell rings. I arrive early because I care. Recently, though, my morning was different. In the back of my mind were words from a Times Free Press article that spoke negatively about our school administration, faculty and students. I want to share with you just four of the many positive things at Howard so you have a fuller picture of our school: 1. Last year, Howard's class of 2017 had the highest achievement gains in English 9 in the county. 2. For the last two years, Howard students have been awarded the prestigious Ben Carson Scholarship, based solely on achievement and humanitarian qualities. 3. During the last quarter, our freshman class nearly quadrupled the number of students on honor roll and star roll. 4. Howard's Student Government Association has partnered with UTC's SGA to assist students in becoming more well-rounded leaders. I want to ask you, how much more effective would conversations about school improvement be if we focused our dialogue on positive achievements and the potential of amazing kids?

Ashley Cox

Pass the veggies; spare the piggies

I'm not sure Jay Greeson does "get it," as he claims ("Happy Easter, pass the ham and the political rumors," April 4). PETA's "Thou Shalt Not Kill" billboard, featuring a bloody cleaver, is simply meant to remind people what animals face by the millions every hour at slaughter. Once people learn that piglets have their tails and testicles cut off without any painkillers and their sharp teeth broken off with pliers, and that mother pigs live in crates too small for them to even turn around and typically die after three or four years of being forced to produce litter after litter, that Easter ham looks pretty unappetizing. Each vegan spares more than 100 animals a year from the horrors and death of the animal agriculture industry, and vegan foods are better for us and the planet, too. It doesn't make sense to celebrate life by eating a corpse, but luckily it's easier than ever to choose great-tasting vegan meals. Loads of recipes, none containing kelp juice, are at JesusPeopleforAnimals.com.

Sarah King

Law or not, guns are here to stay

The Free Press wants to "keep guns out of parks" and thus editorializes (April 1) against the bill in the Tennessee Senate that would allow those with carry permits to bring their concealed handguns into parks, playgrounds and ball fields. Well here's a news flash: The law (or lack of it) won't make much of a difference one way or the other. The bad guys with guns don't obey laws anyway, and many of the good guys with guns don't obey unconstitutional laws that encroach on their God-given right to defend themselves and those they love. It's called civil disobedience, and it has a long and esteemed history in this country. I'm sure some timid or overly scrupulous gun permit holders actually obey gun prohibitions. But I bet most of them don't think they need permission from nanny government to do what is right, and so they stealthily shrug off the "gun-free zone" laws that turn public places into potential killing fields. It's better to pass a bill that supports Second Amendment liberties. But it won't make much difference. The guns are here anyway. So, Free Press: Welcome to the real world!

Philip Lancaster, Lookout Mountain, Ga.

Cruz off base on climate change

Ted Cruz has recently discounted global warming "alarmists" by citing earth science measurements, which do, in fact, show a plateauing of world temperatures since 1998. The recent pause in rising temperatures should hardly be seen as invalidating appropriate concern for the implications of future global warming. A Feb. 26, 2015, Scientific American article titled "The 'Pause' in Global Warming Is Finally Explained" explains oceanographic mechanisms accounting for the current plateauing effect, which "will not last long." Sen. Cruz has gone on to recommend that sound climate policy should "follow the science, follow the facts." Yet, seeming to undermine his own recommendation, he also has recently exhorted NASA to slash dramatically that part of its budget devoted to earth sciences, an action that would slow the very fact-gathering process about our climate he professes to value. Climate change is empirical fact, not political opinion. Its accurate understanding requires judicious leaders, Democrats and Republicans alike, to strongly support climate research at NASA and other institutions. There is perhaps no scientific undertaking of greater importance to our own and future generations.

Patrick F. Lavin

'Might' never killed anyone

I take issue with your April 1 editorial "Let's keep guns out of parks." It's a typical liberal gun-hater's viewpoint. One can concoct any number of scenarios where something "might" go wrong. Also, an equal number where the presence of a legally carried weapon "might" prevent a serious crime or death. Your argument is juvenile and poor. I "might" get killed by a meteor today. Let's stick to the facts. "Might" never really happened.

Doug Karhan

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