Letters from our readers-January

LETTERS: Only in America

On 12-27-01 at 1pm I was just walking through my parking lot going to Hastings when two young teenage boys they know their names Threw a 7up bottle closed full of water at me & my teenage daughter police say nothing can be about this thats very sad.

Can't file on them my word against their word plus they didn't actually hit me or do any damage & one of these boys last week choked a 10 y/o girl at this apartment complex no harm was done to the girl by the way the girl is a slow learner, No one was hurt not yet.Can America grow little terrorist of their own? Parent allow their children to be little terrorist(Little Angels).

Why worry about terroristfrom other countries? when we have our own in 52 states when police do nothing about it,

Look at school shootings I know it wasn't about race all of was white its not about race its about HATE. Still fighting among us nothings learn from 9-11-01or school shootings or any other violence simply apprently its foorgoten or today two young teenagers threw a bottle full of water closed at me a 47 y/o with medical problems & a 16 y/o girl who wonders about all this supposly the spirit of USA is gone when this kind of justice let's home grown teenage boys or others like them go scott free with their terrorist attacks to throw bottles & other things at people do other things to people.

Because laws ARE NOT protecting law abiding citzens, Their protecting little OSMA BIN LADEN'S like these boys, No Wonder Colimbine happened. ONLY IN AMERICA! where we threw out the Bible Ten Commandments , teaching of morals' ONLY IN AMERICA!

Faye Fullen
Bulletin Online Reader

LETTERS: To The Bulletin:

Just a quick note to thank your paper for having the coloring contest in your paper. A big thank you to Target for sponsoring the gift certficate for first prize.

Our son was the first place winner and had a wonderful time spending his prize. Thanks again to The Bulletin and Target. Best Wishes in the new year.

Sincerely,
Gary & Carolyn McClure

LETTERS: Taxpayer Taxi Service

Hello, I was writing in regard to a situation I have been made aware of with the Montgomery County Animal Control and the spending of Montgomery County taxpaper dollars. I have an Animal Control officer who comes by my home everyday.

He does not patrol the subdivision.. he simply comes past my street and makes one turn on the next street. When he comes in he is alone in his truck, however the reason he comes in is because he uses the county vehicle to pick up a resident of the subdivision to take her to work. He then leaves her home and goes out directly the way he came in to take her to work.

I have called Animal Control about this abuse of taxpayer dollars and at first the person I spoke to acted unaware of any improper use of their vehicles, then when I told her I had gotten information from officer and "passenger" involved she suddenly "was aware that one of the officers was picking someone up because they did not have a car". I was told this was a shelter employee, NOT an Animal Control officer. I was also told that this officer is "on the clock" during this time..so since when are Montgomery County taxpayers paying for taxi service for shelter employees.

I know that none of us could call our work and have taxi service at company expense. During previous conversations with Animal Control I have been told that they do not have enough employees to handle the number of calls they recieve and that is why they are unable to patrol adequately, that was also part of their publicized justification for needing their new multi-million dollar facility.

But now they are using their vehicles as taxis and obviously not patrolling since he does not go through entire subdivision and only takes direct path to pick up this employee.

Patricia Neal
Montgomery County

LETTERS: Saying goodbye to the TAAS Test

The New Year will bring an end to use of the TAAS test and usher in the TAKS test for public school children in Texas. The new test, the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, won't be given until next school year, but schools have already started to prepare for the more rigorous test. Teachers feel a strong need to get ready for the test because state estimates show the TAKS will be about twice as difficult as the TAAS.

One way teachers are getting ready is by registering their students to take a pilot TAKS test in January. The test will be conducted through school computers over the Internet. The registration deadline is January 7^th and there is no cost to participating schools. Test questions have been developed based on the "Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills" or TEKS, the new state mandated curriculum.

Nearly 200 Texas schools have already signed up to take the online test. Testing via computer, instead of paper and pencil, is now possible in most Texas schools because of TIF grants. The Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund has provided thousands of schools with the money needed to connect school computers to the Internet.

Approximately 5,000 second grade students will take a pilot version of the test considered to be more difficult than the TAAS. "How much more difficult is one of the things we hope to learn through this effort," said Ken Blystone, director of the "TAAS to TAKS Transition Project." The research and development project is sponsored by PEIMS Inc, an El Paso based Internet service company. "The project has received applications from schools all over the state," Blystone said.

The online assessment will provide schools with a benchmark based on the TEKS. Teachers can preview sample questions on the web by visiting http://www.taas2taks.com/html/samples.cfm . All Texas public schools are welcome to participate in the project. "We will be testing all grade levels in various subject areas through the remainder of this school year, " Blystone said.

Immediately after testing, elementary schools will be able to lookup their results on the web by visiting http://www.takstracker.com . Unlike paper and pencil versions of the test, the web-based assessments are automatically scored and posted so there is no waiting period to get results.

"The project will help schools by creating a second grade benchmark, something we've never had before," Blystone said. "Since test questions are based strictly on the TEKS, it will provide next year's 3rd grade teachers valuable data for curriculum alignment efforts and getting the kids off to a good start for the new test."

On December 5^th, Jim Nelson, Texas Education Commissioner, issued a letter to all Texas educators warning them that they should use their "preparation time wisely," in getting ready for the more stringent test. "We hope our project gives schools a head start on the TAKS," Blystone said.

For more information please visit the web site http://www.taas2taks.com .

Thank You,
Ken Blystone
Bulletin Online Reader

LETTERS: MLK Holiday is slipping away

The Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday is quickly slipping into the rut of other American holidays, like July 4 _ a day off from work, time for fun, a parade here and there, but no sense of honoring the true meaning of the occasion.

As with July 4, the Martin Luther King holiday is about the struggle to bring about equality and equal rights in our society. In a sense, it marks a giant step toward fulfilling July 4's Declaration of Independence. The Martin Luther King holiday should be a day when Americans rededicate ourselves to work for a more just society and more steadfastly commit ourselves to human rights.

The September 11 tragedy awakened in us a more profound sense of what we are about _ dignity, freedom, human rights, and building our community. After September 11, people, especially younger folk, surged forward, wanting to dedicate part of their lives and time to community service, and national service.

It was a unique occasion in history for deepening the American character. But our political and religious leaders did not seize on this more intense sense of community in the way, for example, that President John F. Kennedy had when he created the Peace Corps. Or when Martin Luther King and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee inspired college students to register voters in the South. There was no heightened or energized organizing for the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, or for any of the many national religious and humanitarian organizations that do good work in this country and abroad.

There was no inspiring call to service by the President. Rather the best that the Administration in Washington could muster was to encourage us to spend more money and shop more. In other words, just go back to the way things were. Commercialism was the answer. It was a squandered historical opportunity. Religious leaders did no better.

To be sure, just as there is much to be done, there are many who are willing to do it, if somehow we could better shape a culture of service in our society, and mobilize the good will evident in younger people who yearn to help others, but lack direction, guidance, and the means to do so. This after all was Martin Luther King's message: refashion our communities so that all can flourish with equal dignity and equal rights. His message will not become a legacy unless we put actions behind his eloquence.

There are still far too many areas of the country where poverty undercuts the educational system _ too few teachers and too few resources, and makes the playing field even more uneven for children in poverty. Medical care is abominable, if not totally lacking, in an unconscionable number of poor communities, rural and urban. Our national wealth remains in the hands of a few, whose pockets grow heavier with money every year.

The Supreme Court every day strips away protective legislation for people with disabilities, victims of sexual harassment and violence, minority persons in the workplace, and undermines the rights of workers _ apparently intent on undoing the legal gains so painstakingly won over the years.

What goes on in this country is a microcosm of the larger human condition. Five billion people on the earth earn less than $2/day. Human rights and protecting laborers do not guide or govern our trade policies. To the contrary, globalization means that trade policies often trump human rights and laws that protect working people in other lands. The sweatshop has become the testimonial of free trade agreements, rather than the Universal Declaration of Rights.

Americans learned much from September 11. We experienced a moving compassion, and a profound sense of helping others, and sharing, but that lesson is rapidly slipping away from us.

This holiday that we dedicate to Martin Luther King, Jr., who gave his life for others, perhaps this year, in the post September 11 era, will give us the chance to pause and look at what is really important in life. And then perhaps in that reflection we'll try to live our lives in closer connection with those around us, and respect for them. Maybe it will also call our political and religious leaders to account, and urge them to strengthen a culture of service in our nation among all peoples and open up avenues for people of good will to help build community _ local, national, and international.

Terry Preston
Bulletin Online Reader

LETTERS: New Radar Detectors for the DPS

The Department of Public Safety is stepping up efforts to get big rigs to slow down.

Supplemented by federal grant money, the DPS has purchased 101 radar detector detectors for use by License and Weight troopers. Another 43 could be purchased by June. Federal law forbids commercial vehicles from using radar detectors and they can be pulled over and ticketed for simply operating a radar detector during travel.

"The combination of size and speed can make large trucks a lethal combination," said DPS Director Col. Thomas Davis Jr. "Because of their vehicle's sheer mass, truck drivers have a special responsibility to drive safely. Hopefully, this additional enforcement tool will make them think twice about violating the speed limit."

Some License and Weight troopers have been using radar detector detectors for several years now, but the new and future purchases will eventually equip nearly every License and Weight patrol vehicle in the state with the technology to spot active radar detector devices in commercial vehicles.

The units cost about $1,500 a piece and were purchased with the help of grant money from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

"It's important for the public to remember that truck drivers often are not the culprits when it comes to dangerous driving habits," said Davis. "Driving with big rigs presents special challenges for everyday motorists."

Tela Mange
Bulletin Online Reader

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