Published: May 27, 2006 10:32 pm            

Letters to the Editor May 28, 2006

Thanks to law enforcement

Law enforcement is more than traffic tickets and lockups. I would like to commend all of the law enforcement agencies in Cullman County. They do a magnificent job of protecting our local community and helping to keep the roads and highways a safer place. This is a job that is highly scrutinized and operates under a microscope. We have a lot of coaches in the stands that think that they could do a better of running the program. But law enforcement is not only a dangerous job, but long hours, stressful and many times an unappreciated career. This is not a lock-up-and-throw-away-the-key kind of job. It requires a unique person to be able to empathize with the person in question. Do we always honor and respect the law enforcement in our community? We should.

I would like to personally thank Sheriff Roden and Chief Culpepper. Both of these men are very professional but also very personable. They work hard on the safety and protection of our wonderful community. We should appreciate them daily.

And then there is one area of law enforcement that sometimes gets lost in the process. Helping to rehabilitate the individuals that are in the punishment phase of their violation. This is an area of law enforcement that Cullman County stands above other communities. We don’t forget that the individual is still one of God’s creations. Chief Culpepper and Sheriff Roden are two professional officers that do care.

Eight months ago I was approached with the idea of teaching GED at the new detention center. Both of these officers helped create a learning environment for the inmates at the county detention center. Since the program began eight months ago, there have been seven inmates that passed the GED exam. I have personally seen a change in the ones that have passed the exam, and a change in the ones that are working to accomplish this goal. Too many times we do not know the inside story, or what goes on behind a closed door. Well, these officers do care about the complete job of law enforcement! I am a citizen of Cullman County and very thankful that we have them.

Ed Oaks

Cullman



A word of apology

In response to Mr. Sutton’s comments concerning Christian education in Cullman, we would like to apologize for not acknowledging Sacred Heart and St. Bernard in our article. We appreciate the wonderful history of Christian education these schools have provided this community for more than 100 years.

We were trying to communicate that there is no secondary Protestant Christian education available in the city of Cullman. This is what we wish to provide. We pray that God would be glorified in our efforts, and that we would, as the Psalmist said, “dwell together in unity,” as we both contribute good things to this community.

Allison Siegenthaler

Chairman of the Board

Cullman Chrisitan School



Board didn’t provide answer

I recently attended my first school board meeting because my fourth-grader came home in tears because his teacher, Ms. Hood, had been fired from her job at East Elementary School. My son cried all night. He told me a school employee had come into the classroom and told the students that she had been fired.

My reason for going to the school board meeting was to get some answers as to why she was fired and why this was handled in this way. I believed the school board members to be reasonable people who were in their position to improve the city schools, not make them worse. Firing Ms. Hood makes the school a worse place. I believed the school board would listen to my pleas, but to my horror, they did not. They hid behind protocol and rules. They voted about Ms. Hood’s future as a teacher at that school as a letter and number and fired her in front of us without even calling her by name. We were not given a chance to speak. The school board ignored us and treated us with arrogance. Apparently, they forgot they were elected by us. I will not forget this event when the next election comes around. I can’t imagine what it was like for that teacher’s husband to sit there and listen as they dehumanized and dismissed Ms. Hood.

As soon as the meeting was over, the board exited the room like they were shot out of a cannon. Only Ms. Harbin addressed the parents’ concerns. I was ashamed at the way that meeting was handled by our school board. The Lord Jesus, when talking to a certain group of people said that they had become blind guides and those who followed their leadership would fall into a ditch. The school board should look down and notice that ditch.

To Ms. Hood: Thank you for what you did for my son this year. He wouldn’t have made it without you. He loves you very much and already misses you.

Marshall Rowe

Cullman



Cutting gas tax would help

Since gas prices have topped $3 a gallon, I’ve seen Washington politicians scrambling to offer us some “relief.” They want to punish the oil companies with more taxes, they want to give us $100 rebate checks, blah blah. However, they seem to stop short of the most logical suggestion…cutting the gas tax.

The average tax on a gallon of gas is around 50 cents. The oil companies make about a nickel profit on each gallon. So, the government makes 10 times the profit on a single gallon as Chevron does. Hmm, no wonder they’d rather turn their attention to the “possible gas gouging” going on by the evil gas companies. Now, I’m not real happy about reading headlines like “Exxon enjoys record profits” or “Oil exec gets $400 million bonus,” right after I pump regular gasoline into my truck at $3 a gallon, either. It just bothers me that Washington would send an oil company into bankruptcy before they cut the Highway and Transportation budget, the most pork-laden of all budgets. They don’t want to cut taxes because it’s the source of their power.

So, the next time you get angry at the pump, ask yourself if you’re mad enough to go home and spend 10 minutes writing your congressman to tell him to cut the gas tax. Talk is cheap, make them put their tax money where their mouth is.

Keith Stone

Hanceville

        

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