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By Staff
Family thanks community
Editor,
What a wonderful blessing our friends and family have been to us throughout the past 10 months of my illness.
Countless acts of kindness have been shown to us during this time, the most recent being the benefit singing held at Falkville High School a few weeks ago.
From those who helped organize it to those who attended and supported it financially, to those groups who praised the Lord in song, we say a deep heartfelt thanks.
A special thanks to New Eden, Living Faith and the McKendree Quartet for devoting their time, effort and love to this cause.
We are so overwhelmed by the generosity of such loving and caring friends and family who have always prayed for and supported us in other ways during this critical time.
I am now home with my family and am receiving treatments every three weeks in Cullman. I am feeling well now that God is healing me and giving me new strength.
Please continue to pray for us, as I will be returning to Houston in November for an evaluation of my healing.
Love in Christ with heartfelt thanks,
Sandy, Jane and Caleb Fields
State doesn't want to hear the truth
The following letter was sent in response to columnist Bob Ingram's column.
Editor,
Your column of this date is probably the finest editorial concerning the Riley tax-accountability package that has been published in any paper in Alabama. My congratulations and kudos for telling the voters of this state just what they needed to hear but did not want hear.
Prior Governor Fob James tried to tell the people of Alabama the truth about the budgetary crisis looming in the near distant future if some reforms were not enacted, but the voters of this state turned a deaf ear and got rid of him before anybody could get the message.
Just as their redneck ancestors did during the so-called "reconstruction period" when they received an ox and some seed corn from the Federal Government and promptly proceeded to butcher the ox and eat the seed corn; our present day voters shot themselves in their own foot by voting down the only chance Alabama had to step into the 21st Century and face up to their responsibilities.
Taxes have never been a negotiable item when formulating a budget proposal. The negotiable items are what level of service do we want from our government agencies: how many state troopers do we want to patrol our highways and protect us from the bad guys? What level of educational opportunities do we want to provide our children? What level of protection do we want to provide women and children from abusive and intolerable relationships? How much fire protection do we want? How much medical care should our children be entitled to? How safe should we be able to feel in our homes and in our schools and in our communities? These are the negotiable items.
When we decide that we want our children (read that our future leaders) to have the very best education possible; that we want to feel safe, secure, and comfortable in our communities; that we want good, safe, well-maintained roads and bridges in order to support commerce and trade: and that we want to invest in the future of Alabama instead of eating at the Federal Table on roast ox and fried corn today; the negotiations are over.
Government has no money, it produces no goods or services that will bring revenue into its coffers to pay for these things we say we want. The only money available to it is our money. The taxes we pay must be enough to pay for these necessary services that we want. If we want the rest of the nation (and the world) to stop looking at Alabama like we are ignorant, poorly educated, backwoods hayseeds and hillbillies, then we ought to stop acting like we are exactly that.
Hopefully, another political figure will step up and have the courage and integrity to tell us the truth like Governor Riley has done. But after the voters get done sacrificing Governor Riley, they will probably elect someone who will tell them the "smooth things" they want to hear.
I will never be ashamed to be called an "Alabamian", but I am certainly very, very disappointed in us.
Donald R. Trosper
Valhermoso Springs