Sunday, Nov. 3, 2002

By Staff
Supports Norwood in supervisor race
To the editor:
In light of the upcoming District Four supervisor elections, I would like to offer my support to the candidates, especially Joe Norwood. As his former wife, I have been approached with several personal questions as to how I feel about him running for public office. In response, I strongly support him in this endeavor.
His knowledge about the facts, needs and concerns of the citizens of District Four, which he has clearly shown, has been truly impressive to me and should be to the voters as well, for this knowledge exhibits his awareness for the district.
I feel that Joe Norwood would make a great supervisor because he truly has a heart for people. I sincerely believe that he will do everything within his power to serve his constituents with integrity, honesty and grace.
Alesia Norwood
Meridian
Former justice favors Griffis
To the editor:
As a former judge and justice in the Mississippi court system for 35 years, I am frequently asked my opinion regarding judicial candidates because of the difficulty of some voters to discern the qualifications needed for the elected position or of the lack the personal knowledge about the candidates.
Having many questions asked of me about the Court of Appeals election in our district, I feel an obligation to express my opinion about candidate Kenny Griffis because he has the qualifications for this judgeship and, as well, he will be a fair and impartial judge, which is my only personal interest.
Kenny was reared in Meridian, his parents are Clarice and Pete Griffis. His father is a 33rd degree Scottish Rite Mason who was superintendent of the Masonic Home there and, additionally, his father was Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Mississippi. Kenny is a York Rite Mason. Kenny and his wife, Mary Helen McCarty of Magee, have four boys and are involved with strong connections to church, community, and civic work, such as YMCA, Scouts, and youth sports coach. He has deep roots in family values and commitments.
Insofar as his professional training, he is qualified in two areas, both in law and as well in accounting. He is a Certified Public Accountant and an attorney and had years of practical experience in both legal and business matters. Many lawsuits require background both in the law as well as in the financial issues involved. By educational training and experience, Kenny is well qualified for his judgeship. But more importantly, personally knowing Kenny, I firmly believe that he will be a fair and impartial judge on our Court of Appeals, deciding our cases based on the law and evidence.
I support the dignified campaign that Kenny has conducted, and I endorse him and ask your support.
Lenore L. Prather
Former, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Mississippi
Getting women to the polls
To the editor:
Members of the Mississippi Association of University Women have taken the challenge to get women to the polls on Tuesday.
National surveys have shown that we have done quite well in Mississippi in getting women registered to vote. Yet we have done poorly in getting women to go to the polls and vote. We must complete our right of citizenship and vote for the candidates of our choices.
Why target the women? Our Constitution handed the white male the privilege of voting. Women of an earlier generation had to fight for the opportunity and blacks, including black women, have gone through that struggle more recently. A black woman told me that she went to her courthouse over 20 times before she was allowed to register (remember when we had to interpret an obtuse sentence in the Constitution.) Our young women must not forget what other women have done in order that they might vote. We must pay our debts to those women who made it possible for all of us to vote.
If all the women who have registered will go to the polls on Tuesday and vote, the candidates will never again take our votes for granted.
Cora Norman
Jackson
Appreciates Pickering's help
To the editor:
I want to thank Carol Mabry in Congressman Chip Pickering's Meridian office for her recent help with a problem I encountered with an interstate unemployment claim. I was driven to the edge of financial desperation when the state of Illinois quit sending checks for no apparent reason, leaving me for nearly eight weeks with no income.
My Illinois contact told me, "The claim's approved, there's just no money in that fund. I've done all I can do."
Staff at the Meridian Unemployment office tried to help, but since the problem was in Illinois it was beyond their best efforts to get anything done.
To get to the point, Carol was very helpful. I sat as she made several phone calls and within a week I had the long-delayed checks in hand. My hat's off to the congressman and his very effective staff here in Meridian.
That said, it's not the reason that Chip will have my vote on Tuesday. He'll get my vote because I know he'll support conservative leadership in the House. We've all seen what the big-spending, gun-grabbing liberals have done with their majority in the Senate, and I literally tremble to imagine what would happen if we lost the very narrow margin in the House and liberal Democrats had both houses of Congress.
Chip's rated "A+" by the NRA and 96 percent by the American Conservative Union. Legislation he sponsors gets passed. I'll be glad to have him voting on my behalf in Washington.
Russell C. Brown
Lauderdale