Sunday, Nov. 10, 2002

By Staff
Commends recovering addict
for telling her story
To the editor:
Recovering addict Billie Jo Miller is to be commended for raising awareness of the life-saving potential of drug treatment. A study conducted by the RAND Corp. found that every additional dollar invested in substance abuse treatment saves taxpayers $7.46 in societal costs. There is far more at stake than tax dollars.
The drug war is not the promoter of family values that some would have us believe. Children of inmates are at risk of educational failure, joblessness, addiction and delinquency. Not only do the children lose out, but society as a whole does too.
Incarcerating non-violent drug offenders alongside hardened criminals is the equivalent of providing them with a taxpayer-funded education in criminal behavior. Turning drug users into unemployable ex-cons is a senseless waste of tax dollars.
It's time to declare peace in the failed drug war and begin treating all substance abuse, legal or otherwise, as the public health problem it is. Destroying the futures and families of citizens who make unhealthy choices doesn't benefit anyone.
Robert Sharpe, M.P.A.
Program Officer
Drug Policy Alliance
Washington, D.C.
Giving back to community
To the editor:
We are so fortunate to have Meridian Community College sponsoring such a wonderful program as "MCC Cares Day" and the wonderful students and their instructors who contribute so much to our community.
On Oct. 17, 28 students and two instructors, Susan Hatcher and Kimberly Ennis, "invaded" the Suqualena Grove where the Suqualena Community Development Club members have worked diligently since early summer, building a Walking/Nature Trail for the community to enjoy.
These students and their instructors planted shrubs and bulbs, built three bridges on the trail and removed fallen limbs and debris from trails and grounds and all in such a pleasant, willing manner, and in record time.
In these days when we read and hear of so many negative things, we would like for the community to know of the delightful ways our young friends give back to their community.
Thank you so much and God bless each of you.
Members
Suqualena Community Development Club
Gun owners
make voices heard
To the editor:
Excepting the recent sniper shootings in the Washington, D.C. area, has anyone noticed that the liberal gun control-supporting radio, press and TV quite strangely quit sensationally reporting gun shooting acts by criminals and lunatics as an immediate need to "stop" the NRA and promptly pass stricter gun control laws?
Did this happen because the national media realized its non-stop reporting and gun control editorializing was backfiring? It was outraging peaceful gun owners into swelling the political-clout ranks of the NRA, Gun Owners of America, and other gun rights organizations (be they loved or hated)?
Also, did that excessive anti-gun reporting and editorializing so anger those same peaceful gun owners that they voted in large numbers to defeat liberal pro-gun control candidates?
James Grace
Meridian
U.S. still threatened
from within
To the editor:
For some time we have been hearing the warning that we are losing our freedoms, and that your liberties are being eroded away. Some are saying that we are fast becoming like some other nations that we consider our enemy.
Freedom of the press has always been one of our most cherished freedoms, and the right for every citizen to know has been sacred. But now it seems that the press is being suppressed and the news media is becoming more and more controlled. This certainly seems to have been the case over the weekend.
There was a large anti-war demonstration in Washington last Saturday. In the past, such an event would have had reporters swarming all over the place, reporting to the nation every detail. But I didn't hear a peep about it from any of the major networks. One man said he heard a very brief announcement about it.
This raises a very strong suspicion that we are being fed only the news that Big Brother wants us to hear.
Could it be that the country is faced with a much greater threat than Saddam Hussein? Could it be that our democracy is facing a much more serious danger from within than it is from without?
C.E. Swain
Carthage