Waggle Golf Four Man Tournament to benefit the Clarksville-Montgomery County Humane Society.

There will also be throws whereby each participant gets one “throw” which acts as an extension of the previous shot. there will be mulligans, red tee shots, long drive contest, closest to the hole contests, and a putting contest as well. We are introducing a new event this year called the Marshmallow drive where participants see how far they can drive an actual marshmallow off a golf tee for a door prize.

In addition to the tournament, participants also get free beverages and a BBQ chicken dinner immediately following their round. Most, if not all participants win a door prize and there will be several items which will be included in a silent auction including a Tennessee Titan’s Chris Johnson autographed football helmet. There will also be many items raffled away including a framed print, donated by the Roxy Regional Theatre and Hodgepodge.

Over the past three years, this event has increased from 90 golfers, to well over 150 and the Pi Kappa Alpha Alumni Association has managed to raise over $13,500 for the Humane Society.

The cost to enter the tournament is $75.00 per person, or $300.00 per team. Sponsorships are available at three levels, $100.00, $250.00 and $500.00. To enter a team or sponsor a hole, please contact Scott Beasley at 931.320.6490.

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There seems to be a growing sentiment across a socialistic-minded segment of our country to expound, and sometimes exacerbate, the millions of Americans who do not have Health Insurance. Many of today’s universal health care proponents and politicians like to use the numbers of anywhere from 30 million to 50 million people who do not have health insurance to promote a Universal Health Care system. They poke and prod at our hearts, explaining that innocent children are victimized by a broken system which seems to have forgotten about them and their needs. Victimization really works to exude a feeling of guilt amongst those of use who are fortunate enough to have health insurance, but the true question arises, is heath care a right or a responsibility? While the nation seems divided over such a volatile issue, it appears there are few coherent arguments for government intervention when we examine all the facts.

So what’s the impetus for this “crisis” the media has bestowed upon society? Cost! Its true that health care costs have risen significantly, but there’s more to the story than simply classifying the perceived problem as “rising costs”. We must ask ourselves why the costs are rising. In the past, we only spent a fraction of what we spend today on high tech medical procedures because there was not as many of them. The same holds true with pharmaceutical drugs because many of the ones today, didn’t exist 20 years ago. Likewise, automobiles didn’t cost the same when you considered the new high tech systems now included in the rising cost of a new vehicle such as navigation, cameras and computers. Many things we buy today have increased in cost because of the addition of new technology, but allowing the government to intervene so they can supposedly wave their magic wand and reduce the price is more than wishful thinking, its unrealistic and its impossible to speculate the effect it would have on the nation.

Truth be told, I do feel sorry for children who don’t have health insurance because their parents cannot provide it for them, but in many, if not most cases, they can, if they’d adjust their lifestyle and prioritize their spending. I won’t say they could “easily” afford it, because its not easy to turn off or cancel your cell phones, cable TV, Internet service, magazine subscriptions, bowling leagues, or alcohol and drug use. Its not easy to pass up “a great deal” on 22 inch rims, 50 inch flat screens, X-Box 360’s, Wii’s, Playstations, or a variety of other amenities vastly less important than providing health care for yourself or your children. Providing health care is not society’s responsibility, for it requires that service be rendered off the backs of others, and slavery was outlawed long ago.

Heath insurance is not medical care and likewise, health care is not the same as medical care. Countries with universal health care do not have more or better medical care than countries without it. Medical care is the issue, however the propaganda is about insurance. Many people who could afford health insurance as I pointed out earlier, choose not to purchase it because they spend their money elsewhere and they know that medical care will be available at the nearest emergency room, whether they have insurance or not. Young folks often do not anticipate long term illnesses and they can always get a broken leg or an allergy attack taken care of at an emergency room, thus allowing them to spend their money on a more upscale lifestyle. This may be a foolish mindset but it is their decision, and there is no reason why other people should lose the right to make decisions for themselves because some people make “questionable” decisions.

Many people critical of the health care industry appear to be cynical, claiming to know the costs of everything, yet they know the value of nothing. Just as medical care, houses and cars were all cheaper when they lacked amenities that they have today, so medical care in other countries is cheaper when they lack many things that are more readily available in the United States. People who believe in “universal health care” really have no concern regarding what that phrase turns out to mean in reality, especially in those countries where it already exists, such as Britain, Sweden or Canada. For example, “universal health care” in these countries translates into months of waiting for surgery that Americans get in a matter of weeks or even days.

In these and other countries, it means having only a fraction as many MRIs and other high-tech medical devices available per person as in the United States. There are more than four times as many Magnetic Resonance Imaging units (MRIs) per ca pita in the United States as there are in Great Britain or Canada, where there are government-run medical systems. There are more than twice as many CT scanners per ca pita in the United States as in Canada and more than four times as many per ca pita as in Britain. In these socialistic nations, it means not only having bureaucrats deciding what medicines the government will and will not pay for, but even preventing you from buying the more expensive medicine for yourself with your own money. That would violate the concept of true “equality” and the right to choose how you wish to spend your money.

If you’d rather have name brand medication, rather than the government prescribed generic brand, you’re out of luck. Its irrelevant if you wish to forgo the surround sound system you were saving up to install to accomplish this choice, for that choice would no longer be available. The cost of developing a new pharmaceutical drug is now about a billion dollars. Neither political rhetoric nor government bureaucracies will make those costs go away because it is government’s strict regulation and thorough testing procedures which has helped drive the cost up. We can, of course, refuse to pay these and other medical costs, just as we can refuse to buy air-conditioned homes with built-in microwave ovens, but that just means we pay attention only to prices and not to the value of what we get for those prices. We can even refuse to pay for so many doctors, but that just means that we will have to wait longer to see a doctor just like people do in countries with government-run medical systems. In Canada, 27 percent of the people who have surgery wait four months or more. In Britain, 38 percent wait that long, but only 5 percent of Americans wait that long for surgery.

Many proponents of a universal health care system will point out the longer life expectancies in some of these countries with universal health care as opposed to our own. On the surface it seems like a valid point to bring up this fact, but does universal health care translate into longer life expectancy? Is there a correlation? That is where the difference between health care and medical care comes in. Medical care is what doctors or hospitals can do for you. Health care includes what you do for yourself, such as diet, exercise and lifestyle. Health care can only be recommended, whether it be a government agency or a doctor, but it is your responsibility to follow those recommendations.

If a doctor arrives on the scene to find you comatose by a drug overdose or shot through the heart by some of your competitors in the illegal drug market, there may not be much that he can do except note the time of death and sign the death certificate. Even for things that take longer to kick the bucket such as obesity, alcohol, cholesterol, and tobacco, a doctor can only tell you what to do or not do, but its ultimately up to you and it’s your responsibility to take their advice or choose to do what you wish to do. On average, Americans tend to be more obese, consume more drugs and have more homicides. To assume any of this would magically change with a universal health care system is not only a very static analysis, but extremely naive.

You must look dynamically at the issue to grasp the reality for accurate medical care comparisons. You never hear supporters of universal health care mention the fact that cancer survival rates in America blow most other countries with universal health care out of the water. No one who compares medical care in this country with medical care in other countries is likely to want to switch, but those who cannot be bothered with the facts may help destroy the best medical care in the world by falling for political rhetoric.

Waiting for MRI’s and CT scans would all become much longer. I cannot emphasize the danger in this enough, as many from our neighbor to the north routinely cross the border and pay out of pocket for these services because of the months they’d have to wait up there. I recently had knee surgery and the MRI took less than a week to schedule and execute. Who knows if I’d had to wait 6 month’s to get one before I could have surgery what would happen. I know that “only” affects me right? Well what happens when everyone on those waiting lists are now drawing 6 months of disability while they’re out of work? What happens if many of them die from tumors during the wait?

The bottom line is health care is your responsibility. A government provided health care system can recommend you stop smoking, drinking and eating unhealthy foods, but they can’t make you. Socialized health care only expands government and destroys more of the freedoms we enjoy, for it must be funded off the backs of those who labor, to pay for those who can’t or won’t. There’s a difference.

A recent poll conducted by Austin Peay suggests that people in this area believe the government should “make sure” everyone has health insurance. While some may interpret this finding as support for universal health care, in reality, it could mean support for people to provide it for themselves and the government to make sure it is required by law, just like the laws requiring auto insurance liability. The disastrous effects of such a plan will have immediate and long term effects on our health care system. There aren’t as many doctors and medical equipment to house the immediate demand socialized medicine will create, oh, and the most important thing, WE CAN’T AFFORD IT. We could have if we were not 11 trillion dollars in debt, but we are.

Surgery may be cheaper in countries with government-run medical systems, if you count only the money cost, and not the painful weeks the patients have to endure the ailments that require surgery, or the fact that some conditions become worse, or fatal, while they wait. A report from the Fraser Institute in Canada shows that patients there wait an average of ten weeks to get an MRI, just to diagnose their condition. Bad things can happen in 10 weeks.

Politicians may talk about “bringing down the cost of medical care,” but they lack the comprehension of the word “costs”. What they bring down is the price, which doesn’t reflect the cost. Anybody can refuse to pay any cost, but then you get what you pay for. It does require us to stop and think before jumping on a Universal Health Care bandwagon. I’m always skeptical of government intervention in the first place because of their history of creating a crisis which doesn’t exists. The urgency with which this “crisis” is being perpetuated by fiery rhetoric coming from the White House and the fact its being rushed through Congress suggests that the politicians don’t want us to stop and think. They just want us to “hurry up” and do it, for rarely are any programs scrapped after they’re implemented. That makes sense, from their point of view, but not from ours. Lets all pause and think about whats occurring and be careful what you wish for, you might just get it. People need help, I understand that, but there’s a difference in asking for it, and mandating it be funded off the backs of others.

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Many do not really see the big deal in replacing one liberal with another, but the effects of such a nomination will continue to affect this country long after Obama is gone (just like his huge debt).

Her ruling against the New Haven firefighters was, for lack of a better word, despicable. Firefighters who deserved a promotion based on performance, skills, evaluation, and experience were snubbed because of racial quotas. They call this “reverse discrimination”, but whenever one is judged solely on the color of skin, no matter the color, for any reason, its just good old fashioned discrimination to me. How have we gotten to the point where racial quotas, charity, subsidies and preferential treatment have surpassed traditionally historical methods of advancement such as self-reliance, education, business experience and work skills? Yes, that is old fashioned and mundane, but it has never been more true. You cannot instantaneously ingrain equality into society no matter how badly you want it. Equality is something that has to be attained, not handed out like coupons. Suppose you lived in New Haven and were trapped in a burning building. Would you rather have competent emergency response crews responding, or one which meets the specifications of racial quotas? Would it matter what color the person was pulling you from the fire?

The advancement test consisted of a written and oral sections, carefully constructed to ensure race neutrality. All 20 who qualified for the promotions were white and the results were thrown out after no minorities qualified. How can this discrimination still exist today? People will obviously blow this off as a rare or minor incident, but it goes much deeper, for it is the mindset of people like Sotomayor which we should be afraid.

Much has been made over Sotomayor’s upbringing and struggle to get where she is. If that is the quota Obama is trying to fill, we already have a Justice who came from absolutely nothing in Clarence Thomas.

While overcoming adversity and struggling to get to the top are certainly admirable qualities, for any color of skin, do those traits necessarily mean you are the best for the job? If you were scheduled to have open heart surgery today would you want to be operated on by a surgeon who was chosen because he had to struggle to get where he is or by the best surgeon you could find? What if the surgeon was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had every advantage that an advantaged socioeconomic position could offer, would you still choose the one who had to struggle based on principle? Of course not! If it were you, you would not give two hoots on which surgeon had to struggle and which one had all the advantages, you would want the best surgeon available, even if he was purple.

While Obama has stressed the fact that Sotomayor is “empathetic” towards minorities, it leads me to second guess if Obama really understands the law, or if he is fighting for preferential treatment for certain groups based on their skin color. The words “equal justice under law” which is the motto over the Supreme Court building, is in grave danger of misleading those who enter, if such a person is allowed to preside. The color of skin should not matter, but apparently does if the results aren’t appeasing the minorities or certain groups.

Suppose that same logic was applied to the NFL, NBA or Major League Baseball and each team not only had to comply with racial quota percentages, but the starting positions had to reflect it as well. Imagine the NBA and NFL if they were 80% white and traditional qualities such as speed, power, agility, dexterity, performance, physical prowess and ability, and talent no longer mattered, but starting positions were given out in a pre game meeting based on skin color. Imagine MLB without its Hispanic presence because each team would need to be a reflection of society’s color. Now, before everyone gets in a frenzy claiming I am making generalizations about race, you are missing my point.

My point is not that blacks are better athletes than whites or that Hispanics are better baseball players than whites and blacks, my point is in the flawed concept of racial quotas carried out under the disguise of fairness. How many people would refuse to attend professional sporting events if their favorite player was benched or worse yet, had to be released to make room for a player with a different skin color? There would be public outcry and rage beyond comprehension if the NFL or NBA implemented such a policy. Now imagine if a district court of appeals upheld the league’s decision when the athletes who were more qualified, filed suit. There would be rioting in the streets.

Its unfortunate that society doesn’t really care about the New Haven fire department when something like that actually happens, but if we do not recognize and discard that way of thinking, we are heading down a wrong path of unequal justice that will eventually come back to bite us all.

As if this weren’t enough reason to raise questions about her qualifications, she was then quoted as saying, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” Better conclusion for who? Hasn’t lived what “life”? I know quotes can be taken out of context, but I find it hard to imagine a world where this would logically apply.

Why would being a Latino or a woman make any difference at all in terms of reaching a better conclusion? Does simply the “richness of her experiences” make her better qualified than a white male who never had to struggle to graduate from Harvard or Yale with honors? I cannot begin to explain how dangerous a doctrine this comment was, and I am sure those on the left will come up with an array of excuses to justify the remark and take attention away from the issue. Just remember what these same people would be saying if Justice Roberts, a white male, had said the same thing and expressed that a white male would reach a better conclusion than a Latino female. He would be crucified.

After all is said and done, she will probably be confirmed as I am quite sure Obama’s staff is grilling her and coaching her on how to answer the questions the Republicans will throw at her in the conformation hearings. I only hope the Senate is gearing up for a thorough line of questioning, in which the mindset behind these remarks are exposed or explained. We must do everything in our power to make sure this doesn’t happen again, it’s too important to our children and grandchildren who are already going to be saddled with paying off our debt.

A judge’s job is not to apply empathy for minorities, but to apply the law so that equality can be attained through individual achievement without barricades from the law. It seems people are more concerned about acceptance between minorities or the “politically correct” views than justice, even if those views do tremendous damage and hinder those it supposedly helps. There seems to be no “empathy” for justice.

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Big Foot, on the crispy side

On the morning of August 15, the man was startled when a piece of toast emerged from his toaster bearing the image of the silhouette of the fabled monster affectionately known as “Big Foot”.

In an exclusive interview you will only read on Clarksville Online, I was able to secure an interview with the man. “I was just shocked”, said the local resident, “that’s the only way to put it.” He currently has the now famous piece of toast for sale on E Bay, and I asked him if this was some kind of joke. “No, this is the real thing, I just couldn’t believe my eyes”, he replied.

I asked if I could see the toast and actually put my hands on it. Reluctantly, he went over to his freezer and removed it with great care. I actually saw and touched this piece of toast, and it is REAL. I asked him how he could actually prove this, because it looks like someone just spray painted an image of bigfoot on a piece of toast. He told me that once the DNA evidence comes back, that should put all skepticism to rest.

You can view the toast auction at E Bay, but you have very little time left.

It’s this reporter’s opinion that this will either be a discovery talked about for years to come and Clarksville will be immortalized, or this is just another prank, albeit a very funny one.

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Of the $9.4 million budgeted for capital projects, $4.2 million were mandated by a lawsuit to bring the sidewalks into ADA compliance. That leaves $5.2 million being spent on projects such as the marina, fountain and river walk. All of these amenities are very nice and many people around the community desperately want them. That being said, there’s a huge difference between wants and needs.

I recently brought up the fact on the Leaf-Chronicle website that according to the US Department of Labor Bureau of Statistics, the City of Clarksville’s Firefighters annual median wage was $32,800 in 2005. The national annual median wage for firefighters in 2007 was $43,170. I realize there’s a two year difference, but since the firefighters haven’t gotten a raise since then, I’m sure it’s still pretty close. That means they are underpaid by 24%!

The data for the patrol officers includes the county, but in 2007 for cops its $34,460, yet the national median wage was $49,630 and that’s an astounding 30%! Now if the cops and firemen are underpaid $10K-$15K, there must be a reason, right? Many of the mayor’s supporters began making the excuse that the median household income for Clarksville was less than the national average. So, I did some research and low and behold, according to the US Department of Labor and US Census Bureau, the median household income in 2006 was $48,200 per year(2007 numbers won’t come out until August). According to Clarksville’s own website, the median household income for the city in 2008 (estimated) was $48,630.

After that myth was laid to rest, many continued to make excuses for the city budget and low pay for the protective services. The next excuse given was that the tax burden in Clarksville was lower than the rest of the nation. I then asked for proof and found some startling figures.

The tax burden for the entire state of Tennessee is indeed lower than the median. Its 2.5% lower to be exact, according to the Tax Foundation. In an effort to be fair, the tax burden represents the ENTIRE tax burden placed upon an area including federal, state and local so it is logical to consider this when making such an assessment. The problem is that 2.5% represents the entire state, not solely Clarksville. So, I compared Clarksville/Montgomery county property taxes with that of other areas in the state, and here’s where it got interesting.

According to the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Clarksville’s property taxes are $3.14 for the county and then $1.31 for the city per $100 assessed land value. The residents of Clarksville are paying $4.45; in Nashville/Davidson County it is $4.69. All of the communities within Nashville that set their own rates are lower than Clarksville’s city tax. Chattanooga is $5.35, Knoxville is $5.50, Memphis is a whopping $7.47, Springfield/Robertson Co. was $3.13, Dickson $3.53, Dover $3.78 and Ashland City $3.74. It seems to me Clarksville is about right for a city this size except when compared to Nashville. Since many people in the community are always comparing the lack of high end retail outlets, I looked at Williamson County. Brentwood is $2.75 and Franklin was $3.50.

Now, nothing about the taxes in Clarksville jumps out at me in comparison to national levels, but it seems a little high compared to Nashville and Franklin. Now if the tax burden for the area is only 2.5% below the median, and Clarksville is definitely higher than most of Tennessee, it would seem reasonable that the 2.5% is not quite as far from the national average as the rest of the state across the board. So, if we deduct 2.5% for arguments sake, we are still at 21.5% for the firefighters and 27% for the cops below the national median.

When presented with these figures, they moved onto the next phase which is cost of living. Now there are many problems when factoring in the cost of living in terms of setting pay. Some said Clarksville was 15% lower, and I have seen it listed as 22% lower than the national average cost of living index. Since the cost of living accounts as a comparison for the entire nation, it’s very difficult, if not impossible to include communities of lesser populations, or communities that don’t have fire departments or police departments and get an accurate evaluation for pay scale purposes. Many cost of living indicators such as housing, transportation, utilities and health care can vary greatly within very small areas.

Clarksville firefighters swap out at a structure fire in Lincoln Homes

To provide an example, I used my town, Cedar Hill, and compared it to Clarksville for cost of living. Naturally, I assumed Cedar Hill would be slightly less. Boy was I in for a shock! According to a comparative website, Sperling’s best places, Cedar Hill is 19-24% MORE expensive than Clarksville. Housing was the main factor. I agree with using the cost of living for pay setting purposes to a degree, but if the COL varies THAT much within relatively small areas, there are too many circumstances to use it as a major component or rule of thumb. Though it needs to be considered, I would tend to use the median incomes for the area and compare them to national averages to get a better and more accurate assessment.

After much research and study, I don’t think there’s any question that our cops and firefighters are underpaid, and I believe it to be a travesty that the elected officials of Clarksville again, found something more important to spend taxpayer money on, rather than reward and honorable profession with honorable pay.

I’m not against the government spending money on improvements. Lord knows a fountain, marina and river walk extension are very nice amenities and the city should be able to provide such improvements on a regular basis. The main problem I have in this “tight” budget year is that $9.4 million was budgeted for capital projects. After the $4.2 mandatory sidewalk deduction, that leaves $5.2 million that was spent on these improvements. If the roughly 400 cops and firemen were just given a $10K raise each, that’s $4 million. It would still leave $1.2 million which I believe would give the rest of the city employees their step raises, OR put in a fountain.

I suppose the city government has made their decision and the men and women who risk their lives daily will be put on the back burner, once again. It just seems sad to me, when the priorities are so out of whack that people would rather have things like a marina so they can go out and float around in raw sewage, rather than pay the protective services what they deserve. Clarksville is so concerned with what other communities are doing in terms of beautification and economic development, yet turn a blind eye to the people that provide security and protection. It just amazes me.

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The nearly $20 million price tag, is only the projected budget, anyone want to bet it goes over? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for attracting businesses to the state, but what kind of a message are we sending here? The first highly hypocritical aspect is the state being forced to cut 2,000 jobs to meet the budget constraints next year. Would someone please tell me how this is supposed to work? We cut jobs, so we can spend $20 million on a banquet hall, so we can attract development in hopes of creating jobs?

If that’s the purpose, we could start by rehiring the 2,000 jobs cut, that’s creates 2,000 jobs right there. Well, perhaps these 2,000 jobs aren’t necessary, and if that’s the case that should have been done years ago by an efficient government. I guess it will all work out, for now the Governor can add the fact that we have 2,000 more people in the unemployment sector to entice new business. I suppose he could use the angle that Tennesseans are hungry to work, literally.

The next area to be cut is higher education which will be cut by $55 million, but not to worry, a tuition hike is the remedey for that. I recall a $315 million dollar surplus a couple of years ago and it seemed our elected officials couldn’t wait to spend it. Now the projected budget exceeds the projected revenue and cuts are being made to compensate. I would like to propse the concept of prioritization to our elected officials. Make a list, in order of priority, the most essential services the government provides. When you start getting close to the bottom of the list, especially in years of increased costs and lower revenues, the underground party bunkers can be put on hold or eliminated completely.

I truly believe most Tennesseans believe that’s a better solution than higher taxes or cutting education budgets. Why should the kids, or any other group for that matter, have to suffer from what appears to be a tyrannical state government, unwilling to consider the immediate interests of its people? Instead, we get a ballroom with promises of luring big businesses here in hopes of creating high dollar jobs. Personally, I’d rather have a job than than hope one is just around the corner, and I think many Tennesseans share that sentiment.

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What is a “watershed” some ask? A watershed is the entire land area that drains into a lake, river, or other water body. Watersheds can be small, like the area that drains into a creek, or large areas that drain into a major river. So why the need for public awareness? To educate and raise awareness for their protection, they claim. I suppose its just fine to litter where there are no signs, sarcastically speaking. I see little value in this expenditure.

It has been reported this endeavor is costing us $289,000! I have been told the budget was $400K. State college tuition just went up, but we have an extra 289K to let people know water seeks its lowest point? TDOT has yet to return my inquiries, but I suspect it’s more of the “spend it this year so we get it next year” mentality, which needs to cease.

Would someone in our state government please stop these random acts of lunacy and be more responsible with OUR tax dollars? Most people are already aware water drains into lakes and rivers. It was taught in high school and college that some will not be able to now attend. Perhaps the people would be better “stewards” of the environment if the elected officials would lead by example and be better “stewards” of our money. If we have a need, fulfill it, but quit wasting our money. At least the kids that can’t afford college because of the tuition increase will have some lovely signs to gaze upon to make them feel better.

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Dr. King was an American leader, not solely a leader for African-Americans. He taught us to fight racism and bigotry with intelligence, knowledge, and education, not violence. He wanted people of every color to have the same rights and opportunities, and tremendous progress has been made in those arenas for which he is directly responsible.

Sadly, we still have a long way to go and I’m not sure some will ever view others as equals because of their skin color. Skin color is a descriptive characteristic holding no more importance than eye color or height. Unfortunately, no matter how people are viewed, some only see the differences among ourselves in a negative way.

Racism, which is defined as the belief that a particular race is superior to another, or as discrimination or prejudice based on genetically transmitted physical characteristic, does have its place in our society. It should be used as a reminder of how NOT to act. It should be a sobering account of our historical ignorance. It should serve as a tool so that we may never forget what some people have experienced in the greatest country the world has ever seen.

Dr. King exemplified a spirit of opposition to ignorance and a willingness to confront it using his intellect. He evaluated people on the content of their character and did not judge them by the color of their skin. He was truly a great leader; just imagine what might have been had he not been taken from us when he was. We should all celebrate this day with enthusiasm no matter what the color of our skin.

It still befuddles me why some still insist on making race an issue to suit their backward and regressive agendas. I hope that one day we will see a world without racism and bigotry, but I feel as though both have become so deeply ingrained in some areas of society that it will take generations to make it less prevalent, to tamp it down.

What we can do today is celebrate this wonderful holiday with enthusiasm and strive for the ideals and goals Dr. King spoke and preached. With hard work, determination, compassion, and searching your heart to do what is right, we can ALL reach the mountaintop. We can ALL enjoy the freedoms this wonderful contry provides. We can ALL overcome the obstacles and live together in relative peace and harmony. We can ALL share his wonderful dream.

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That being said, the odor exuding from the wastewater treatment plant is atrocious. With so much emphasis on cleaning up the “eyesores” around Clarksville, I think its time to address the odiferous climate of our community as well.

The Christmas lights are beautiful, but their beauty is diminished when one has to inhale a stench that would knock a buzzard off a gut wagon or gag a maggot. Our city leaders need to study and correct this problem, or at least take appropriate measures to investigate what can be done.

Odor absorbing vegetation or chemicals that neutralize the stench need to be evaluated. Our local government needs to address this problem immediately if not sooner. It has been a thorn in the side of this community for as long as I can recall and it is high time something is done about it.

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As a white man who grew up in the south, racism is prevalent towards every minority and is something that cannot be “unlearned” overnight. In today’s society, the use of the “N” word is taboo. It is demeaning and disrespectful and serves no purpose in society other than to be used as an example of what not to do. Condemning interracial relationships is even more disturbing.

I believe it to be little too soon for this man to try to save face the way he tried on national television and I don’t believe it to be a sincere gesture, but more of a damage control plea.

Duane Chapman admits he does use the word occasionally but said he never means any disrespect. Simply by using the “N” word, you are disrespecting a minority and apologizing and crying on another show is not enough to salvage respect. Though some may view it honorable for him to apologize, which he certainly should, I’m not quite sold that it was sincere. He has lost his show and its sponsors and deservedly so. Only time will tell if you can teach an “old Dog”, new tricks. I would submit to him that “talking” is what got him in trouble and the only way to get out of this hole is to shut up and walk the walk, not talk the talk.

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