Readers' Hotline 2/13/12

Take your time
Years ago there was a golf pro named Walter Hagen. He said, “take it easy, take it slow and stop to smell the flowers along the way.” I wish it was that way today. I agree with that caller that can’t take a drive on the roads anymore through these mountains without idiots driving. I remember when I could drive through these mountains and I remember when I could walk on the road through the mountains and didn’t have to worry about cars going by so fast. Anymore, everybody is in a hurry going 60, 70, 80 miles an hour. Big hurry and going nowhere fast. Getting there quick and getting back quick. Used to be a time I could walk these roads and didn’t have to worry about nothing. Today I can’t even drive on these roads without somebody running me over. I can’t even walk on them for cars coming by that don’t care if you are there or not.

Trash fee fan
I am for the $3 a week trash fee [in Grayson County] that does help a lot of people out, but the truck at the school where the people go to go dump the trash, that needs to be rectified somehow. Handicapped people can’t use it. Another thing, I’ve got a sorry neighbor here that won’t put his trash at the road no matter what you do and the county is holding it against me and hurting my property value at the same time. He is too sorry to even take it to the road and they are still charging him for trash fee.

Way to go
I was calling in regard to the trash fee discussion held at the board meeting the other night. I want to say “way to go” to [Grayson supervisor] Mike Maynard. I totally agree with you. I think it is a shame that the two new supervisors have already started on a negative note. I guess as a concerned citizen, people voted them in and we can certainly vote them out if this is a trend. Way to go, Mike Maynard. You have our full support.

Ruined by gossip
This call is in reference to the call “flag theft.” It is clear that after a lifetime of service to the church this man has not gotten the respect he deserves from the fellow church members. The service was good, but not as good as the gossip that went on by the church members during the dear man’s viewing. Shame on you.

Can’t forgive
I actually think the real estate taxes in Grayson County are realistic and not too high. However, I cannot forgive the supervisors for lying to us about the imposition of the trash fees.

Healthy snacks
I think schools need to promote healthy eating by promoting healthy snacks when there are parties at the schools. Also, schools that sell snacks, they need to sell healthy snacks — cheese, apples, fruits, healthy things. Especially when classes have parties, the teachers need to say, “only healthy foods.” Let’s eliminate all this candy, cookies and Kool-Aid and pop. Children need to eat healthy. There is an obesity problem anyway and children need to learn healthy eating habits. If they don’t learn it at home, where are they going to learn it? They should learn it at school.

Letter blitz
Just wanted to comment on how great it was to read about the group fighting to open the state prison. However, I would have to disagree with the semi-biased comments by the [Grayson] county administrator. I feel that we should forward our letters to the local representatives. While I agree with Sen. Bill Carrico’s conservative approach, I will be the first to admit that he has done a poor job in regards to his handling of the prison. I’m sure he would love to have the prison open and worked hard to get this done, however he has failed the most important task his constituents have asked of him. We are aware of the potential benefits this prison could bring to our community and I feel as though it is time to put up or shut up in regard to our elected legislatures. Even though they are aware of desires for the opening of this prison, let’s not let them off this easy. Hammer them with letters and let them forward them to their fellow elected associates.
Editor’s note: Grayson County Administrator Jonathon Sweet said that letter writers should contact members of the Senate and House of Delegates subcommittees that would vote on proposals to open the prison. His point was that local legislators already supported the prison opening and didn’t need persuading.

Don’t tolerate bullies
This is in response to the grandfather who’s grandson was bullied. You are absolutely right, my friend. Bullies are absolutely nothing but spoiled brats that cowards tolerate. They are children who sadly have gutless parents who don’t know how to stand their ground and show their kids where the line is drawn. I was bullied in middle school and it changed my whole perspective on the world. My parents, teachers and other students stood by and watched it happen every day and from that I have learned one thing — the only thing that evil needs to succeed is for good men to stand by and do nothing. We are our brother’s keeper. Those of us who have a spine do not tolerate these things. The good Lord was not a pushover and neither should we be. It is time for all of us to stand up for our children and for our future.

Paying for nothing?
I was calling concerning the Hotline call about the trash fee going to pay the interest on the school. No matter if it pays the interest or not, we shouldn’t be charged a trash fee. We pay enough taxes in this county to have absolutely nothing that benefits the citizens of it. As far as the new school they built, that we didn’t even need, that was halfway done, that was completed without a playground, no vocational facilities for high school students, it just ended up costing the county more and more money to operate a school that we don’t even need. The trash fee is forced upon us. It shouldn’t even be. It shouldn’t be anything like a trash fee. We pay enough taxes to cover trash fees. We don’t have no wellness centers or nothing in this county to benefit the citizens. Nothing. It is time the residents of this county stood up and took control of the county government before we just go deeper in a hole.

Double hammered
Grayson County Administrator Jonathan Sweet and Mike Maynard, the Wilson District supervisor, keep saying the trash tax is a $1 a week problem. That’s $52 a year. Most citizens in Grayson County are getting charged $170 something a year. So, they don’t need to be saying it is just a $1 a week problem when most people are getting charged $3 a week. Trash ain’t picked up every single day. It is just one time a week and the tax has already been taken out of the utility bill. We don’t need to get double hammered on it.

Late returns
I was just calling to let everybody know about a tax preparation place that charged us extra to have our tax return come back five days earlier. We did not get our tax return the day they said we would. They blamed the IRS of course, but they will not give us our money back because they say it is not their fault. Basically we just paid them extra money for nothing. Needless to say, next year we will definitely be going elsewhere.

On our side
Glory be. We have two [Grayson] supervisors that are on the side of the people. I wanted to thank David Sexton and John Brewer. They are a breath of fresh air in our local government.

Out of date
I was calling about [a local] food bank. I think it is a shame that they receive a donation of $1,500 from Food City and give out food that is outdated.

Where is school pride?
I was calling to comment about the Galax/Carroll basketball game. I was thinking about how exciting an atmosphere it was. How both teams played so hard and showed so much sportsmanship. The problem I have is Galax, little ole school as it is, had more fans than Carroll did. I think the Cavs fans need to get out and support these boys because they really deserve it. They are a real good team, as is Galax.