Readers' Hotline 4/4/11

Ethical behavior
Grayson School Board appears to have made the right decision regarding posting the Ten Commandments. However, if the goal truly is to promote moral behavior, I’m sure there would be no objection to statements regarding ethical behavior in general. Perhaps we could start with “bullying is wrong.”

Just one battle
Concerning the school board’s decision on the Ten Commandments, It looks like the devil wins again. This is only one battle. Christians will win the war. I would say the reason they don’t want them up is it reminds them how wrong they are. Forget about the rights of Christians, just don’t step anywhere around atheists, homosexuals and perverts. What are you going to do when Jesus appears in the Eastern sky? Are you going to tell him he has to wait because it goes against the rights of the evil? I don’t think so. God help you all

Collect your signs
When is Rep. Morgan Griffith going to take down those monstrous signs he still has left on some hillsides? We really do need to fine these guys after a reasonable amount of time. It is bad enough we have lots of little signs already out there dotting lawns and hillsides for the next election already. It hurts my eyes.

School gripes
This is a question for Galax High School. I’d like to know, when you are a visitor, where you are supposed to park, being that the exact same students’ cars are parked in the visitor spots. I had to park half a block away and then the lady’s house I had to park in front of wasn’t happy I had to park there. Also, I thought kids were supposed to go to school and learn, not take breakfast and food and drink to eat and drink during classes. No wonder these kids can’t learn. They are eating and drinking like they were at home.
Editor's note: Studies have shown that you learn more if you're not hungry.

Disrupted dining
I want to comment on a situation I saw at an area restaurant. One of the female assistant managers or manager was giving another female in the lobby just an absolutely horrible experience. That manager was calling that lady everything except righteous. That manager ought to give her an apology. It’s a shame to go a restaurant and have to witness something like that. It disrupted the dining experience of the whole restaurant.

A call for asphalt
I’m calling about the pavement on the roads up here in Beech Grove. Somebody needs to come up here and pave. There are elderly people who walk on these roads. We were walking yesterday and I fell in one of the holes. Somebody needs to pave.

Hold your nose
My son goes to Woodlawn Middle School and has been telling me all year about this kid in his room that smells like poop. Today I went and had lunch with my son. The kid was sitting at the table beside us. He stunk so loud I couldn’t even eat my lunch. What is the reason he can’t clean up and put on clean clothes? It’s not fair to the other kids to smell that all year. Teachers and principals need to do something. I teach my son to be respectful but there is just no sense in this. He comes home and said he didn’t change all day. This is ridiculous.

Love one another
What would Carroll County be like if we could all just be nice to each other for a change? Wouldn’t it be nice if people could just accept responsibility for their actions instead of always looking for somebody else to blame? It would be nice if we could actually support our local businesses. It would be nice if we could recognize the people in our community who work hard and appreciate that instead of just trying to tear people down. This would be a very wonderful place to live. But, we can’t have that. We have to have pettiness and bitterness constantly. It is no wonder our young people leave, because when people go to school and come back here and try to make a difference, they just get beat down. There are no opportunities. People who have tried hard to make this community better have been rewarded with nothing but suffering, pain and anguish. It’s really sad that we can’t just appreciate people and all work together and make our community better. Instead, we have to be hateful and mean. Apparently that is just how it is always going to be. Too bad, Carroll County.

Drilling won’t help
For those people who think that drilling for more oil is going to solve our problem, it is not. Oil companies have leases now for 50 years. They are going to make sure the oil price stays up high. Wall Street speculators are buying up all the oil. It is not drilling. Drilling is not going to help a thing. There is no shortage of oil. If you think there is, I have some big bridges I’d like to sell you.

Time to win
First, I want to say congratulations to Galax for winning the state championship. I just wondered why can’t Carroll County do that, especially in baseball and football? Especially at the varsity level. They’ve got their good ole boy system in place and varsity coaches do well to even have a break-even season. You can’t blame that on the kids. They have had great seasons, even going undefeated and winning district at the JV level. So, maybe Carroll County needs to take a look at who’s coaching. You can tell which coaches love the game and love the kids and their records prove it. Carroll needs to make some changes and look at someone who actually does have a winning record

Opposing vote
We were riding and saw this store that said it was voted the best. Well, this store looks like a johnny house. I don’t know who in the world voted for it. I sure would like to know when I could vote next time. I wouldn’t vote for that store. We went in there and thought we were going to get bit by a snake.
Editor's note: You didn't see all the sign. It says: "Voted the best place in the Twin Counties to be bitten by a snake."  That element of danger is part of its charm.

At your service
[At a medical office in the area], of the ones that check you in and out, there is one who is really nice. The others act like they are the ones that prescribe your medicine. When you call to leave a message for the nurse, they are just rude.

Objects to outcome
What a wonderful legal system we have. I can be a convicted sex offender and if I have Mr. Kilgore as my attorney and powerful family members and a powerful pastor in my corner, I can get my sentence knocked down to just about nothing. And, the victim? Well, who is caring about the victim?

Opposes beer
No beer on Sunday. Please, Independence Town Council, keep the Sabbath beer-free.

Not worth it
For those who said we should sell alcohol on Sundays in Independence, I just have one question. Isn’t it better to lose revenue than to lose one life due to alcohol? Remember, the life you save may be your own.

How close?
I would like to know what the reward is up to in the Brandon Billings slaying and how close they are to solving it and to whom I can make a donation to help find the person who needs to be brought to justice for this.
Editor’s note: We doubt it is appropriate to disclose particulars of an active investigation.

HOTLINE EDITING
• Calls are limited to one minute.
• No libelous calls will be printed.
• Comments will be edited for content and good taste.
• Comments must be called in. No written, e-mailed or faxed comments for the Hotline will be accepted.
• No personal “thank-you” calls will be printed. Calls of praise or appreciation for a person, group or company of general public interest will be considered for publication.
• Comments of a general nature regarding the news and issues of the day are encouraged. Comments are not limited to current events.
• Generally, calls making claims that cannot easily be substantiated will not be printed.
• No negative mention of businesses is allowed. Complaints should be taken up with the business.
• The Hotline will not print calls about individual, private workplace issues. Callers should take employment matters up directly with their employers.
• No personal attacks are allowed.
• No comments will be printed regarding neighbor disputes.
• No group or individual is allowed to dominate the column for a particular political or personal agenda.
• Readers’ Hotline will accept no political campaign-related comments. When election time nears, write a letter to the editor. But between elections, callers are allowed to comment on the job the president, governor, mayor, or any elected official is doing.
• The editor will periodically respond to a caller’s comments or question when needed.
• Not all calls will be printed in The Gazette, depending on the volume of calls received and their content.