Viewpoints

To the Editor:
March is National Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. People with disabilities are valuable, contributing members of our community who have much to offer and a desire to participate.
People with developmental disabilities have proven to be reliable workers and excellent volunteers, capable of meeting or exceeding expectations and standards. Thanks to organizations like Mosaic, people with disabilities are leading richer, more fulfilling lives.

To the Editor:
March 5-12, the nation is celebrating AmeriCorps Week. It is a time to acknowledge and commemorate the commitment of AmeriCorps members, to thank community partners, and to recognize the value of the life-changing impact this powerful service offers.
Since 1994, 9,300 Iowa residents have served as AmeriCorps members, totaling 12 million hours of service to their communities. As one of those proud AmeriCorps members, I am writing to share my thanks for this opportunity to be part of this national effort and to emphasize the astonishing influence of AmeriCorps in this area.

To the Editor:
As I began attending Supervisor meetings with concerns of taxpayer dollars being used to finance the new Conservation Board’s Driftless Area Education and Visitor Center, I began to see the seduction and danger of grants to our community. Grant money or free money - we all like things that are free.
The problem is there are strings attached. The process is arduous and time consuming. New employees need to be hired to continue to write and apply for more grants. Apply for a grant, present your hard work of the dream project, rejection, rewrite the grant. Do you wonder if the grant is what you want or what a government agency wants?

To the Editor:
Bobby Kennedy said, “One-fifth of the people are against everything all the time.” However, there are times everyone needs to go against something if it is unfair and unjust. As previously pointed out, the planned paving project on 3rd Avenue SW is on a street used by an average 1,100 vehicles a day. In relation to the population of just Waukon, that’s roughly one out of four citizens, yet the property owners on it are required to pay for 40% of its repairs.
In a culture that strives for fairness and equality, I wonder how a small minority have to pay for something a majority use. How can this be?

To the Editor:
Allamakee County is a special place in Iowa.  Among the strong attributes we can be proud of is our large agricultural industry, our small town businesses and factories, our hometown friendly citizens and, obviously, the diverse array of natural wonders. Mother Nature has been exceptionally good to us up here in this corner of our state.
The sad truth is that we sometimes tend to be unappreciative of, or even aware of, what we have right here in our own back yard. That same scenario can be said of a multitude of people throughout our country.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

To the Editor:
I’m sure you have read or seen on TV the number of overdoses on illegal and legal drugs in the state of New Hampshire - 800 dead, that they know of. The people that sell these drugs make big money, they are ruthless people, ruining the lives of many young, innocent people.
One they are hooked, they will do anything to get money to buy more drugs. It’s the cause of a big crime wave all across the USA. It keeps our law offices overloaded with illegal drug cases. Swift and severe punishment should be dealt out to the dealers.

It just happened today that I opened a study Bible I recently acquired. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular; just admiring the study helps articles in the margins.
The page I opened to was the one with Psalm 39 on it. In those first three verses David is struggling to hold his tongue in the presence of the wicked. Immediately, I began to relate to David’s problem.
The more he tried to keep from speaking the harder it was to keep silent. David did finally speak but not in the same way I probably would have.
David first asked God to show him how short his life is compared to the big picture of an eternal god and this creation. He observes that the wicked vainly go about heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will be in the end. David also speaks of how God disciplines by consuming wealth like a moth.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

To the Editor:
The Moving Wall is a half-size replica of the Washington D.C. Vietnam Veterans Memorial  and has been touring the country for 30-plus years. When John Dewitt attended the 1982 dedication in Washington D.C., he felt the positive power of “The Wall.” He vowed to share that experience with those who did not have the opportunity to go to Washington.
John, Norris Shears, Gary Haver and other Vietnam Veteran volunteers built The Moving Wall. It went on display for the first time in Tyler, TX in October of 1984. Two structures of The Moving Wall now travel the USA from April through November spending about a week at each site.