Sunday’s Letters to the editor

OPINION

Only in America

Dear editor:

Well, it happened again. A person old enough to buy assault weapons and tactical gear walked into a store and bought assault weapons and ammo and tactical gear and shot to death two adults and 19 children -- so far -- and injured others. I'm sorry to say, "Only in America."

No other country has mass shootings the way we do. And the reason is simple: guns. No, not pistols or hunting equipment, but killing equipment. Why? Fear of the NRA, a group that used to be about hunting, but is now about conspiracy and fear and irrationality. I listened to the news about the primaries last night, but no candidate seemed to have noticed the shooting deaths of those children.

My granddaughter, in addition to reading and writing and arithmetic, learns about what to do if the wrong person comes into her classroom, and she is only 7 and lives in a town of about 20,000 people right here in the USA. Yes, we will elect our senator and our governor, but nothing will change simply because Republicans, both in Arkansas and nationally, will refuse to make it impossible for people to buy assault weapons and tactical gear. I apologize to all of our grandchildren.

P.S.: We allowed 1 million people in our country, including children, to die of COVID because we, I should say Republicans, refused to get people vaccinated and have them wear masks. Shame on us.

Ken Cook

Hot Springs

'Best-kept secret'

Dear editor:

I would like to publicly thank the community of Hot Springs for honoring AUI by voting us through the Chamber of Commerce as Organization of the Year. Though there are many amazing organizations in our community and many that I am affiliated with, I have to confess my bias that Abilities Unlimited of Hot Springs is the best! We have the best staff, best director, best board and of course the best clients ever!

This was such a humbling and exciting experience for us and those we serve. It was equally as humbling for both Karen Kight, AUI executive director, and myself to have been nominated for Woman of the Year. So very proud for my deserving friend, Miriam Ramirez, who received this honor.

Abilities is so much more than a provider of services for adults with developmental disabilities. We offer so much more than services in that we are a family. We serve six school districts that refer special needs students for a transition program. We share resource information that helps callers from all over so we are a good representation for Hot Springs and Arkansas. We promote health, adult education, self-advocacy, self-responsibility, strong work ethics and so much more.

Our clients are truly the most dependable and loyal individuals to be found anywhere -- if that is what you are looking for in an employee give us a call at 501-767-8400.

If you or your service club are interested in a tour, volunteering with us or want an uplifting experience, call to set up a tour. I can't count how many times we have heard from guests "This is the best-kept secret in Hot Springs." We don't advertise but let others share what AUI means to them and we keep growing. Well, I will put in a plug here to support our Thrift store with your donations through pickup or drop-offs between 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

We want to thank our community for the honor you have given us as well as the support we have received throughout our 61 years. We are looking forward to the coming years of continued service to Hot Springs and surrounding counties. Thank you for the love you have shown us over the years.

Lynn Hargis

Hot Springs

Another example

Dear editor:

Venezuela, the country, is collapsing as we speak. There is rioting in the streets, food shortages, massive unemployment, excessive inflation, and devaluation of their currency. Crime is rampant with innocent law-abiding civilians not being protected by the authorities. Lawlessness prevails.

The reason is simple: The socialist/progressive/liberal government has failed to deliver the dreams that it promised. Their goals of redistribution of wealth by taking from those who worked and giving to those who refused to work finally reached the point of failure.

They are not the first nation to fail due to socialist ideals. Their goal was altruistic. The attempts to redistribute wealth were aimed at alleviating poverty. Their leaders promised utopia to get votes. Too many people had their hands out and the number increased proportionately to the number of people who no longer worked.

Extreme socialism began in 1999 and the country has collapsed 23 short years later. I wonder what the timeline will be for the United States?

John Grillo

Hot Springs

Fundraiser 'thanks'

Dear editor:

Thank you to all the individuals, community organizations, and local dentists for their overwhelming support of the Faces Foundations Annual Smoked Butts Fundraiser. This year's event sold over 160 smoked butts.

The Faces Foundation is a Hot Springs nonprofit organization founded by Dr. Daron Praetzel that provides facial and reconstruction surgery for children and young adults with facial deformities, who would otherwise not have the financial resources to have adequate and appropriate surgical corrections performed.

An event like this was successful because of the dedication and hard work of board member Rollin Caristianos. His tenacity and overall coordination of the event was a significant factor to its success. In addition, we would like to extend a special thank you to Corbett Sutton -- Elder Estate Protection of Arkansas, Fred Bradshaw -- Home Services Foundation Repair, and Dr. Chris and Tonya Young for their support and generous donations. This year's top-notch "smokers" were donated by Bob Edmonds, Dr. Randy Hill, Hunter James, Terrence Culclager, Jeff Taylor and Fred Bradshaw. A big thank you to JoJo Gargano (The Lawn King) for supplying the firewood, and we cannot forget Chef Andrew Disney and the Vault for providing the custom-made "rub," amazing as always.

A fundraising event like this can only come to fruition because of the willingness of outstanding individuals volunteering to presell the pork butts, spend hours preparing the butts for smoking, working throughout the night maintaining the temperature and wood supply of the smokers, then wrapping the smoked butts for final distribution. Thank you to this amazing group of volunteers: Hunter James, Rollin Caristianos, Matt Cox, Vicki Hinz, Jennifer Vaughn, Steve Fulenwider, Vance Dobyns, Frank Warren, Aaron Varney, Jared Zeiser, and John Hoefl.

Thank you all for another fun and very successful event benefiting the Faces Foundation and its mission of "Changing Lives One Face at a Time."

Ernie Hinz

Dr. Daron Praetzel

Hot Springs

'Moral' issues

Dear editor:

Many are not aware that as of today there are 200,000 women incarcerated in detention centers and/or Arkansas prisons. None of these places have adequate facilities for birth of children. So, if the abortion law is overturned by our SCOTUS, there will be hundreds of deaths of women and fetuses. It's ironic that so-called pro-lifers say little or nothing about prenatal care or nurturing the newborn. Yet, there are several "moral" issues involved.

One moral issue regards the nurturing problems. Another moral issue relates to rape and incest, which a number of states and even some Arkansas politicians feel unimportant. Another moral issue concerns adoption, which again many politicians consider unimportant. They obviously are not aware of the difficulties in adopting, nor the fact that in some cases an adoption may cost as much as $10,000. Foster-homing is a great thing, but that often poses problems with family relationships, sometimes resulting in physical or sexual abuse as well as psychological.

Then there is the fact that hundreds of unwanted children become an extra tax burden for thousands who are unrelated to the newborn. This affects all taxpayers, including those on poverty level income because taxes exist on all items bought, not just on real estate or personal property.

It bothers me that so many calling themselves Christian are supporters of pro-lifers when all these "moral" issues are considered. I believe the term pro-birther fits them more properly. Abortion used as birth control -- which I am opposed to -- is one thing, but all these "gray" matters suggest that this is a very complex issue. Perhaps we all need to heed St. James' warning that "Faith without Works" is dead.

John W. "Doc" Crawford

Arkadelphia

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