To the Editor:
There is a large list of people who make the Wildcat Invitational awesome. First and foremost, we have to thank Johnathan Estes, the airport manager at the South Arkansas Regional Airport. He, and the South Arkansas Regional Airport Board, are the ones that allow us to use the fields as a venue. Johnathan also does countless other things to help make the event run as smoothly as it does.
The following people volunteered to help the races run as efficiently as possible on race day: Chris & Kristy Hayden (trail side by side), Randy Russell (lead four wheeler), Pate Bauldree for providing his four wheeler, Megan Koonce & Jo Cunningham (check in table), James Cunningham helped watch the course during the races and provided a generator, and Mark and Geni Smith (parking). Missy Shankle, Candace Black, Katie Taylor, Kim Conner, David Conner, Molly Taylor, Julie McGee, Leslie Black, Jo Colvin, Mitch Colvin, & Tiffany Meadows all helped at the finish line.
Thanks to M&J oil for being a meet sponsor. Thanks to county schools Smackover and Parkers Chapel for bringing athletes to compete in the meet. Thanks to McAdams Drafting and Design for selling meet t-shirts. Thanks to the union county sanitation department for providing trash cans free of charge.
Last but not least, huge thanks to the community for coming out to support and for the El Dorado News-Times for all of the coverage.
John Koonce, El Dorado Cross Country Coach
El Dorado
To the Editor:
In February 2013 I wrote a column pertaining to the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. In it I pointed out that I could be more sympathetic to opponents of a woman's right to choose an abortion if those same opponents were equally supportive of actions that would improve the quality of one's life after birth. In other words, to do something that would make abortion a choice less likely to be made. We are nearly a year and a half away from the 50th anniversary, and we still haven't done much to remove the causes of abortions.
Tragically, the situation has now gotten worse due to the misogynistic actions of the Trumpista GOP in red states and in the U. S. Congress. The state of Texas, under the malignant "leadership" of Gov. Greg Abbott, has effectively outlawed any abortions in the state, causing those with the means to do so to seek assistance in other states or nations. The McConnell-Trump Supreme Court will soon be hearing a case from Mississippi that is expected to put the nails in the coffin of Roe v. Wade. The three Trumpista appointees know that was why they were appointed, as do Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.
If state and U.S. congressional legislators were truly sincere about the sanctity of life and forcing women to give birth regardless of their personal circumstances, then why are they opposed to virtually every Democratic bill that might remedy those personal circumstances and give every newborn baby a chance to succeed in life? Basically, they care about the embryos and fetuses only to secure fundamentalist religious votes, but they care nothing about the babies, toddlers, youths, adults, and senior citizens they will become.
How could any American legislator oppose the Democrat's Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act with a clear conscience? No one born in the U. S. should have to worry about whether he or she will be allowed to vote. This is supposed to be a democratic-republic, so all our legislators should act like it really is.
In contrast to other wealthy countries, the United States is notoriously stingy on child care, health care, education, and even our Social Security System. The pending Reconciliation Act is intended to rectify these embarrassments. Only congressional Democrats support it, but there are two corporate Dems in the Senate and a handful in the House who might weaken it or join the Trumpistas to prevent its passage.
All the following "anti-abortion/pro-family" policies are included in the bill: Child care assistance for 0 to 5-year-olds; two years of universal pre-K for 3 and 4-year-olds; paid family and medical leave; extension of the current child tax credit through 2025; and two free years of community college.
Three other policies that have also been long-needed are included: Expanding Medicare to include dental, hearing, and vision services; cutting prescription drug prices; and combating climate change to prevent future generations from having to survive in an ever-increasing hostile world.
David Offutt
El Dorado
To the Editor:
After listening to David Jeremiah sermon series dealing with the end times, I often wonder if we are getting there. Last night he talked about the micro-chip that can be implanted in the wrist. You can be tracked down and when you goin a place to shop, all you have to do is swipe your hand, like a barcode. People would know a lot about you. Your private life and personal data, not to mention your bank account. Are we heading to the end times? It seems that way. In the book of Revelation David Jeremiah brought out the mark of the beast. In correspondence with the micro-chip. You will not be able to buy or sell unless you take the mark. There will be famines. This will be the tribulation after the Rapture. Now nobody is aware of the Rapture. It could take place anytime. Jesus will come down from the eastern sky, with the archangel blowing the trumpets. All believers and children of God will be taken up to heaven, to live in eternal peace. It's a scary situation. With all the bad things happening the Coronavirus, the wayward lifestyles, people doing their own thing and the storms like the hurricanes, earthquakes and fires out on the west coast. You had better get your heart right with God. He's coming real soon Morning, Night or Noon.
Donald Putman
El Dorado