Sunday, July 14, 2002

By Staff
Similar name, different person
To the editor:
This is in reference to the news story "MPD makes felony arrests," which aired Thursday, July 11, on WTOK-TV. The person identified as Willie Williams is not the Willie A. Williams IV, a 1997 graduate of MHS and son of Mrs. Gilda Williams and Mr. Willie A. Williams III. Willie A. Williams IV is a sergeant at MacDill AFB, Tampa, Fla.
It would be appreciated if this clarification can be printed in your newspaper. Hopefully it will eliminate some of the phone calls I am receiving concerning this matter.
Mrs. Gilda Williams
Meridian
Mississippi State Guard offers service opportunity
To the editor:
President Bush has asked that all American citizens volunteer two years of their lives to activities that will help strengthen our country. A way for the people of Mississippi to do an invaluable service for our state and our country is to join the Mississippi State Guard. We're not the National Guard, but we're the back-up force that would assume the National Guard's duties in case they are called to active duty.
Also, we may be called up for statewide service during emergencies such as floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and civil disturbances. We accept any citizen without a felony record between the age of 17 and 64. There are no physical exams or written tests to take to enlist so you don't have to be in great shape or a rocket scientist. You must buy your own uniform, which is the standard army BDU and agree to serve without pay unless we are called to active duty by the governor. We are to receive pay for active duty.
While many of our members are those with prior military service, often their wives (mine included) have enlisted to serve with their husbands. If you have military service, we'll grant you the rank on your DD 214 and your prospects for advancement in the higher ranks are good. Many of our field grade officers were once enlisted people.
Please take a look at a little Web site I created for my battalion and you'll learn a lot about us. The Web site's address is http://communities.msn.com/MississippiStateGuard.
If you feel that military service in your own state on a basis of one Saturday-only drill per month and a weekend summer camp annually is for you, then e-mail me at patemiranda@
hotmail.com and I'll be glad to answer any questions you might have.
Those who were officers in any branch of the regular services, National Guard, Reserves or other state guards, please direct your questions to LTC McCoy at lwmccoy@jam.rr.com
Pate Miranda
Sergeant Major (acting)
Mississippi State Guard
Meridian
Doctors should police their own profession
To the editor:
My wife went to a doctor in 1993 for a few problems. As a result of his work, the drug he prescribed to her caused her to have a bad stroke 13 days after she started taking it. This choice he made has profoundly changed our family life. I cannot work a full time job any more because my wife can not be left alone for that length of time. We can not do the simple things that most families do because of her disability.
The stress over the past few years has caused me to have a heart attack and, after that, I had a stroke. My wife and I had to mortgage our home and use our credit cards to survive. Now we are deeply in debt and stand a good chance of losing it all.
We talk about tort reform. Why do we allow a doctor to practice in this state that has 13 pending judgments against him, two of them resulting in death? We talk about the high cost of malpractice insurance running doctors out of Mississippi.
If the doctors would police their profession and get rid of the ones that are causing the problem, insurance costs would come down. After all, we trusted this professional to make the right choice and look at where it got us.
T.E. Corsello
Rose Hill
Torgerson does injustice to soccer players
To the editor:
I am writing regarding the column in your online Sports section on July 4 written by Stan Torgerson, "Soccer just doesn't get the job done." In my opinion, Mr. Torgerson just doesn't get the job done as a sports writer.
It was obvious from the column that the writer knows nothing about the game of soccer. The point he made about Major League Soccer losing money and teams going under is true. This is due to outdated sports journalists such as Mr. Torgerson who are totally ignorant of the game. It is also true that about 4 million kids play soccer in youth leagues, but it is not true that they don't dream of playing professional soccer. How does Mr. Torgerson know what young soccer players' dreams are when he admittedly does not spend any time around them?
The comment about soccer's most common injury being a skinned knee shows just how little he has watched any soccer. Soccer is a very physical sport, without padding for protection, that requires athletes to be in top physical condition with superb ball-handling skills.
If Mr. Torgerson doesn't care much for pampered athletes or games that are too "slow," soccer is a sport he could love as much as anybody who has given it a chance and learned the game. In the game of soccer, there is constant action and the athletes are neither pampered nor overpaid, something Mr. Torgerson cannot say about football or basketball, the sports that he "loves."
As a Christian, a woman and the mother of a teen-age daughter who plays soccer, the comment about women's soccer being the answer because "at least they jiggle" offends me on so many levels that I do not know where to begin. That comment is not even worth the additional time it would take to respond.
I am also the mother of a son that is one of those boys who is a great athlete and does well in any sport he plays. He has played them all growing up, including baseball, basketball and football, but he has chosen soccer as his love because of the constant, fast action and skill level. He has signed to play soccer with Meridian Community College this fall on a full athletic scholarship after returning from Marine boot camp in August. I will be reading your newspaper regularly so I hope you have some sports journalists that are more informed and up-to-date than Mr. Torgerson.
If not, I would like to invite Mr. Torgerson to come to the MCC soccer games this fall. I will be glad to teach him the rules of soccer and look forward to watching him develop the love for the game that everyone who spends any time watching it most assuredly does.
The MCC soccer program has had great success and MCC teams have played in the NJCAA Division I National Tournament for the last three years, winning the championship in 2000. I know there are many people who would like to see your paper get behind a local college team and give them the coverage they deserve. Why doesn't The Meridian Star pave the way for other Mississippi papers in promoting the great sport of soccer?
Bonnie Sims
Meridian Community College soccer fan
Brandon

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