Wednesday, May 14, 2003

By Staff
Driver sets
story straight
To the editor:
During the sports part of a recent broadcast on WTOK, they reported on Matthew Alawine. It was so good to see him out on the field. It did my heart good, but then Mike Neighbors had a few words to say. Like the part about Matthew being knocked 80 to 100 feet, or maybe the part about when the car hit Matthew it sounded like two cars hitting each other. I thought he said he was a witness.
I was the driver of the car that hit Matthew. My 8-year-old daughter and I were in that car. I did not knock him 80 to a 100 feet and it did not sound like two cars hitting each other. Believe me, it was bad, real bad, but hearing that man say those things hurt me so much. I hear and see what happened every time I drive by that ballfield, every time.
Dealing with this has been so hard, but I am so glad to see that little boy in his ball uniform on the field. As for Mr. Neighbors, maybe it was his five minutes on camera, But he needs to remember there others who are trying to deal with this. I will close by saying way to go Matthew! He is a strong little boy.
Melinda Gibson
Meridian
Rodgers festival:
Not a family' event
To the editor:
I would like to discuss a concern that I have about the Jimmie Rodgers Festival that we have had in Meridian for as long as I can remember. I remember going to concerts with my parents and participating in the local talent contest as I was growing up and I always felt that the festival was a family-oriented community event and I saw it in a positive light. I'm not sure I can do that anymore.
Personally, I don't listen to much country music any more, we listen to primarily contemporary Christian at my house, but my son does listen to it
somewhat and he wanted to go to the recent concert held at the Agri-Center featuring Joe Nichols and Blake Shelton. I was disappointed to learn that despite the fact that many, many teenagers would be attending, beer was to be served. While I felt confident that my son would not attempt to consume any alcohol, I expressed my disappointment to festival officials only to be assured that no teenagers would be allowed to drink the alcohol and they were going to be sure that this remained a "family" event.
In my opinion, the ideals of family entertainment and alcoholic consumption are mutually exclusive. It's just not possible to have true "family" entertainment when you have persons in attendance who are consuming alcohol in front of minors.
My other concern about the festival is that the annual golf tournament was not held at a local golf course as it had been in the past. It was held at the Pearl River Resort in Philadelphia. It's really sad to me that we cannot even keep a local festival "local" and that we have to turn to "casino row" for virtually all our entertainment. I don't care what people say, casino money (that which people lost to the gambling industry) paid for the golf course, the water park and everything else up there that people want to justify going to.
My family will not partake of those activities and I'm sure there are more of us out there. I only wish that we could have a nice resort facility with a golf course and a water park that wasn't paid for by Mississippians who lost their incomes and some even their homes to gambling.
I hope in the future that the Jimmie Rodgers Foundation will truly be what it claims to be, "family entertainment."
Billie Coleman
Meridian
Puppy dumper'
chastised
To the editor:
To the "louse" that dumped the puppy on Dunrovin Road since you did not have enough compassion and responsibility to even to begin to take care of an animal, I did the job for you. This very loving and sweet puppy now has a great home. Yes, I took the time, energy and commitment to find her a home. I fed her, bathed her, gave her love and even had her halfway housebroken in three days. A special thank you to WMOX radio for their assistance in helping me to find her a home.
Now, back to you, lousy louse. I hope that you get the same treatment in life that you gave this helpless puppy. If you are going to have pets, then take the time and responsibility for your pets. Get them spayed or neutered. Don't drop them off on the side of the road. That takes a coward not a human being. You are definitely not a asset to this community. We don't need people like you in my neighborhood.
Jan Gray
Meridian
Proctor photo
a work of art
To the editor:
This is to commend The Meridian Star and photographer Penny Randall. I refer to the high quality of the picture of the Rev. Greg Proctor, new rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. This appeared on page one of the Religion Section of the May 10, 2003 edition.
The composition of the picture is beautiful. In my opinion it is a work of art as well as a news photo.
James B. Skewes
Meridian

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