By Staff
On parking downtown
To the editor:
First, let me state plainly that I have the utmost respect for the parking enforcement personnel who work for the city of Meridian. They are doing the job they were hired to do and have been beyond fair in my vast personal experience. Nobody likes to get a parking ticket, so their's is a thankless job from the standpoint of their "customers." They are very nice people.
That being said, I thoroughly appreciated Suzanne Monk's recent column regarding parking tickets. I had wanted to write a letter to the editor earlier this month after my second parking ticket of the week and it was probably just a Tuesday.
I'm sure some self-seeming important business at The Meridian Star (working late on a deadline or helping a customer) delayed me from moving my car on time. But when I went outside to move it I had the dreaded ticket on my car. I was about 10 minutes too late.
As I looked up and down the block it occurred to me that the sole reason for having to move my car every hour was so customers won't have any trouble finding parking places at the businesses on the block (including ours). But at that moment, mine was one of a total of seven cars parked on either side of 22nd Avenue between 8th and 9th streets and I got a parking ticket.
I haven't counted the spaces, but there must be 30-40 parking spaces through there and a customer would have had absolutely no trouble parking in front of any of the businesses on our street. I know it's a different story at lunchtime when people are eating nearby, or the after-school rush, but when the number of empty parking spaces outnumber the parked cars 5 to 1, why should it cost me $6 to be 10 minutes late moving my car?
I've worked downtown for 18 years and shudder to think what parking has cost me in that time. If I averaged $20 per month for all those years (very conservative), I've spent well over $4,000 with the city without so much as a thank you.
Please refer to paragraph one again.
Elizabeth Ryan,
Meridian
MPD plans enhanced Labor Day enforcement
To the editor:
This Labor Day weekend the Meridian Police Department will be working enhanced traffic enforcement and roadside safety checks focusing on impaired driving, seatbelts and child restraints. We are asking the public to help by being sure everyone in your vehicle is buckled up or by having a designated driver.
The Meridian Police Department is dedicated to protecting the citizens of Meridian during this holiday season and no one is exempt from enforcement. So please remember: Buckle up and don't drink and drive.
I would also like to remind your readers that we are available to meet with your civic/church organizations to do presentations and also we have certified officers to install car seats properly in vehicles.
If anyone has questions or would like to schedule a presentation they may call me at 484-6830.
Capt. Rick McCary
Meridian Police Department
Harris' return great for MHS
To the editor:
I, too, applaud Mr. R.D. Harris for accepting the challenge of returning to Meridian and improving its public school system. During my years as a student at MHS, it was obvious that Mr. Harris was an extremely dedicated administrator who went unrecognized for his talent to the profession. He also appeared to expect more from minority students. To put it simply, you could tell that Mr. Harris cared for the future of his students, including those like me who were not of the same color. And most importantly, he was dedicated in giving time to those who so many others had so quickly given up hope.
Meridian is very fortunate to have him back.
David Laney
Spring, Texas
Vietnam veterans wall quite an experience
To the editor:
I hope that everyone who wanted to see the moving wall that was at Bonita Lakes Mall got to. It was a very moving experience. I only knew one person killed in Vietnam. I was about 10 years when our neighbor (James) Hilton Rawson was killed, but it is something I will never forget.
I was glad to see in the Kemper County newspaper last week that his family got to go and see his name. This had to be an important occasion for many families. I'm sure there are many of us who would never have had the chance to see it had it not been near home.
Thanks to all who helped bring this to Meridian free of charge.
Jeannie Ross Howard
Louisville
Reader wants more on test scores
To the editor:
You did a disservice to your readers on Friday, Aug. 15, in the article about Meridian area school test scores. The Clarion-Ledger printed the scores for every school in the state with clear information on how to read it and understand it. You should have done the same for at least the schools in your reader's area.
Robert Connor
Meridian
Good Samaritans still exist
To the editor:
Good Samaritans do still exist. My husband and I found this out when we traveled to Meridian on a business trip. We passed by a fruit stand along side the road and decided to stop. We purchased our fruits and veggies and went on our way.
After many more stops and a tiring day, we decided to eat at the Rustler Steak House. I looked in my purse and there was no billfold to be found. It contained my money, credit cards, ID and no telling what else. We explained this to the waiter. He got the manager for us and he asked if we happened to remember a name. I told him I believed it was Fontaine's Fruit Stand. He said to give him a minute and he would see what he could do.
Believe it or not he located Mr. and Mrs. Billy Fontaine and called me to the phone. Mr. Fontaine said that two of his workers, Annie White and Rebecca Riley had found my billfold when closing up. They all had been trying to locate me, even going through the Sheriff's Department. I tried to give Brad Smith and Mike Partridge from the Rustler Steak House a reward for all their help, but they said they wouldn't take one.
Then I tried to give Mr. Fontaine and the two workers a reward for their honesty and they said they would not accept one, either. It was so nice and refreshing to know that there are still people who care if you're in trouble and are honest enough to turn something in untouched, not wanting anything for their good deed.
I salute these fine citizens.
Beverly M. Smyth
Louisville
Stars' in Meridian
To the editor:
I know it's no secret that Meridian is a town of good folks. My family and I had the opportunity to discover this truth on Aug. 12. We stopped at Meridian to fuel our cars up and discovered that one of the vehicles had a hole in a water hose. Through a series of suggestions and recommendations, we were sent to the Shell station at 3004 Eighth St., where we met Phillip Moulds, station manager, his mechanic and a customer, Susan Bowles.
To make a long story short, these three "Good Samaritans," after hearing of our plight, paid for us to spend the night in Meridian, and fixed the car so that we could be back on the road again early the next morning. If these three citizens of your community are an example of what the Meridian people are like, then indeed Meridian is a town of good folks and a good place to live.
Rev. Joseph M. Johnson
Plainview, Texas