newsroom@newsandtribune.com
May 27, 2008 05:43 pm
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New Albany needs strict smoking ban
My wife and I had a garage sale this past weekend and she had posted a sign asking folks to not smoke as our son has chronic asthma. You would not believe the rude comments and people who chose to ignore our request.
This is just further evidence of why our four year fight to make New Albany smoke free is a failure. New Albany will always remain in the dark ages unless, and until, our elected officials wake up and enact a comprehensive smoking ban.
I have spoken with my city councilman and have been told that there will never be a comprehensive ban in New Albany because of the social clubs and bar owners. However, it has been proven in numerous cities that revenue increases when smoking bans are enacted.
But the important issue to me is the health of my son. At the Harvest Homecoming last year, we had to put up a fight to have the ride operators and food handlers not smoke around the children and then, by Friday, they were back at it. There are Kid Safe Zones in parks but Harvest Homecoming is excluded.
Why can't the people of New Albany realize the health dangers that smoke causes children?
My son did not choose to have asthma. We are in the process of moving to Wisconsin which has a statewide ban on the agenda for this year.
New Albany, it's time to wake up and realize the danger you are creating with second hand smoke. Get out of the dark ages!
— Greg Sanders, New Albany
Reader: Letter writer off track
I have read The Evening News for four decades and The Tribune nearly as long but had never before seen a letter as mean-spirited as the May 15 one by P. H. Duffy. There she disparages the May 10 column in the Sports section by Amy Huffman-Branham, a column that some of us found to be a refreshing counterpoint to much commentary about the issue of race horse injuries.
Instead of phrasing her disagreement on a civil level, Duffy commits a common fallacy of logical reasoning – name calling. In this instance, the use of “middle school students” and “kids.” Name calling or labeling relieves one of addressing the comments of an opponent because name calling implies the opponent’s inferior status makes his or her remarks irrelevant. An introductory textbook on logic will explain this fallacy in detail.
Evidently, for Duffy the experiences and observations of a person – in this case, Ms. Huffman-Branham – are insignificant and can be ignored. That is a strange posture: It has often been noted that mere statistics, such as the number of war casualties or cancer patients, are just figures, but when the casualty or patient is someone we know that condition becomes real, even emotional. Of course, Duffy dismisses emotion; it is unimportant to her.
Duffy also misses the ‘tongue-in-cheek’ tenor of Huffman-Branham’s remarks about the previous column written by Matt Cress.
A contrast to Duffy’s letter is the piece printed next to it by Peggy DeKay, which also comments on the tragedy that occurred on Derby Day. DeKay’s remarks are upbeat, well-stated and a credit to those that have the opportunity to speak their minds on the pages of The Evening News and the Tribune.
What is most disturbing about Duffy’s letter is that it violates the linchpin of a society that embodies freedom of expression: To disagree without being disagreeable or questioning the integrity of one with whom you disagree.
— Thomas P. Wolf, New Albany
Open letter to Floyd Commissioners
I live in the town of Georgetown and I am upset that the Floyd County Commissioners are trying to prevent the town of Georgetown from building a wastewater treatment plant on 23 acres that the town owns.
Let me remind you that Indiana law allows a town to build any type of utility structure as long as the site is within ten miles of the town. The property that Georgetown owns is less than two miles from the town border.
Furthermore, the Indiana State Appeals Court has already ruled against the group known as Edwardsville Citizens, Inc., thus giving the town of Georgetown the right to build a wastewater plant.
Edwardsville is not recognized as a town in Indiana; they are viewed as a hamlet, but not a town. They have no post office or zip code, no school, police or fire department. In fact, the citizens that live in what they call “Edwardsville” all have Georgetown addresses and zip codes. Yet, it seems that the commissioners are trying to side with a small group of people while holding an entire town hostage.
Why would the Floyd County Commissioners want to delay a project that by state law sides with Georgetown?
I’m sure the commissioners are aware that if you continue to delay this project the sewer rates for all citizens in Georgetown will quadruple in February 2009; this also includes the rates for the group that refers to themselves as “Edwardsville.”
There has been a lot of misinformation put forth by this citizen group from Edwardsville. This is not a “sewer” plant; no solids will be processed at this site, only water; that’s why it’s called a wastewater plant. The plant will only occupy three acres of the 23-acre site. The site is surrounded by trees and field and the concern about a foul odor is a scare tactic perpetrated by this group.
Furthermore, any continued resistance from the Commissioners concerning the Georgetown plant will be used as fodder for the media when the November elections come into play.
Please give your full support to the citizens of Georgetown.
— Dr. Aaron Striegel, Georgetown
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