To The Editor:

I was pleased to see the immediate response of our Southern neighbors to the recent ice storm devastation in Fulton and Hickman, Ballard and Carlisle counties. Tennesseans responded as true volunteers in mass. 

The first lineman from out of the Hickman/Fulton County RECC Co-op area that I met on the Wednesday following the Monday and Tuesday ice storm was from Pulaski County.

Many of the 400-plus  linemen and right-of-way crews who worked long and hard to restore electric power to a large part of the First Judicial Court in Kentucky were from the Volunteer State.  Please allow me to express a sincere thank you on behalf of the residents of Hickman, Fulton, Carlisle and Ballard counties for the help and assistance rendered by the State of Tennessee whether it was through TEMA, chain saw volunteers, feeding volunteers, linemen and those that donated food, water and other supplies. 

Let me also sincerely say one time, from a true blue Wildcat, “GO VOLS”!

Judge Timothy A. Langford

Ballard, Hickman, Fulton, Carlisle Circuit

Hampton went 

above, beyond

To The Editor:

When an event like an ice storm occurs, it brings out the best and worst in people. That can be applied to businesses as well. My experience was with the best from a business.

Even though I live in the area and was able to stay with relatives while my electrical power was out, my wife and I decided we needed a break from being in other people’s homes, so we decided to get a room at the Hampton Inn. We were able to get a room for Saturday night. When we checked in, we were informed that there was an evening meal available to us. We had a meal and enjoyed our privacy for the night.

As we were preparing to depart the hotel  Sunday morning, someone that we believe was the manager began to talk with us. We explained our circumstances and thanked her for the evening meal and breakfast. We also expressed hope that the power would come back on at our home during the day. She told us that we could come back for the evening meal again Sunday night, even if we didn’t stay at the hotel for the night.

In my mind, offering an evening meal was above and beyond what was required of the hotel since they normally only offer breakfast. But when she offered to allow us to come back for the evening meal without staying another night, that was so far above her obligations that I had to do something to let everyone know how outstanding this business is. I commend the Union City Hampton Inn for their outstanding service to the community during a time of trial. For the owners of the Union City Hampton Inn, I suggest all their employees deserve  a bonus for the outstanding service that went far above and beyond their obligations.

Thank you, Hampton Inn.

Walt Asher

Troy

Time to stand up

for our country

To The Editor:

I’m sure many reading this letter will be upset with the title, “This Once Great Country,” but before making judgment, read on.

The generation that I was born out of has been called “The Greatest Generation.” They brought me into this world five years before Germany invaded Poland, seven years before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and 20 years before Wall Street recovered back to it’s 1929 levels, before the crash. They took me through some of the terrible hardships of The Great Depression and the enormous sacrifices of World War 2. This generation had little to live on, very little hope and a future that looked dire.

This is the same generation that went on to make this the greatest, strongest, most prosperous country in the world. They were able to do it because they had faith in and worshiped God, their work ethic was beyond belief, their love of country was unwavering, and their dedication to their children was  unending. The whole family unit was involved in teaching the children the core values, love for God, love and respect for others, the importance of a good education, etc.

Now, let’s compare this with the values that we have today, even though the decline started in the late 1960’s with the pot-smoking, dissident college students and draft dodgers.

Unfortunately, today the family unit is becoming a thing of the past. God is being taken out of our culture, marriage is becoming unimportant, values have been distorted and discipline appears to be used only in military. The drop-out rate in our schools is alarming, and too many students and even some educators are more committed to social activities than classroom assignments. 

This country of “ours” should have the greatest educational systems in the world and could have it with some fairly minor academic changes, but a whole lot of cultural change. Far too many people, including professors, interpret our rights under the Constitution as being able to do anything they want, to anyone they want at any time they want, without repercussion. That, my dear friends, is not the case.

I went to the official site of the U.S. Constitution and read the article: “What is Democracy.” When I got to the section, “Citizenship: Rights and Responsibilities,” I came across a very important statement. Here is what it says, word for word:

“It is certainly true that individuals exercise basic, or inalienable, rights — such as freedom of speech, assembly, and religion — which thereby constitutes limits on any democratically-based government. In this sense, individual rights are a bulwark against abuses of power by the government or a momentary political majority. But in another sense, rights, like individuals, do not function in isolation. Rights are not the private possession of individuals but exist only insofar as they are recognized by other citizens of the society. The electorate, as the American philosopher Sidney Hook expressed it, is “the ultimate custodian of its own freedom.”  From this perspective, democratic government, which is elected by and accountable to its citizens, is not the antagonist of individual rights, but their protector. It is to enhance their rights that citizens in a democracy undertake their civic obligations and responsibilities.”

Now, folks, I think it is about time for us to stand up and get prayers back in our schools, the Ten Commandments back in our courthouses and values back in our society.

Gary Spence

Troy
Published in The Messenger 3.4.09