We need to do something about trash

To the Editor:

It's high time to talk some serious trash - and do something about it.

Look around - ugly trash litters the road in front of our homes and is scattered in farm fields and shopping mall parking lots.

Treasured natural areas like Garden of the Gods is in danger of becoming a trash dump.

The litter problem affects us all and the future of our children. Clean towns, roads and natural areas will attract new businesses to our region and increase property values. A clean environment is simply a more pleasant place to live.

This spring make it a family project to pick up litter on the roadside near your home. Recycling soda cans, steel cans, glass and plastic bottles and paper is the next step to cleaning up our community and protecting our environment.

If all of us work together the goal of making Southern Illinois the most beautiful and best place to live in the state can be a reality.

Steve and Kathy Belletire, Marion

Why should I trust Bush?

To the Editor:

As a Republican tell me why should I trust Bush.

He has turned his back on this country. The government has spent thousands of dollars to train him as a pilot and what did he do?

Bush did not have the moral integrity to finish his enlistment in the National Guard.

So what is his next big accomplishment? Sending off young mothers with children to a war we did not need.

Instead of listening to people like Colin Powell , he has to listen to the Republican crowd and put this country in one hell of a mess.

So what is Bush's next big accomplishment? To make private accounts out of Social Security, then when we die the balance will go to our kids. Since our kids did not earn it, the money should go back into the system to strengthen it.

Now what about the corporate crooks? They seem to have their own way under Bush's example, Enron, Tyco, World Com, Ebbers and it goes on and on. Republican, Democrat, whatever, the systems has worked. So let's screw that up, too. No one likes taxes, but there are some takes that are needed.

So here is my plan. Put in private accounts. Then let us Republicans steal the private accounts blind, it cannot get any better then that.

Social Security is about as bullet proof as you can get. I hope the young people in this country are smart enough to see through this scam. There are no guarantees in life, but private accounts in social takes the cake.

A request to the editor and every other news paper in the country, publish the names of every Congressman and how they voted on the private accounts bill.

O.W. Neubauer, Culter

Republicans committed to meeting deadline

To the Editor:

In our daily lives, we all have deadlines we must meet or face the consequences. We get our work done on time or face consequences on the job. We pay our bills when they are due each month or are charged additional fees. Government works the same way, only when the governor and General Assembly fail to complete a job on time the taxpayers get stuck paying the late fees.

Last year, the Democrat-led General Assembly and governor's inability to agree on a budget by the adjournment deadline cost Illinois taxpayer's over $360,000 in overtime. With a persistent multi-billion dollar state budget deficit, there is absolutely no excuse for wasting taxpayer dollars on needless overtime expenses.

This is why my House Republican colleagues and I have expressed to the Democrat leadership our commitment to work with them to approve a responsible balanced budget by the May 27 adjournment date. We are also committed to addressing other critical issues by that date including:

l Medical Litigation Reform: High insurance costs are driving doctors out of Southern Illinois! We must pass meaningful reforms to make Illinois a "doctor friendly" state.

l Education Funding: The Governor's proposed budget greatly decreases state funding for our already cash-strapped local schools. Property taxpayers cannot and should not bear more of the funding burden.

We can complete our work on time! The taxpayers of Illinois should expect the Democrat-led General Assembly and Gov. Blagojevich to meet their legal deadlines. Failure to meet deadlines cost taxpayers money.

Mike Bost, State representative, 115th District

Thank you for making relay possible

To the Editor:

To the residents of Southern Illinois and the hundreds of people who make the Illinois River to River Relay possible, I want to take the time to say "Thank You."

Who would have believed the vision of Gordon and JoAnn Pitz in 1988 would have blossomed each spring and grown into and event that we just completed. That first year, no one believed the relay would reach its goal of 60 teams. Now we limit the filed to 240 teams and that takes only minutes to fill a full six months prior to the event.

This year, we were able to welcome Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his team as participants. The governor indicated he enjoyed the relay and he plans to return.

The event has grown in stature so that it is mentioned in the same breath as the "Hood to Coast" relay in Washington State. While Hood to Coast is considered by many to be "the mother of all relays", those who have done both have told me on many occasions that the Illinois River to River Relay is their favorite and that the organization and friendliness of the people is just 'the best'.

The relay has just completed its 18th year. We have three volunteers who have worked in each relay. We have also had some 20+ volunteers who have worked at least 15 years with the relay.

Larry Bowman of the Williamson County Tourism Bureau and his staff have been tremendous for the past 17 years.

In the second year of the relay, founder Gordon Pitz established a committee to organize the event. While several members eventually stepped down, five of those original members are still on the job. Janet Bixler, Anne Johnson, Judith McHose, Ken Starbuck, and Jan Sundberg have had such a large part in making the relay what it is today. Along with them, Assistant Race Director Larry Williams and current committee members Lee Holland, Paul Broadway have stepped in to take on various assignments. Bob Giacomo has increased the number of Ham radio operators across the course to some 80 people. Dennis Karnes has worked to increase the number of EMT's available for medical emergencies to fourteen this year.

Our volunteers are held in such high regard that each year, I receive emails from teams thanking us for the event and lavishing praise on the volunteers.

Sheriffs Nash, Faulkner, Sparks and all their deputies, Police Chief Fisher in Golconda and all of the troopers from State Police District 22 have been wonderful to work with over the years.

Others include Marlene Rivero and the staff of the National Forest Service District Office in Jonesboro, Andy West who for 17 years worked with us at the Trail of Tears Stare Forest, Bill Boyd and Mike Yates and the others at the Union County Highway Department, Karen Winzenburger in Cobden and Lonnie and the people at Reppert Publications. Thanks to Les Winkeler, Chuck Novara and the good people at the Southern who have provided great coverage.

To all the residents who live along the relay route, we say thank you for being gracious in allowing the relay to disrupt your lives.

At the same time, we realize that the economic impact of the relay is almost $500,000 by conservative estimates.

The 19th River to River Relay is set for April 22, 2006.

Keith McQuarrie, Race Director, 2005 River to River Relay

Be considerate of animals on the road

To the Editor:

Now is the time of year when the interaction between people and animals escalates, as both leave their winter dwellings to enjoy the warm spring weather. However, many times the animals are left worse off after the encounter. This is particularly pertinent in the plight of local turtles and the local roadways.

Aquatic turtles emerge from their winter retreats in late March or early April. One of the first things they have on their mind is the need to find a mate. Unfortunately, this may involve crossing roads to traverse their territory. Thousands are killed by traffic every year. Often the turtles are struck deliberately.

In May and June, the second major turtle migration occurs when the females travel to deposit their eggs. They often seek out the same nesting site year after year, and if a road is in their path, they will attempt to cross it. The loss to the turtle populations that results from many of these females' deaths is severe. Due to their low recruitment and extreme longevity, adults are the cornerstone of any turtle community.

If you do see a turtle on the road, be considerate of its right to live, and try to avoid it, or stop and move it off the road. If you do decide to move it off the road, put it off to the side it was facing.

When you're driving down the road this spring and summer, remember to be considerate of everyone that uses the road, including shelled pedestrians.

Simon Bade, Carbondale

All who claim Christ should show faith daily

To the Editor:

With low blood pressure this week, I thought I could risk reading Ann Coulter, Sunday, April 10. It is most confusing to hear myself described in some detail by someone who knows nothing about me.

I have a kind generous friend whom I assume is gay. I suspect he assumes I'm straight, although we've never peeked into each others' bedrooms. Some time ago I held the emaciated form of a young man, once, a dear friend of both my sons. He was dying of AIDS and I wept as he told how he sat by the bedside of another and wondered if he could stay to the end. "But," he said, "God helped me and I was able to do it." I knew that I loved him still, and I never doubted for a moment that God loved him too.

I deeply admire Ashley Smith and applaud her witnessing the love of Christ to Brian Nichols. In our mainline church in Carbondale, we have had several classes studying "The Purpose Driven Life." Would that all of us who claim the name of Christ could find ways to show our faith daily. The last line of one of our closing hymns Sunday was: "Jesus is through us made known."

I have been a Democrat for over four decades, but I must not be a very good one, for Ann says the mascot of our party is Sponge Bob Square Pants, and I've never seen a single episode - nor do I intend to.

Normagene Warner, Carbondale