Letters To The Editor -
Letters from May 15
Racks by the Tracks a great event Return to top
My wife and I attended Saturday’s Racks by the Tracks event in downtown Kingsport with local friends as well as some visitors from Greeneville, S.C. We all had a great time. The event was well organized and well run. The live music was a great counterpoint to good ribs and good beer. I overheard numerous conversations saying it was great to be able to attend an event like this here at home instead of having to travel to Asheville or Knoxville or Nashville to do so.
My hat is off to Doug Beatty and Jeff Lane. I’m sure local merchants were happy to see a crowd downtown on a Saturday afternoon too. I sincerely hope to see this event next year and even more like it right here in downtown Kingsport.
Clark Parker
Kingsport
Speak up for rights of animals Return to topWould you like to be locked up and never see daylight? Animal cruelty is a very big issue. There are many ways animals are tortured. They are slaughtered for food, they are slaves for the circus, and they are used for experiments. Animals have feelings and rights too.
Animals scream when they feel pain. They understand and communicate. They should not be used for fur or people’s entertainment like in a circus. Animals don’t deserve the pain we put them through.
Eating meat is killing our economy. The grain that is used to feed them could be feeding starving children. You can’t eat meat and call yourself an environmentalist because over 50 percent of water is gone to animals only for our food. It should not. Support animal rights. Don’t stand by silently waiting for someone else to take over. Raise your voice and speak loudly. You don’t have to be vegan to understand that killing an innocent animal is wrong.
Skye Salyers
Kingsport
Why is city’s red light fine so high? Return to topVince Staten, Metro columnist for the Times-News (once you read his column, you are addicted) asks the question, “If you run a red light, why is the fine $50 in Knoxville (and Charlotte and Nashville and Cary, N.C.) and $100 in Kingsport?” If you think this begs for an answer, e-mail our Board of Mayor and Aldermen to let them know your opinion: light@ci.kingsport.tn.us.
Tom A. Cope
Kingsport
Mets deserve appropriate sign Return to topAs summer approaches, so does K-Mets baseball. On June 17, the Mets will kick off another Appy League baseball season. The Mets have played baseball at Hunter Wright Stadium since 1995 and still do not have a road sign to inform Kingsporters and out-of-towners of their presence in the city.
The Times-News published my desire for a sign back in 2005, and three years later nothing has changed. You will not see a sign that says “Kingsport Mets” or “Hunter Wright Stadium.” Instead you will see the generic “Baseball Stadium” sign.
What will it take for the city leaders to recognize our very own minor league baseball club with an appropriate sign?
Mark Davis
Kingsport
Can’t get help to fix road in Hawkins Return to topI asked the road commissioner and committee members for help to fix my road. I sent pictures and explained that I am almost 60 years old and a single parent and cannot fix the road, which is in bad shape. I called and sent everyone on the committee letters asking for help. No one bothered to call me and let me know the decision they made. I was told that the head of the committee said I need to get the road in prefect shape and then they would consider taking the road over. If I could afford to fix the road, I wouldn’t have asked them. I thought that since I have paid taxes, the county would help. What kind of people are running Hawkins County?
Sheila Babecka
Church Hill
Specter’s priorities are confused Return to topWhy is Sen. Arlen Specter more concerned about a professional football team videotaping an opposing team’s hand signals than passing legislation ensuring that all Americans have health care insurance? Congress is more concerned about whether Roger Clemens took HGH than they are about the millions of Americans that have lost their jobs in the last several years. I guess the next president will make all these things go away.
It doesn’t matter what party the president is from, he or she can only do what Congress allows. These are the people that have given the American people NAFTA, the Iraqi war, the steroid investigations, and the stimulus check that we will have to pay back to the government sooner or later. I hope that when it is time for Congress to vote themselves another raise, the American people get to give them a job performance evaluation to make sure they deserve it.
Ronnie Horton
Rogersville
