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Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor:
If you are over 50, like me, perhaps you can remember, as a kid, when you might walk the country roads and pick up empty soda bottles, return them to a store, and collect the deposit on them. I remember it being two cents per bottle. My brothers and I would then spend the money on Topps Bubble gum, because it had baseball cards inside.
I think it may be time to bring back that practice. The times of glass soda bottles are gone, but there is something out there which seems to be piling up everywhere, cigarette butts, yes, cigarette butts. Look at any street intersection, right next to the curb. That is where they accumulate. That is not the only place, of course. I see people on a regular basis get out of their car, take a puff, and throw the cigarette on the ground. What are they thinking?
Let's talk about a deposit for cigarette butts. Is it plausible? Should it be financially punitive to smokers to encourage them not to throw them away? Would it be financially attractive to people to pick them up, like we did with soda bottles? Well, the idea of two cents per cigarette butt is probably too cheap.
I think we need to charge 25 cents per butt. Smokers would have to pay that much additionally to purchase each pack. That would add $5 to each pack. They would then bring back the butts for a deposit refund when they purchased their next pack. All of the expense of this program would be handled by the tobacco companies. We do not need a government entity to handle this. The tobacco companies and smokers created the problem, they need to pay to fix it.
We would need a phase-in period, of course. The first part would make the tobacco companies pay for all of the butts which are out there now. A fee of 10 cents may be offered for all butts picked up in the first phase. Tobacco companies would have to change the butts, so they could recognize old cigarette butts from the new ones, so they would not pay the 25 cents for older butts.
Of course, since it would not be a government program, fraud prevention would be the problem of the tobacco companies. I can just see it now, butt piracy with fake cigarette butts causing problems for the tobacco companies.
I mentioned the tobacco companies would pay for this project, but we all know who would bear the ultimate cost, smokers. Of course, it would not bother them. They continued smoking after the huge tobacco settlement lawsuit which resulted in increased prices. This would not bother them either.
Perhaps cigarette butt deposits, it is time.
Lamar Story
Dear Editor:
I am not asking anyone to vote for one presidential candidate or the other. People will make up their own minds without my help. What I am asking is they listen closely to what each candidate is saying. It is the little out of the way comments being made and not widely reported by the news media we should be paying attention to as well as the larger issues.
On Wednesday, Aug. 6, a seven-year-old child asked Barrack Obama why he was running for president. His response was; this country is not what it used to be and I don't want my children growing up in it the way it is; not exact words but close. He did not say we are a great nation which has spread freedom and upheld that freedom around the world, or in this country she has more opportunities to strive to be what ever she would want to be than in any other country. He did not say this country is abound with liberties and freedom, a standard of living which is almost unequal, and has set the standard for health care, freedom of speech and justice around the world. He did not explain to her there are things in our country which are wrong and broken and he would like to be president to make changes where changes are needed. He did not tell her he wanted to work to keep her country safe and strong so we can continue to be a great nation and world leader. He did not tell her he believed he has ideas and plans which would make her life and the lives of others better. All I have mentioned a seven-year-old child is capable of comprehending and would have understood them better than the response he gave.
These are the kinds of statements we can pay close attention to in order to help with our own decisions come election day. They help us know the character of a person. I have disagreements with some of John McCain's policies, one being immigration. But I do not believe he would have given an answer to the young lady as Obama did.
We all should not be about the business of instilling just doom and gloom in our children. They are smart, even at seven, they will see the inequities in our country as they grow up and they will know where change is needed. Our duty is to instill national pride, to encourage them to grow up and be interested in their country, to be a part of the solutions, not the problems, and they can make a difference. We need to let them know this is a great, wonderful nation which fought long and hard for freedom and we are still fighting for that freedom not only for ourselves but others as well. We need to let our young people know they can grow up and help make good government and change things which are wrong. This is what we should be teaching our children and a potential president of these United States should know and believe the same things. Obama should have been teaching national pride on Aug. 6.
I will be listening closely to both gentlemen and will make the best decision as to which gentlemen I feel will best serve our country and our future leaders. I will pay attention to what is spoken by both candidates even when it is not widely reported. I will vote for the candidate who will meet all of my qualifications and I will be listening to both candidates for all the little out of the way comments, will you?
Sue Morton
Dear Editor:
The media will be howling racism and bigotry for the next 10 years if the totally inexperienced candidate who has contributed nothing of value to this country fails to attain the Presidency.
Loren D. Fletcher
If you are over 50, like me, perhaps you can remember, as a kid, when you might walk the country roads and pick up empty soda bottles, return them to a store, and collect the deposit on them. I remember it being two cents per bottle. My brothers and I would then spend the money on Topps Bubble gum, because it had baseball cards inside.
I think it may be time to bring back that practice. The times of glass soda bottles are gone, but there is something out there which seems to be piling up everywhere, cigarette butts, yes, cigarette butts. Look at any street intersection, right next to the curb. That is where they accumulate. That is not the only place, of course. I see people on a regular basis get out of their car, take a puff, and throw the cigarette on the ground. What are they thinking?
Let's talk about a deposit for cigarette butts. Is it plausible? Should it be financially punitive to smokers to encourage them not to throw them away? Would it be financially attractive to people to pick them up, like we did with soda bottles? Well, the idea of two cents per cigarette butt is probably too cheap.
I think we need to charge 25 cents per butt. Smokers would have to pay that much additionally to purchase each pack. That would add $5 to each pack. They would then bring back the butts for a deposit refund when they purchased their next pack. All of the expense of this program would be handled by the tobacco companies. We do not need a government entity to handle this. The tobacco companies and smokers created the problem, they need to pay to fix it.
We would need a phase-in period, of course. The first part would make the tobacco companies pay for all of the butts which are out there now. A fee of 10 cents may be offered for all butts picked up in the first phase. Tobacco companies would have to change the butts, so they could recognize old cigarette butts from the new ones, so they would not pay the 25 cents for older butts.
Of course, since it would not be a government program, fraud prevention would be the problem of the tobacco companies. I can just see it now, butt piracy with fake cigarette butts causing problems for the tobacco companies.
I mentioned the tobacco companies would pay for this project, but we all know who would bear the ultimate cost, smokers. Of course, it would not bother them. They continued smoking after the huge tobacco settlement lawsuit which resulted in increased prices. This would not bother them either.
Perhaps cigarette butt deposits, it is time.
Lamar Story
Dear Editor:
I am not asking anyone to vote for one presidential candidate or the other. People will make up their own minds without my help. What I am asking is they listen closely to what each candidate is saying. It is the little out of the way comments being made and not widely reported by the news media we should be paying attention to as well as the larger issues.
On Wednesday, Aug. 6, a seven-year-old child asked Barrack Obama why he was running for president. His response was; this country is not what it used to be and I don't want my children growing up in it the way it is; not exact words but close. He did not say we are a great nation which has spread freedom and upheld that freedom around the world, or in this country she has more opportunities to strive to be what ever she would want to be than in any other country. He did not say this country is abound with liberties and freedom, a standard of living which is almost unequal, and has set the standard for health care, freedom of speech and justice around the world. He did not explain to her there are things in our country which are wrong and broken and he would like to be president to make changes where changes are needed. He did not tell her he wanted to work to keep her country safe and strong so we can continue to be a great nation and world leader. He did not tell her he believed he has ideas and plans which would make her life and the lives of others better. All I have mentioned a seven-year-old child is capable of comprehending and would have understood them better than the response he gave.
These are the kinds of statements we can pay close attention to in order to help with our own decisions come election day. They help us know the character of a person. I have disagreements with some of John McCain's policies, one being immigration. But I do not believe he would have given an answer to the young lady as Obama did.
We all should not be about the business of instilling just doom and gloom in our children. They are smart, even at seven, they will see the inequities in our country as they grow up and they will know where change is needed. Our duty is to instill national pride, to encourage them to grow up and be interested in their country, to be a part of the solutions, not the problems, and they can make a difference. We need to let them know this is a great, wonderful nation which fought long and hard for freedom and we are still fighting for that freedom not only for ourselves but others as well. We need to let our young people know they can grow up and help make good government and change things which are wrong. This is what we should be teaching our children and a potential president of these United States should know and believe the same things. Obama should have been teaching national pride on Aug. 6.
I will be listening closely to both gentlemen and will make the best decision as to which gentlemen I feel will best serve our country and our future leaders. I will pay attention to what is spoken by both candidates even when it is not widely reported. I will vote for the candidate who will meet all of my qualifications and I will be listening to both candidates for all the little out of the way comments, will you?
Sue Morton
Dear Editor:
The media will be howling racism and bigotry for the next 10 years if the totally inexperienced candidate who has contributed nothing of value to this country fails to attain the Presidency.
Loren D. Fletcher
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