Litter woes
Editor:
I want to commend your paper for printing, in your April 11, 2008, edition, the letter titled "Trashy Road" by Lorraine Miller. This letter certainly covers the issue and is well said. I live in Crawford Farms and I have called Fort Worth a number of times about the ditch on Golden Triangle Road between North Beach and Crawford Farms Drive.
One side of the road in this area is well taken care of, and I was told when Crawford Farms was built, the city of Fort Worth annexed it but did not want the area on the other side of the road. That side is maintained by the county. I agree with the letter writer that with all the subdivisions in this area and the large taxes we pay, it would seem they could use some of this tax money to maintain the road and the areas surrounding it.
I am sure everyone who travels Golden Triangle would give a big Amen to the letter mentioned above.
Doris Hill
Fort Worth
A whole family
Editor:
I want to commend Keller Animal Services and Animal Emergency Hospital of North Texas and a caring citizen for reuniting us with our golden retriever who ran away due to a thunderstorm April 9. We made several phone calls at different animal shelters searching for her, and left our name and number with Keller Animal Services.
On the following Thursday morning, they called us and let us know that the animal hospital had called them saying that someone had dropped of a golden retriever the previous night. I made contact with them, determined it was our dog, and we were able to pick her up that morning. Since she was not wearing a collar anymore, it would have been very difficult to locate her if she had not been turned in and phone calls made.
We just want to thank the citizen who went out of their way to take her to the animal hospital who, in turn, called Keller Animal Services who, in turn, called us. We are a whole family once again and appreciate everyone’s efforts to make this possible. Kudos to everyone involved.
Marisol Pitzer
Fort Worth
Disturbing ad
Editor:
I was deeply disturbed to learn that your newspaper has recently run an advertisement from Roanoke Church of Christ that takes the form of an article by a certain Tyler Young, in which the Roman Catholic Church is savaged and Catholicism "exposed" as a "false religion." I am an Episcopal priest, not a Roman Catholic, but as a Christian minister I found this piece deeply disturbing.
Surely your newspaper is not hurting so badly for advertising revenue that you felt compelled by financial concerns to accept a blatant piece of hate speech and run it in your newspaper. I hope and pray this was only an oversight and that no one at your paper knew that Mr. Young’s ad was in reality an anti-Catholic screed. I strongly recommend that you vet advertisements better in the future to ensure that this sort of thing does not occur again. It would be wise for you to print an express retraction disavowing any connection with this advertisement "article," which many readers might mistake for an article written by your own staff.
The Rev. Randall W. Foster
School chaplain, St. Vincent’s Cathedral Church and School, Bedford
Erroneous
Editor:
As a Roman Catholic, I feel I must correct at least of a couple of the erroneous statements made by Tyler Young from the Roanoke Church of Christ in his piece "Limbo in Limbo" in the Area Churches section of the April 11 edition of this newspaper.
First, the concept of Limbo is not a settled doctrine of the Catholic Church, nor is it in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It seems that World magazine, from which Young quotes his information, does not do a good job at fact-checking. There is logic to the conclusion of Limbo from Christ’s assertion that baptism is necessary for salvation (John 3:5). However, the concept has been debated for many centuries within the Church. This is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says (paragraph 1261) regarding un-baptized infants who have died:
" ... the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus’ tenderness toward children which caused him to say: 'Let the children come to me, do not hinder them,’ allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church’s call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism."
As for Tyler Young’s assertion that, "according to Catholic dogma, the Pope speaks for God," this is not even close to what the Church teaches about the role and authority of the Pope.
I would encourage everyone to not take anti-Catholic writings at face value, but to do their own research into the subject. There are many good, authentic sources of information about the Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic Encyclopedia online is a good place to start.
Randall Peaslee
Keller
Vote no for bond
Editor:
I am a Fort Worth taxpayer with a Keller postal address and would like to discuss Fort Worth’s upcoming bond proposal. But first, let me visit the last two bond proposals that were approved to rebuild and widen FM 1709 (Golden Triangle) from I-35W to U.S. 377.
The city in 2004 asked for $7.3 million and received the voters’ approval to rebuild this stretch of roadway. Two years later, in May of 2006, they again asked for $7.3 million for the same project. Year 2008, the same two-lane road with potholes exists. The city has been very lax in using the approved bond monies for the specific projects for which they were approved.
FM 1709 is probably the heaviest-traveled two-lane road in north Tarrant County. The normal workforce traffic, the traffic explosion to the two new Keller ISD schools on Keller-Hicks Road, plus the bus traffic from the KISD bus complex has created a dangerous and intolerable situation.
Fort Worth is now asking for voter approval for another $150 million. Based upon their track record of promising and then ignoring the approved, funded projects, why should we, the taxpayers, allow this trend to go forward?
The Trinity bridges are not as important as our citizens getting to and from the workplace or the transportation of our school children. Let’s curtail the additional spending until all of the current funded projects are completed. This is the year to change our methods!
I urge all of my fellow voters who swarmed to the polls in our 2008 presidential primaries to return in force and defeat this bond proposal.
Marshall McBride
Fort Worth
Vote Cawthra
Editor:
I support Tom Cawthra and what he stands for. His ideas about city parks, youth sports and sports facilities are right on target. As a supporter of these values, I believe Tom stands for our future, our kids. As an advocate of Keller youth sports, I know the value of a cohesive relationship between youth associations with the city and their school district. Without their cooperation and help, youth sports in Keller would not survive.
Keller needs a city council that will support and foster the growth of youth sports. Youth sports are simply a feeder to our school’s sport system, which begins in middle school and continues through high school. With this commitment, Keller will continue to flourish as new families will discover a close-knit community with opportunity for their kids. We need a Council with the integrity and forethought of Tom.
It is really simple!
Steve Craft
North Richland Hills
Just say 'no’
Editor:
Carson needs a dose of his own medicine. He proudly proclaims he votes in opposition to the other four members of the Keller City Council. He has even nicknamed himself "4-to-Carson," referring to the 27 times he has voted in opposition to the council. Of these 27 "no" votes, 21 were 4-to-1 votes with Mr. Carson as the sole dissenter.
The following examples illustrate just how out of touch Mr. Carson is with the city of Keller. He has voted "no" to:
Parks (twice) 6/20/06 & 11/7/06
Clean air city vehicles (twice) 1/15 & 2/19/08
Veterans Memorial Park Monument (twice) 2/5/08 & 2/5/08 (2 resolutions, same date)
City Library expansion 9/4/07
Tarrant County-issued bonds for single family mortgages 5/15/06
Rail station in Keller providing rapid transit to
Fort Worth, D/FW, & Dallas (11/6/06)
Widening of Hwy 377 in Keller (9/18/07)
Keller City Budget
(9/19/07)
Renewal of City Manager Contract (3/6/07)
Mr. Carson is also the only councilperson in Keller history charged with violations of the City Charter due to his continued harassment and intimidation of city staff members, resulting in the departure of five high-performing, critical, staff members.
Enough is enough – it is time for us to say "no." Vote May 10 and say "no" to Jim Carson!
Don Youngs
Keller
The right thing
Editor:
Tom Cawthra is one of the most energetic people that I know. I have worked with Tom and he is a straightforward communicator with a great business sense. I have seen him work through issues and come with some creative solutions, with the purpose of fulfilling everyone’s goals. Tom’s goal is to do the "right thing" for all concerned.
In addition to that, Tom is devoted family man and a father who is very active with his church and friends. Tom has served the citizens of Keller through the Economic Development Board. Tom has a sincere interest in the economic growth of Keller, yet also has the foresight and ability to converse with his counterparts in other surrounding cities to insure that the impact of what happens in their city affects Keller and the entire northeast Tarrant County area.
Tom Cawthra will be an excellent City Councilman for the city of Keller and I would recommend him for your vote.
Don A. Johnston
Southlake
Family values
Editor:
My family has known Tom Cawthra for the last four years through his involvement in Keller sports, church and community. Tom is one of the most conscientious and dedicated people I know. His strong family values and desire to make Keller the best community to live in has always been apparent.
His goal to help develop a plan for long-term economic growth and overall maturity for the Keller community is a strong platform for all of us to support. Also, being a homeowner in Hidden Lakes, I would like to see one of our residents on the City Council impacting decision-making not only for this master community, but for all of Keller.
Tim Falbo
Keller
Vote Thompson
Editor:
The citizens of Keller deserve better than Jim Carson, and we have the opportunity to rectify this on election day.
He proudly proclaims his votes in opposition to the other four members of the Council. He’s even nicknamed himself "4-to-Carson," referring to the 27 times he voted in opposition to the Council. Of these, 21 were 4-to-1 votes with him as the sole dissenter.
This year he’s voted against parks twice, clean air vehicles twice and the veterans’ memorial twice. He is also the only councilperson in Keller history charged with violations of the City Charter due to his continued harassment and intimidation of city staff members, resulting in the departure of five high-performing, critical, staff members.
His "no meant no" slogan during the campaign for a new library has evolved into a continuing mantra: "no means no all the time." It’s time for us to say no to his negativity. Let’s tell Mr. Carson "enough is enough!"
For the sake of good government and our city’s reputation, please vote on May 10. Take your spouse, significant other, your friends. Mark your ballot for Jim Thompson for Place 4. It’s that important.
David Camm
Keller
Unenlightened?
Editor:
A string of e-mails circulated following the defeat of Julie Tandy and the Town Center library contained both accolades for Tandy, and bitter vows to avenge Tandy’s defeat at the polls. These e-mails were not intended for the general public, but were "leaked" after one of its contributors could not resist goading a political opponent with them. Included in the intended recipients of these e-mails are Tandy supporters and 2008 council candidates John Baker, Tom Cawthra and Jim Thompson.
For his part, former mayor Dave Phillips commiserated with Tandy over the failure of the Town Center library in these words: "Julie, as you and Lyle (Dresher) and I have discussed, the important things have been accomplished. We’ll have to wait for a more enlightened electorate to eventually rectify the library fiasco ..."
Now Phillips is urging the election of Baker, Cawthra and Thompson. We of the "unenlightened electorate" want to know. Does the agenda of these three include scuttling the Johnson Park library and reviving the Town Center library? If not, what in their political history would cause us to think otherwise?
Vicki Maloney
Keller
Takeover bid
Editor:
Rochelle Snow’s letter last week was right on the mark. Of the people attempting to trash our city council in that edition, Frank Peterson, Walter Cornelius, Lisa Harper-Wood and Allison Benton are all longtime Julie Tandy supporters, all listed on Tandy’s 2007 list of supporters printed in this newspaper, along with the candidates they support: Tom Cawthra, John Baker and Jim Thompson.
I don’t know Jeff Duncan. All I can say about him is I find it extremely strange that he finds a city councilman’s concern about public safety issues to be a "conflict of interest." Huh? There was no conflict of interest, and the desperate attempts to create one just go to show how much these people operate on the principle that "the end justifies the means."
This group of Tandy supporters will do anything to reverse the abrupt departure of Tandy and her council in the last two elections. They are forced to hold numerous "strategy meetings" to make sure they all have their stories straight. The truth does not require strategy.
Don’t let them get away with this "stealth" takeover bid. Vote for people who have proven their integrity and concern for the real needs of Keller, not the whims of special interests. Re-elect Mark Harness and Bob Kirk.
Joan Miller
Keller
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Keller, Texas 76244-0615
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