Weapon found?

A WMD has recently been uncovered in Washington D.C. - an ICBM, no less.
Glossarially: WMD: Weapon of Marine destruction. ICBM: In Cold Blood Murtha.

Armond “Si” Simmons
Pell City

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Schools and change

I am writing in response to several letters written by Fletcher Moore.

After his first letter concerning teachers, I decided he is either a little nuts or maybe just not very well informed. As the mother of a teacher in the Dothan School System, I can tell you that teachers are by no means overpaid for what they do.

Their work doesn’t stop at 3 p.m. when the students go home. They have papers to grade and lessons to plan, and some teachers are constantly searching for ways to make their classes more beneficial to their students.

In his second letter, Mr. Moore stated that the schools should spend more time teaching the “Three Rs”. It’s true that students should learn these things; however, the “Three Rs” alone do not prepare a student who is not college-bound for a job in which they can support themselves. It’s the responsibility of our schools to prepare students for their futures, whatever they may be. I believe that is what our school board is trying to do with the proposed consolidation. It will offer students many more possibilities for a better future.

Isn’t that what we want for our children?

Our children’s futures will affect all of us; one day they will be the ones running this country. Don’t you think we should educate them to handle this responsibility?

Maybe Mr. Moore thinks this will happen in his lifetime and, therefore, it’s not his problem.

As the mother-in-law of a school board member, I know that they didn’t just get up one morning and decide that consolidation is the best thing for the future of Dothan City Schools. A lot of research, meetings, planning and visiting other school systems has taken place. We elected these school board members to do what is best for the students in our school system. Now we should let them do their jobs.

Remember, these members are parents of students in our school system and I am sure they want what’s best for their own children.

Mr. Moore’s reference to Dothan High School opening in 1939 has nothing to do with anything. There will still be students attending school in the building that is so important to him. He refers to “closing Dothan High” as a means to build a better football team at Northview. Maybe if we put all our football
resources together, we can have a winning team in Dothan. It would be nice to go to a high school game at Rip Hughes Stadium and see it full of parents and students supporting the team.

This will only happen if they are winning.

I have a child who teaches in the Dothan school system and three grandchildren who are students there. I resent Mr. Moore’s reference to them as “inmates in an asylum.”

Where did he get the idea that taxes were going to be increased? I’ve not heard that mentioned in any of the meetings to discuss consolidation. We are going to pay taxes regardless of what happens. I can’t think of a better way for taxes to be spent than to improve our school system.

I know Mr. Moore has been informed all about the proposed consolidation. I have decided that maybe he likes having a negative attitude or perhaps he really does not care about the students of the Dothan school system or their futures.

Look around; our town is growing and changing every day. It’s necessary that our school system changes with it.

Beckie White
Dothan

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A historical note

On the subject of the city of Dothan’s new garbage pick-up plan and the commission’s decision to spend tax funds to purchase this expensive equipment, I remember back in the early 1960s when then-City Manager R. Powell Black convinced the mayor and the city’s three commissioners to purchase the equipment for a new garbage pick-up system.

They were called Dympsey dumpsters and worked similar to the way the new ones will.

These devices stayed in the shop more than on the street.

Guess what? They sold the Dympsey dumpsters, which cost the taxpayers thousands of dollars, and went back to the old system. And they ran R. Powell Black out of town.

How do I know this? Because at that time, I was employed by the city of Dothan.

Curtis Givens
Ashford