Sound Off for Wednesday, Aug. 26: Polling places, large dairy, chickens, inmate's death, couple's letters
On polling places: Regarding Page 1A Friday, if council member Sam Liebert feels so strongly about church and state and where we vote, where was his opinion for the last four years? I'm insulted that he's insulted. How much institutional racism has he suffered during his life in Janesville?
-- This is in regard to moving polling places out of the elementary schools. The city council seems more concerned that voters may have to drive a little farther than the safety of our children in school. The council needs to get its priorities straight.
-- New Life Assembly should never have been considered a polling site. It did not surprise me to read the comments of the pastor of that church against Sam Liebert. At First Lutheran, the church does not have that many visible religious artifacts that voters would see. At New Life Assembly, voters would have to go past a 60-foot white cross.
-- I am very offended by Liebert's statement, especially by a council member to say that as a white man in America with financial security, Pastor Jackson could never fully understand what people of color go through. Liebert is facilitating this cancer that is growing across the United States and separating different races.
On political cartoons: Stop publishing those highly offensive political cartoons by Phil Hands. The one printed Aug. 18 referred to an aborted child as an “it.” Republicans want to have children born to live, not dumped in the trash or sold for body parts.
On dentists: Sound Offs last week talked about dentists. Mine retired, so I went to a dentist who wanted to give me a full set of braces for $20,000. I'm 82; I can't afford that. Went to a second dentist, and he wanted $10,000 for the same thing. Again, I cannot afford that.
On chickens: I think allowing chickens and the chicken coops is a great idea. We can change the city logo to “Janesville, City of Chickens.” The pine tree logo can be replaced by a chicken head, leg or wing. Congratulations, city council, for bringing forth such novel ideas. No wonder you deserve to be paid, perhaps in chicken eggs or other chicken byproducts.
On inmate's death: What a travesty that nearly an hour elapsed before an ambulance was called (Page 1A, last Wednesday). Everyone deserves prompt treatment when experiencing breathing difficulty and chest pain. That so-called medical unit at the Rock County Jail failed miserably. Each person connected to this incident should be investigated thoroughly by someone other than those with connections.
On couple's letters: Kudos to Judy Vaughn's letter to the editor Aug. 18. I agree, the public needs to be made aware of all the costs incurred in the Janesville School District's international program. Too much has been swept under the rug. As taxpayers, we need to know the facts.
-- This involves Friday's letter from David Vaughn. Thank you to the Vaughns for their recent letters in Your Views. I was sorry to read that in 2015 this (vandalism) could happen. I'm hoping the questions you presented regarding the international program will be answered.
On city attorney's office: Regarding Friday's front-page headline about disciplining the city attorney and assistant attorney, this is the second or third time that the city attorney has stumbled in the last year, including the debacle with the referendum. How much more is the city going to endure before it decides to shed him and get somebody more adept to the job?
On Arthur Arnold: His obituary was in Friday. I worked with Art many years at the Rock County Department of Social Services. He was one of the most respected, competent, dedicated and loyal persons on the staff. He was extremely involved in this community and at the state. He accomplished this despite being seriously afflicted with polio in his teens. Art never complained or let polio govern his life. His contribution to the community is his lasting legacy.
On large dairy: This is in regard to the front-page article Sunday, “The smell test.” I just wonder what the poor cows feel like being in a building where they never see the light of day as part of the industrialized farm. I think it's barbaric and cruel, and it puts a lot of the small dairy farms out of business.
On Walker: Let's not get too critical about Gov. Walker's secret agenda while running for president. Just like when he was running for governor, the Koch brothers said to say nothing until after elected.
On downtown: The hanging baskets in Janesville look very pretty. Kudos to Janesville for making the downtown look better.