Monday, Dec. 30, 2002

By Staff
Lott: What goes around comes around
To the editor:
Poor Trent Lott. What goes around comes around and I am so glad he got his. When the railroad early retirement bill came up, he worked so hard trying to not get it passed. 15,000 e-mails where sent to him from Meridian alone and he failed to answer any of them. I am so glad he got a small part of what he had coming to him.
Thank you for this sounding board.
Pat McLelland
Meridian
Words of praise got Lott in trouble
To the editor:
Apparently at least one Meridian native has been on the left coast too long. He appears to have been sucked into the liberal thinking that many of the individuals in California display. Had it not been for "Can't Win One" Gore and the "Great Moral Adviser" Jackson, no one would have paid much attention to the pat on the back Sen. Lott gave a fellow senator during a moment of celebration in the latter senator's life.
How many times have we heard people praise others during retirement and birthday celebrations knowing the words are only meant as praise at the moment. The liberals and the liberal media have to get their licks in to try to forget the outcome of the recent elections. Then the namby pamby Republicans and so-called conservatives who still attempt to be politically correct have to way into the fray mostly for their own glorification and political advance.
After all we continually hear how Americans today do not know state and country locations, capitals and even their own elected officials, so how many would know who ran for president and lost in 1948, much less what the platform the loser may have campaigned on at the time.
Mike McCary
Montgomery, Ala.
Too much of a tax increase
To the editor:
I am a 84 year old disabled veteran living in an old neighborhood. In fact, there are two homes across the street from me that are over 100 years old each.
There is no construction or vacant lots available near me. I have been involved in real estate and location is important in value of property. The age and condition of homes affect sales price of your homes.
The appraised value of my home was increased $25,620 in one year by 34 percent. How if county-wide increases were capped at 10 percent was my home selected for a 34 percent increase?
The tax of my property almost doubled, which has caused a hardship for me.
My wife has been incapacitated for several years. The cost of her sitters is $1,344 weekly, the cost of hospital insurance premiums annually are $2,268 and living bills average $2,800 per year.
When I called my supervisor, Craig Hitt, about this unreasonable increase in one year, he scheduled a meeting with him and the tax assessor. Prior to the time of the meeting, Mr. Hitt called and told me it would be a waste of his time as Craig and the tax assessor said they would not make any adjustment of my taxes.
I thought with a meeting I would be shown some mercy. I was wrong. I feel like I have been wronged but it is not for me to judge them and I will pray for them.
C.W. Swain
Meridian
Melton: Whose side is he on?
To the editor:
One of the first things that the new director of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Frank Melton did is raid a high school. It makes me wonder whose side he is on, treating Provine High School in Jackson as if it was Iraq.
The students are only the victims of a plot to revolutionize America with institutions of incarceration, rather than institutions of education.
Has Mr. Melton been confirmed by the state of Mississippi yet? I hope not!
Sam Whitehead
Newton
Accurate coverage of storms lauded
To the editor:
On behalf of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, we sincerely thank you and your staff for your cooperation following the recent tornadoes and storms. By providing accurate coverage during our recovery efforts, you assisted the community in receiving accurate and timely information. Your commitment to your community was clearly demonstrated during this trying time.
It is the job of our staff to provide you with disaster recovery information. It is through your efforts that this information gets to those who were affected by the tornadoes and storms that devastated the area.
You and your staff have been committed to reporting important factual information to the members of your community in a timely manner so that they could begin rebuilding their lives as quickly as possible.
Again, thank you for your efforts. It has been our pleasure to work with you during these stressful and critical times.
Michael Bolch
Federal Coordinating Officer
Leon Shaifer
State Coordinating Officer