By Staff
Charles Armstrong a major part of our lives
To the Editor:
We were saddened by the news of Charlie Armstrong's death. Your article (The Meridian Star, July 22) did a great job of describing the impact that I am sure he had on so many people who attended Meridian High School for all those years.
I was in the Class of 1966. We were the first integrated class to graduate from MHS. My wife, Patti, was in the Class of 1972. She well remembers the closing days of 1969 and the early days of 1970 when the merging of the two high schools was completed.
She often talks about spending the holidays that year working at the school, boxing everything up to move the 10th grade from MHS to Harris High. Mr. Armstrong's outstanding leadership during those dynamic times in the 1960s and early 1970s allowed us to get through those transition years and still end up with an education second to none.
The Class of 1966 will be gathering in Meridian in a few days to celebrate our 35th reunion. It will be sad to not see Mr. Armstrong at the reunion. But, we will remember him and we will always be thankful for him being a major part of our lives.
Jim George, MHS Class 1966
Patti Peery George, MHS Class 1972
Atlanta
A moving tribute
To the Editor:
As a 1966 MHS graduate, I'm coming back to the class reunion in August from Baltimore, where I have lived now for 30 years since coming here to medical school at Johns Hopkins. I wanted to thank you for writing such a moving tribute in the paper  Mr. Armstrong was indeed a special man, and I always loved seeing him at First Baptist Church when I returned to visit my mother in Meridian.
I'm saddened that I won't be seeing him on this trip.
Frank Chatham, M.D.
Baltimore
Get Christmas clutter' off Meridian houses
To the Editor:
Recently I wrote to The Star, voicing my concerns about the streets in my neighborhood needing repair and/or cleaning (although my letter did no good). Now I want to complain about all these stupid-looking, ever-hanging icicle lights that all the "Bumpuses" put up under their roofs at Christmas and leave till the wood gets old and rotten and relieves itself of the burden.
These lights are just plain ugly. Why can't there be a city ordinance against leaving Christmas ornaments out year round? There are regulations against limbs and leaves on the street curb but none on trash or debris hanging from houses.
I know you people at City Hall will say, "We can't tell a homeowner when to remove clutter from their house," but what about the neighbor's right to not worry about the depreciation in property value or the risk of a fire just four feet away from their own home?
Maybe here is one more opportunity to obtain funds for the city in the form of a fine. Even if you city officials sit back and laugh this off, at least I have had the chance to publicly air another of my grievances. Maybe some of these Christmas eyesores will come down.
Debbie Robinson
Meridian
Residents should be allowed to upgrade
To the Editor:
Concerning The Meridian Star's articles on mobile homes in the city of Meridian, if those people were there before the laws were passed, they should stay and be able to upgrade to have comfort in their older days. If the city or the people do not want to do this, the city should set them up elsewhere with the same size lot and a new mobile home.
Needless to say, this is not going to happen. These people should not be forced out or left to live in poor conditions when they were there first. Time passes all too fast let them have peace.
Betty Spears
Orange Park, Fla.