Letters to the editor: Rolla on I-44, health care rights, respect for students

Rolla needs to be represented on I-44

A letter to the city council, Mayor Jenks, City Administrator John Butz et al.

Friday Helen and I stopped at the rest area/welcome center at the 111-mile marker on I-44 on our way to Oklahoma.

At the welcome center there were racks and racks of brochures from all over Missouri, including St. James; but nothing advertising Rolla, not even a brochure proclaiming the triumphant arrival of the Tour of Missouri in Rolla later this month.

I asked the attendant why there was nothing there about Rolla and she said simply that Rolla had not given them anything.

So I'm wondering: what does the City of Rolla get for the $200,000+ it gives annually to the Chamber of Commerce to promote Rolla tourism?
Would someone please inform me.
– Tom Sager


Health care not a constitutional right

I have read letters to the editors, read articles in the papers, and heard radio and television news about the proposed health care changes looming ahead of us. Congress itself voted not to adopt this form of socialized medicine for themselves. I wonder why?

To me there is no debate. Nowhere in the United States Constitution does it mention “health care” anymore than you will find “education,” “bailouts,” “enforcing United Nations resolutions,” etc. etc. Of course, the revisionists will cite the general welfare clause which doesn't mention health care either.

I suggest the federal government get completely out of health care. Leave it to private enterprise. We all know that government has caused most of the problems in health care.

In closing, I would like to offer this quote. “The mark of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result,” - i.e. health care, education, etc., etc.
Thank you,
– John P. Fitts,
Noel, MO


Band should get same respect as athletes

Recently, I went to a St. James football game; while I do enjoy watching the games of my hometown high school, the real reason I drove to St. James that night was to watch the girls perform in the color guard along with the band.

At halftime, the band took the field and gave an amazing performance. Towards the end of their routine, the band director went onto the field and told everyone to stop.

While their performance was nearing the conclusion, they were not done with the routine that they have been rehearsing for months. I did not understand why they were cut short.

After the game, I asked and was told, “We went over our time.” The routine had about a minute or so left and they were not allowed to finish. Now, I am a big fan of sports and played many sports in high school.

However, I do believe the band should receive a little recognition and be treated with the same respect as the athletes. After all, they practice for the same number of hours a day as the football players.

Football games are indefinite; depending on the teams and the game scenario, the length of football games vary tremendously. They can be delayed, as they were on this night, for several reasons. The officials can spend a minute or two debating why the flag was thrown and the penalties to call.

Most games have at least one injury that delays the game. I could go on, as we all know there is no set time on a football game.

Why then, would it have been such a big deal to let the band finish their performance? Many families have children or other relatives that are on the team as well as in the band and they support them equally. And at this particular school, the band has received dozens, perhaps even hundreds more awards and school recognition than the football team.

As stated earlier, I am not against the football team or athletes in any way; I am an athlete and I have never been in band.

However, I am a supporter of equality for students. What message are we sending them? Athletics take precedent over arts? I understand that this occurred at the football game, not an event for the band but what would have happened if the band had finished the performance.

The game would have the same outcome. The message the school is sending to the students (and the spectators for that matter) is that sports trump the arts. I thought it was the job of high schools to prepare children for college. This message is not preparing them well.

Colleges pay band members scholarships just like athletes. The more students that go to better colleges and universities, the better the high school looks. And on that note, statistically, the members of the band will go to more accredited colleges than the members of the football team, yet they are the ones feeling less important.
Respectfully,
– Chelsea Brookshire,
Missouri S&T MBA student
and St. James Alum