The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.


Letters to Editor

Dear Editor,

Senior Citizens:

I expect by now most of you have heard about our van service-we are sharing a van with Dallas City.

It's due to us having only 3 or 4 meals delivered at noon and not using it often enough for errands in town and trips out of town.

Dallas City has the same problems but since their van had the least mileage they will keep it and we'll share it.

We don't have the schedule completely worked out but we're working on it and we need everyone's cooperation.

If you have appointments out of town and can give us a few days notice, we will try and get the van for that day and if not we will see that you get there. We have several people with good reliable autos (I'm one of them) so it shouldn't be a problem.

We can look back and see where we should have been using the van more-we all know of occasions when we've went with or taken a friend or relative instead of the van.

Now we know what the old proverb means-you don't' miss the water till the well runs dry.

We're counting on all of you people to be patient and keep a positive attitude about this and it will work out okay.

La Harpe Senior Citizens

Velda Wright

La Harpe


Dear Editor,

It was nice to have Andrea Zinga in our county for Heritage Trail Days.

She participated in many area events on Saturday.She walked our Lomax parade meeting everyone she could.

Andrea has came to our county for the past several years to participate in the sing-a-thon for Cystic Fibrosis (which she has always been very active in the foundation) at the church of the Nazarene in Lomax.

She is currently running for Congress of the 17th District.

Julie Pence

President, Henderson County Republican Women


Dear Editor,

Do you have questions about Embryonic Stem Cell Research? Stem Cell Research is one of the hot topics of the day, among the scientific and medical communities, as well as the person on the street.

Due to imprecise language and sloppy reporting, often there is no distinction made between adult stem cell research and embryonic stem cell research. This adds to confusion.

October 15, Dr. John Diggs, Jr. M.D., will be giving a presentation on Embryonic Stem Cell Research in Galesburg at 7:00 p.m. at Bethel Baptist Church at 1196 North Academy Street.

Dr. Diggs has appeared on dozens of radio and television programs, has written numerous articles and has presented testimony before the Massachusetts State Legislature.

Dr. Diggs will translate into layman terms the issues surrounding Embryonic Stem Cell Research.

As a student, a teacher, a man or woman on the street, or a medical professional, if you need to clarify your own understanding of this complex issue, then this discussion is for you.

If you don't want this topic to overwhelm you when reading about it or hearing it discussed or when in the voting booth, then this presentation by Dr. Diggs is for you.

Admission is free; everyone is welcome.

Pat Conklin

Galesburg


Dear Editor,

When our president inherited a deep recession from the Clinton administration, many people were quick to blame him for the bleak conditions.

Now that the stock market is at an all time high, doesn't the Bush administration also deserve some credit?

The stock market generally preceds the actual economy by several months.

Macomb is a typical example as new businesses are emerging and employment opportunities are increasing.

If the stock market continues to be an accurate predictor, the good times will continue to increase.

According to many, it was all Bush's fault when gas prices were over $3.00 per gallon. Now that they are down to about $2.30 per gallon, doesn't George W. deserve some credit?

The other huge long term problem our president inherited was terrorism.

The Republicans say Clinton didn't do enough to combat it, while the Democrats say Bush is doing too much.

President Bush is dedicated to good overcoming evil in the world and definitely wants to do as much as possible in solving this impossible job. As they say, if we don't stand for what we believe, we will fall for anything.

Most Americans believe that the Bush administration is doing a good job on terrorism but the Iraq war was a big mistake. How they can separate the two is difficult to understand.

After we did what we could in Afghanistan, and the major terror threat was still around, we could have gone to various sites near the axis of evil (and the terrorists would have followed us there) but we chose to go where the most dangerous terrorist, since Hitler, was living in Iraq.

Many Americans think that politicians are like diapers, they should be changed often for the same reason. Others believe we should not change horses in midstream. That is what is great about the U.S., we all have the freedom to choose. It is important to remember that love of country is more important than love of political party.

Instead of dwelling on the past, we need to look to the future for our plan of action in Iraq. A bipartisan Iraq study group, chaired by James Baker, former Secretary of State, and Lee Hamilton, Democratic Co-Chairman of the 9/11 Commission, has been working on a reasonable bipartisan path to success in Iraq, for many months.

Each soldier's life is precious and politics can, and must, take a back seat to completing the mission in Iraq the right way. However, there is so much hatred of America and what we stand for, throughout the world; we must keep in mind that Iraq is part of a much broader picture and wider war.

Although the Bush team is pretty much set in their ways, this is the time for compromise and working together for the best interests of our great country. Since we are the United States, under God, all things are possible.

Weyman George

Macomb