The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Dear Editor:
It is with respect for the well being of my community that I am informing residents that a vicious dog owned by Mr. Raymond Brokaw continues to reside on 1700 County Road East, Biggsville.
I was bit by the blue heeler in August 2008, while jogging on the opposite side of the road from the dog owner's property.
I quickly learned that I was not the only person bit or threatened by this animal. As a result, each of these victims filed reports with the Henderson County Sheriff's Office/States Attorney's Office.
When I first contacted Henderson County State's Attorney, Mr. Ray Cavanaugh, I was told that the Animal Control Officer, Ms. Revonne Butler, would be made aware of the situation but she had been, "Quite busy and had many other situations to contend with".
He also stated that at this point, it had only bitten two people and aggressively threatened three others, so by law there was still not enough evidence to take any legal action.
After learning that an elderly woman was stopped from walking past the property, I spoke with Mr. Cavanaugh once again.
At this point Mr. Cavanaugh finally deemed the dog a, "vicious animal" by law through the State's Attorney's Office. The legal documents stating the declaration were served to Mr. Brokaw by Henderson County Deputy Steve Haynes last December.
Given the dog is deemed, vicious, it is to be contained in a pen at all times and if out, is to be on lead by the owner.
Since that time nothing even remarkably close to this has been enforced. The dog has been seen running at large a countless number of times.
During a phone conversation with Ms. Butler in May she stated she had no prior knowledge that such a situation existed. She stated that even though the dog has been deemed vicious she needed me to acquire all copies of all the victim's reports on file at the State's Attorney's office in order to take any legal action.
The Henderson County State's Attorney's office would not release my police report or any of the others to me so I retained a lawyer to obtain the necessary documents per Ms. Butler's request.
Even though this seemed like a bit of a hassle, I was certain this would be the key to getting the dog contained. Once again my efforts failed.
Recent communication regarding the case has been initiated by Henderson County Chairman, Marty Lafary as Ms. Butler did not even reply to my last correspondence.
It's very disheartening to think the number of victims and police reports keep on growing but still authorities do not enforce the dog owner to abide by the law. Due to the dog being uncontained a woman pushing a baby in a stroller is now the latest victim of this needless circumstance.
I feel that any and all legal recourses have been exhausted at this point. This county road is a very popular location for walkers, joggers, and bikers and it's a shame that residents cannot utilize the road safely.
Maybe after the dog maims a child or elderly person authorities will actually follow through with proper legal action. Until then I would like to at least acknowledge Henderson County Chairman Marty Lafary and Henderson County Deputy Steve Haynes for their acknowledge-ment and assistance with this hopeless endeavor.
Renee Sprock
Stronghurst
Representing "We The People"
Dear Editor:
The congressional elections of 2010 are now less than a year away. The candidates are already setting out yard signs, conducting town hall meetings, raising funds and doing everything possible to attract voter support come Election Day.
In the 17th Congressional District we have Bobby Schilling running to represent we the people in the House of Representatives and he needs your support in order to turn around the mess in Washington. Mr. Schilling is a positive man who knows how to win and reverse the trends in Washington that are costing so many private sector jobs.
Most people get up in the morning and go about their business with a positive attitude. When they come home at night they find out about bailouts and runaway deficit spending. Now we see the specter of government take over of health care. If Health Care Reform becomes law, no matter what spin words are used to deny higher taxes, we are going to get exactly that, higher taxes.
It's ok to be fed up with major legislation that runs thousands of pages consisting of "conceptual language." Now we have Cap and Trade and Health Care reform that was passed in the House of Representatives with language referred to as conceptual. After legislation gets signed into law, the conceptual part goes away and unaccountable bureaucrats mold and shape what becomes the law under which we live.
Think about conceptual language the next time you buy a car, lease an apartment, enter into a business deal, or a consumer purchase of any size. Only in Washington does this happen and it's time to sweep out the career politicians.
What are we to do, those of us who prefer to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative? This is not a big deal. We have Bobby Schilling on the ballot to represent us in Congress and all we have to do is go vote next November. Vote for a positive man with a winning record, who has created private sector jobs and wants to bring jobs here as your member of Congress.
Don't get mad at what is happening in Congress. Instead stay positive and vote for a winner, Bobby Schilling.
Jeffrey H. Rice
Rock Island
Dear Editor:
The spending madness in Washington D.C. continued last Saturday night as the Congress passed the Health Care Bill 220-215.
I watched the proceedings which were FINALLY on CSPAN (Candidate Obama promised that ALL discussions on the Health Care Bill would be on CSPAN but unfortunately the bill was created behind closed doors with no members of the party of the minority allowed to attend).
During the course of the evening, viewer's phone calls were taken. Calls favoring the bill called one number and calls from those opposed called another.
Calls were answered alternately from each line. After listening to several calls, I'm convinced most of those favoring the bill actually think they will get FREE health insurance from the government. Unless they are already on Medicaid, they are in for a shock.
Did you know that the new bill will cut Medicare benefits.
That will in turn raise the cost of your supplemental policy.
Did you know that every individual will be forced to purchase health insurance or face a fine and those refusing to pay the fine can be imprisoned for up to 5 years.
I can't believe that any legislator would back this bill but 220 of the 435 did.
We now have to depend on the wisdom of the Senate to save us from this atrocity.
Congressman John Boehner delivered eloquent remarks in opposition to the bill.
The facts, which he quoted directly from the bill, were not only very alarming; they scared the bee jeebies out of me.
For those of you who have computers, go to John Boehner's website at johnboehner.house.gov/.
The website is divided into 3 columns. The 3rd box down in the middle column is titled, "Multimedia".
Click on"Boehner You Tube Channel".
You will be able to view his remarks given Saturday night to the full session of Congress.
If you are concerned about the trillions of dollars now being spent you will want to view this video.
On Monday, November 16th, Bobby Schilling (candidate for Congress representing District #17) will hold 3 town hall discussions and explain the Health Care Bill as well as other legislation pending in the Congress.
Mr. Schilling was a 13 year member of a union as well as a union steward and presently is a small business owner. Mr. Schilling is a fiscal conservative and as a person he is very approachable.
He will be at the Doran Building (formerly Jacob Hardware) at noon, at the Media Fire Station at 2:30 p.m. and the Raritan Opera House at 6:30 p.m.
Come to one, or more, of the meetings and he will welcome your questions or comments.
Jens Notestein
Stronghurst
"Kettle Calling The Pot Black"
Dear Editor:
I am writing in response to a local letter published in the Quad Cities about Bobby Schilling and his views on health care.
The writer wrote a letter that suggested that Schilling's support of Tort Reform and Interstate competition was naive because health insurance companies are only concerned with money.
I believe that we have a simple case of the "kettle calling the pot black.' It is the writers own naivety to believe that the government is going to come in and care for everyone. Government is a bureaucracy, not a charity. All Government takeovers of health care are done with good intentions, but they always lead to rationing, worse care, and more people dying.
This health care bill is going to kill jobs and create disincentives for employers to hire new employees. This coupled with "Cap and Trade" is going to crush our workforce and our economy.
Bobby Schilling is running for Congress and he believes in promoting liberty, not government. He understands that more regulation leads to higher unemployment and that a government takeover is not the correct prescription for this country.
Paula DeWild
Milan