New council needed

As a former appraiser I’m familiar with price versus cost versus true value. Price is what you ask as payment for goods or services. Cost is what you pay, and value is what you actually get for your money.

Alderman John Street insists he is trying to ensure we get good value for the salaries we pay city employees. In case you missed the June 18 Sun article some department supervisors make less than their employees. The supervisors’ salaries were frozen in 2006, while our politicians paid for a study of what similar supervisors in other cities earn.

I know these same politicians would scream like cats with their tail caught in the screen door if their salaries were frozen for the past two years while we studied their worth. No wonder Mayor Doug Formon got hot under the collar at Alderman John Street’s false sense of self-worth and power. Apparently the whole committee is afflicted with this self-delusion. The Finance Committee’s big answer was: “Let’s not give raises. Instead let us take more time, spend more money on some more studies.” (Hard to believe I know, but it’s the truth.)

Doug Formon is a leader, and he stands up for his employees as he showed Thursday night. We have some supervisor’s wearing more than five hats to give us true value for our money. I submit that the best value for our vote is to elect a new City Council, including a new finance committee. They are a waste of our time and money.

Rich Green

Jonesboro

Petition carriers failed

The article in The Sun by The AP stated that the initiative which would restrict illegal immigrants from receiving public benefits failed. The initiative itself did not fail, we got roughly 57,000 signatures and needed 62,000, so, we failed because we only had 39 business days to get the number of signatures we needed.

If everyone could have been out there talking to people and seeing their response to it, you would agree it did not fail.

Some people asked us, jokingly of course, if they could sign it twice. I would venture to say that 95 percent of the people we asked to sign it, did; the other 5 percent were either non-registered voters, felons or just indifferent. I chose to believe that the indifferent ones were hiring them.

It was actually exciting to see the positive reaction of the signers. If every one of the 57,000 petition signers would have gotten just one other person, a friend, relative or neighbor to sign it, we would have gotten 114,000 easily. Just think, people. It’s time to “ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.”

One man told us that his father-in-law lost his concrete business because the other concrete businesses started hiring illegals, and he could not compete. If you’ll notice when you drive around town you’ll see them doing yard work at banks, clinics, big businesses all over town. Farmers who use to hire students in the summer now hire illegals.

I asked a 23-year-old Hispanic man at a ballgame if he was a registered voter and he said he was illegal. He had been in the United States six and a half years. He told us how he got here. He and others walked all night and hid beneath trees when the helicopters came over. When they got to a certain place they were picked up in a van and 20 people rode in the van to Houston where he received a card. He showed me his card. It has his name, birth date, where he was born and a number at the bottom which I wrote down along with all the other information. He said his brother paid $1,500 to get him here, but it’s probably more now. He told us where he was working, and I asked him how he got the job. He said a Hispanic man got him and others the job. He said the other men ride to work with him, and he was upset because they are supposed to be paying him for the ride, but they never do. He said his father, sister and two brothers are in the United States.

Missouri Gov. Matt Bluntm who signed this same type of legislation into law Monday in Missouri, said, “It’s important to go after people who flout the law because it undermines the rule of law, which is one of the reasons that immigrants flocked to this country in the first place.” The Bible says in the last days there will be catastrophes and lawlessness.

I think like Gov. Blunt thinks. And I’ll just bet you all 57,000 petition signers feel the same way. Hey, maybe we should form a committee to approach Gov. Blunt when his term is up in Missouri and ask him to move to Arkansas and become our governor.

Anne Johansen

Jonesboro

A lot of fun

I am retired from the military and happen to know that the kids growing up today may someday be president.

Across the street from me is a corner lot that has been condemned by the state for building on.

At my own expense I have cleaned all the debris from the lot and keep it mowed so the kids in Griffin Park can have a ballfield. I contacted City Water and Light and they will install lighting at no cost. Anything to get the kids off the skateboards and a place to learn a game they will enjoy for a lifetime.

This is for Griffin Park residents only. Now if the city to spray for mosquitoes, we can all have fun.

Ed Dement

Jonesboro

Well done, detective

I would like to give special thanks to Detective Vic Brooks of the Jonesboro Police Department on a job well done. Someone broke into my house and took my computer. Because of him I now have my computer back. Job well done.

Patricia Weathers

Jonesboro