The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 108, No. 48, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 26, 1998 Page: 4 of 36
thirty six pages : ill. ; page 19 x 13 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
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letters
to the editors
Another point of view
I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY to attend the community meeting this
last Monday night addressing the drug problem of our community. I
was very' pleased to see the large number in attendance. Like many of
you, I was bom and raised here, then moving away several times, and
always returned and raised my children and now raising a grandchild.
I still feel that Canadian is a good place to raise a child. My family’s life
has not gone untouched from many of the problems that life itself brings
in raising a child, but together we have stood as a family and if a family
stands together and works together, obstacles can be overcome.
I am not saying I am not in agreement that a community should work
together and do what can be done to decrease and/or eliminate drug use
and activity in our community. I, too, have a lot at stake with 3rd, 4th
and 5th generations growing up and I don’t want to see them fall with
drugs. I do the very best I can in sharing the education from my roots
as a mother, grandmother, aunt and friend. I do take comfort in knowing
that all of these kids’ original roots w’ere planted deep with a switch from
a tree, dad’s belt or a quirt, my own included; and taught us right and
wTong so that we could pass on to our children in hopes they would make
the right choices. Some do and some don’t.
I would like to reflect on a few’ things from the community meeting
that I personally have a problem with and would like to voice my opinion:
1. ) A comment was made that if a child tests positive for drugs, that
most of the time, both parents are doing drugs also. I personally do not
agree with this, as I have seen many kids go to jail for drugs, or due to
the use of drugs, whose parents never touched any such thing. Blame
needs to be placed where blame is due.
2. ) Our County and District Attorneys speaking to this group made
some very good and factual points, that I feel are not totally' understood
by the general public. Everyone knows how to report an offense, but I
don’t feel that everyone understands what it takes to make a prosecut-
able case. Just because you report what you think or what you think you
see. does not make it so. But if it is reported, it will be investigated.
3. ) Our Sheriff tried to explain some things to the group and was cut
off by comments and discussion. The Sheriff was not given the same
opportunity’ or respect as others to finish his say. Is this right 1 Is this
a good example to set for those kids attending9 Is naming names in the
public making things any easier for you or your children?
4. ) In this meeting, more than once, a comment was made that: "We
expect results" and “We’ve called in and called in and nothing is being
done.” Do you know for a fact that "nothing is being done"? I for one
can tell you that if a report is received by the proper authorities, that
report is relayed and responded to. As for results to authorities’
responses, the due process of the law has to be followed. W e all need to
learn more about our rights, the law and also familiarize ourselves with
due process of the laws and burden of proof.
5. ) I personally feel that there was a lot of negativity and blame
thrown in the direction of law enforcement and I w*as very upset by this.
The very next morning, I sat in one of our restaurants and overheard
some unappreciated negative statements. Is to s negative attitude being
reflected to our children? If this is so, that is very sad, as this kind of
negative attitude can only contribute to negative results. I, for one, will
continue to teach my children and grandchildren to respect the law and
not to pass judgment of any officer until they have walked in that
officer’s shoes. I will not sit in a public restaurant gossiping about and
downgrading the very authorities who will be the first I will call when
my rights have been violated.
6.11 want to reflect upon an incident that occurred some years back,
where one phone call from a concerned citizen to report "a suspicious
vehicle" resulted in the arrest of three subjects who were later found
guilty and sentenced for the charge of murder. This one call was
responded to and with probable cause and due process; end results
came about after months of hard work by many and these three subjects
were removed from the community. This arrest took place right here
in C anadian and some of those involved in this arrest are still here doing
the same job now as they did then.
7.) Last but not least, I want to say that I have, for the past several
years i and still) had the pleasure of working with some very fine men
and women dedicated to the law enforcement profession. I have seen
these people make mistakes and they have seen me make mine. I have
seen a few minor miracles happen and have heard a lot of prayers being
prayed. I can tell you, first hand, that there has been a lot of sacrifices
made so that the job can be uone and I have never once seen a one of
these human beings (a fact sometimes overlooked) fail to respond when
called.
Respectfully,
CAROL A. WILSON
!fe ^^kRECORD
-\
opinion
page
Football playoffs
and not much else. Winning district, to paraphase, is
not worth a warm bucket of spit.
Each division within a classification will crown a
state champion. So Division I class 3A will have a
state title and so will Division II class 3A.
It is the same on down the line. There will be two
5A champs, two 4A champs, two 3A champs and two
2A champs. The only classifications that have re-
tained their sanity are 1A and six-man. Each will only
have one champion.
If 10 state champions is crazy, just think of the
great contests that will never happen. One is right
here in the Panhandle. Spearman beat Canadian
Continued from Page 2
10-0, in district play on a very muddy field. That
would make a great rematch, but it will never happen.
Spearman is a Division II school and Canadian is a
Division I.
When the 3A and 2A superintendents review this
crazy playoff system in January, hopefully they will
scrap the entire scheme and return to one state
championship per classification. They also ought to
reward the district winner with a home bi-district
contest.
The only thing crazier than continuing this convo-
luted playoff system was starting it in the first place.
The South's racial chasm
Continued from Page 2
“It’s the height of absurdity to say slavery was not
the central issue" causing the Civil War, explained
University of North Carolina professor William
Barney, who has researched and written several
widely acclaimed books on the era.
No less absurd is the course’s contention that
slaves were happy and content being the property of
others and being treated as less than human beings,
with no legal, social or economic rights. Had slaves
been content, none would ever have attempted to
rebel or escape. But antebellum Southern history is
replete with cases of actual or planned slave revolts
and records of countless slaves attempting to escape
to freedom in the North or Canada.
Abraham Lincoln once represented a runaway
slave whose master was suing in an Illinois court to
reclaim his "property.” Questioning the runaway
slave at length, Lincoln determined that he had not
been physically mistreated. So why, the wily prairie
lawyer asked, did you run away? Mr. Lincoln, the
escaped slave replied, I believe the job is still open —
if you’d like to have it.
Forcibly enslaving the teachers and students in
that North Carolina community college classroom,
denting them all hope of ever being free or hating
any control over their own lives and the lives of their
children, would radically alter their perspective on
the antebellum South’s peculiar institution.
Perpetuating the myth of the Lost Cause pre-
vents too many Southerners whites from gaining the
perspective that will allow them to understand what
a core component of their heritage inflicted on the
ancestors of their fellow citizens who are African-
American. This lack of understanding perpetuates
the racial chasm that still divides blacks and whites
and prevents real racial healing and reconciliation.
The resulting harm—to the South; to all South-
erners, regardless of race; indeed, to the entire na-
tion—is immeasurable.
Joe Patrick Bean is an Austin, Texas-based com-
mentator on national and international affairs and
a fanner college history professor specializing in the
antebellum-Civil War era; e-mail joepatrick-
beantffhotmail.com
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Ezzell, Nancy & Brown, Laurie Ezzell. The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 108, No. 48, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 26, 1998, newspaper, November 26, 1998; Canadian, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth520832/m1/4/: accessed May 14, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hemphill County Library.