Phone numbers
To the Editor:
Parents of Switzerland County Middle School Students:
Technology is swiftly changing many things in our lives. Many parents are now discontinuing home phones and using the more economical cell phones. As a result many of the phone numbers that our school uses to contact parents are inaccurate.
At this time I know of no way to locate cell phone numbers unless they are provided to us. Many times the students are unfamiliar with new cell phone numbers and are unable to provide them for us. In case of an emergency we may not be able to locate parents in a timely manner.
I am asking you to please send any new phone numbers in writing to the school so that we may update our computers.
Nancy Stearns, Principal
Switzerland County Middle School
Restrain dogs
To the Editor:
In response to the woman who complained about her dog being shot. I personally hunt and have had to call my neighbors to tie their dogs up because they were running the deer. I’ve also seen dogs with orange scarfs around their necks running deer. I didn’t shoot them but I almost did.
I have dogs that are tied up in deer season so they won’t be hurt. If you cared so much about your animals you would have done the same.
I’m sorry about your pet but it should have been tied up – it’s hunting season.
Carol Anderson
Vevay
Quiet time
Dear Editor:
When I grew up in the 1940s, some 80 miles north of here, Sunday was a day of rest. Sunday afternoons, my cousins and I were only allowed to play quietly on the porch during summers or in one of the upstairs bedrooms on cold and rainy days. We were not allowed to ride our bikes or play games in the yard. “Sunday is for quiet,” Great-Grandmam, the 93-year-old matriarch who lived with us, used to say, “It’s not for running about and making noise.” In the end, there wasn’t much choice. Al the stores were closed. The only thing open was the Princess Theater, but in our house going to the movies on a Sunday was totally out of the question. The advent of television in the late forties presented a new dilemma, one easily solved by Gran who determined what we could and count not watch. It was the way things were, the way they were supposed to be.
My first trip abroad in the 60s held few surprises; Europe w as almost like home. In both Germany and Spain, where I studied, business shut down at noon on Saturday and didn’t reopen until Monday morning. Sunday was a day of rest. Busses and streetcars didn’t run. And while folks weren’t quite as puritanical as they were in central Indiana – the parks and boulevards were full – those families who wanted to enjoy themselves walked.
Living in Central Pennsylvania during the 1980s, I saw this social fabric transform before my very eyes. At that time its Lutheran and Reform population, like their European brethren, shut their shops at noon on Saturdays. On Sundays, nothing w as open, even gas stations closed. You paid attention and filled up on Saturday mornings. You didn’t run out; if you did, you had to drive 20 miles and know exactly where to go. On Sunday afternoons, you could lie down in the middle of the road in front of your house and take a nap without a care in the world. No one was going to run you over because no one was driving on the road. With the coming of K-Mart, then the combination gas station-convenience stores, and finally Wal-Mart, all that changed. Suddenly, everything was open and people were running about.
This past week the powers that be finally got around to fixing the sidewalk opposite our house that was torn up when the 200-foot tall Tulip Poplar trees fell over in the July 20th storm of this year. Although I am glad to have this last scar healed, I was sorry to see the work done on a Sunday. It’s not on religious grounds that I object. As a Quaker I’m not sure that God much cares what happens down here. If He does, He’s not told me. No, I object because I believe that Sunday is for resting. Because I don’t like to hear lawn mowers on Sunday, I mow my grass during the week. A few days ago I heard that the French are in an uproar about this very thing: now that some of the big, internationally-owned stores have opened up on Sundays in the tourist areas of Paris, every small shop owner wants to open as well, and since the government prohibits this, some folks are jockeying to change all that. Those people who like quiet wonder what will happen to their day of rest. I think they’d better watch out. Instead of leisurely strolls along the boulevard, folks will be running about. So much of the quality of life depends on things that, when taken alone, seem small and insignificant. Yet taken together, small things add up. In the end, they matter.
This sidewalk repair was contracted out. In the contract, signed and approved by members of the City Council, there could have/should have been a clause that stipulated, “No Sunday Work.” This is a small thing. It’s easy to do. Sunday is a day of rest. Shush – please be quiet.
Thank you.
Bill Richardson
Vevay
Give generously
To the Editor:
This is a wonderful time of year in many ways for most of us. For others, it means disappointment and pain. It is important that we acknowledge that some children and their families will not only miss out on a visit from Santa, but they also go without warm clothing, adequate food and shelter . . . things that we don’t even consider ‘frills.’
we live in the most generous region of the world’s most generous country. Our citizens are recognized as compassionate and caring, and willing to open their pocketbooks with energy at this time of year. I salute them. And now I ask them to go one step further. Look around your house and see what you can share with others. The Southeastern Indiana Solid Waste District operates ‘re-use’ centers in North Vernon, Osgood, East Enterprise, Brookville and Scottsburg. These well-used centers accept good clothing, decorations, knick knacks, books, shoes, electronics, etc., and offer them free to those who need them.
The simple act of ‘giving’ does not necessarily mean spending money. It means sharing what we have. Most of us, if we are honest with ourselves, have far more than we ever really need. If each of us donates even one item, thousands of others will benefit. And w e benefit, as well.
As long as I have your attention, this holiday season, remember to reduce, reuse and recycle. Purchase products with less packaging material or recyclable wrappings; be sure to re-use gift bags, and remember, there is nothing wrong with “regifting’ an unneeded item. Re-use is a very useful way to recycle. Someone needs it, even if you don’t.
Recycle your wrappings and cardboard boxes. And, this is a good time to begin a compost pile . . . adding autumn leaves, food scraps and leftover Christmas greens.
Just remember the “three Rs” – Reduce, Reuse (share with others), and Recycle – ad you too can have a very merry green Christmas.
Betsey Vonderheide
Southeastern Indiana Solid Waste District