Some things, no matter who says it, you just cannot believe it. One such event happened Sept. 5 after a football game involving the Warren Central football team not shaking hands with the Vicksburg football team.

This is a tradition in football, not to mention sportsmanship. The act of shaking the opponents’ hands after the game is meant to show respect and to leave leftover aggression on the field. The non-belief comes from believing a coach would allow his players to behave in such a manner. This is an ethical teaching from the pee-wee leagues to the professional leagues and we are not teaching it at Warren Central High School.

The same players on opposing teams go to the same social events, entertainment events and churches. Both teams pray before games and after games for the health of their opponents and their teammates. The act of shaking of hands after every game is necessary no matter the loss or the celebration.

The leadership of the Vicksburg Warren School District needs to address this now and publicly to prevent future repeats or misunderstandings. If the school board, the superintendent and the athletic director deem a public apology from Warren Central’s head coach is not necessary, then this school district has lost its moral compass.

John Shorter, Vicksburg

A matter of plain honesty

Some people never vote and then there are a few who will not let even a funeral keep them away from the polls, even when it’s their own funeral.

If one of those dead folks decides to run for office, he or she may even win if enough fellow cadavers can be gotten out of those nice, cool, comfortable caskets. Probably need the exercise anyway and this board of supervisors might even be able to collect some taxes from them while they are lollygagging about.

In all seriousness, though, this garbage of dead people voting should be stopped now. Regarding voter ID, there is absolutely no reason any honest person should object to showing proof of who is voting. Nothing I have ever heard from those who object has made any sense whatever. They certainly don’t mind showing ID for anything else they want.

That old garbage about being disenfranchised is silly. Most who say it do not even know the meaning of the word.

I have been voting about 50 years and I have always been proud for anyone to know it was I. I feel anyone who objects to voter ID is only interested in leaving the way open for reasons less than honest.

I personally know a woman who said she could vote under her maiden name, her first husband’s name and second husband’s name. That is three times, the exact reason we need voter ID.

I also believe absentee ballots should be counted under close observation by all candidates and officials. The tally should be documented and sealed before the general election. There should be no reason to look at them again.

Finally, voter rolls definitely need to be purged. There cannot be any reasonable, honest excuse for not doing so.

R.G. Hollowell, Vicksburg

Obama by the numbers

We absolutely cannot allow this sinister, evil Barack Obama to win the White House.

He is adored by the leftist national news media and Hollywood liberals. Despite his many gaffes, including saying we must all speak Spanish, that properly inflated tires will save more oil than we can drill and declaring himself a citizen of the world, he’s the most sinister of any candidate the liberal Democrats could have nominated.

Obama is a hardcore pro-abortion, anti-defense, pro-homosexual marriage, anti-sovereignty, pro-tax, anti-religious liberty leftist.

This election is the defining moment in American history and, frankly, with enemies both abroad and here at home determined to destroy our creed, we who love this country are morally bound to speak the truth about Obama and his agenda that includes:

• Surrender in Iraq,

• Retreat in the war against radical Islam,

• The appeasement of Iran, North Korea, Red China and other dangerous enemies,

• The giveaway of sovereignty to the United Nations,

• Wide-open borders,

• Higher taxes and federal spending,

• Draconian environmental regulation,

• Unconstitutional restrictions on gun ownership, and

• A right to universal health care.

If you think he has the black vote, think again. Most black voters are:

• Against same-sex marriage,

• For Social Security reform,

• Against illegal immigration, and

• Against abortion and  bans on religious worship in the public square.

George Mitchell, Vicksburg

Encounter with Vicksburg’s bureaucracy a true comedy of errors

Somewhere back in June I received a letter from the city about the dilapidated, vine-covered condition of a church building I own at 1205 Openwood, as if I were too blind to be aware of it.

As most property owners know, getting honest, drug-free help these days is nigh unto impossible, but I called my preferred contractor to see if he could possibly get the vines cut down. By the grace of the good Lord, he was just finishing one job and had not begun another, so he would  be there in about a week. It rained, so it was several weeks before he was free.

This was a financial catch-up year, not a financial spending one, but if you miss an opening with a preferred contractor it is two to three years before the opportunity comes again — so I bit the bullet.

After checking around, the lowest bid I could get for additional needed repairs was $50,000! No bank officer in his right mind would lend $50,000 to renovate a dilapidated building that had not gotten a dime of rent for nearly three years, so the answer was an emphatic no!

My preferred contractor engaged a reasonable demolition contractor. He came to see me to find out what name the energy service was under because no one could find it. When church groups, who were tenants, change names and memberships they very kindly pass the service from one to another. I was able to give him the name of the first group about 50 years ago. I also told him about four times it was 1205 Openwood.

Unfortunately, he was working on Martin Luther King and had that on his mind, so he wrote down 1205 Martin Luther King instead of 1205 Openwood, got his permit and began demolition.

Entergy discovered the error — 1205 Openwood being in the historic zone and 1205 Martin Luther King not being listed. City of Vicksburg Code Officer Wayne Scott then began his dance on stage and slapped a stop work sign on the door. Mind you, only the steeple and rear wall were still standing. I was informed of that development early in the morning and called City Hall to find out exactly why. They tracked it down and my demolition contractor had to fill out another permit, which he did. Then he had to go to Entergy again. We were into July now.

‘I’ve never had any trouble with rules and regulations, but when they got the point of being absolutely asinine, totally ridiculous, and just plain stupid, I’m not going to keep quiet.’

That night there was a terrific storm. The stop work order was either blown off or taken off. Trees blew down and power was off. Someone was up there next day re-stacking  studs that were blown down. Entergy postponed cutting the service for about 10 days. More rain, more storms. Entergy postponed cutting the service again. Another hurricane, another postponement, and they finally made it on Aug. 18t!

In the meanwhile the ball was pitched to the Board of Architectural Review. We were notified to attend their meeting at 4 p.m. on Sept. 9 at the City Hall Annex. I called to say my agent would be there. He was, but only three board members showed up so there could no vote. I called everybody I could think of but all I got was an answering machine to leave a number and a message. They got a message all right!

I’ve never had any trouble with rules and regulations, but when they get to the point of being absolutely asinine, totally ridiculous, and just plain stupid, I’m not going to keep quiet. If a mayor and two aldermen can manage an entire city, it doesn’t take nine people to serve on an architectural review board! I don’t care whether they are paid or not paid, volunteers or appointed, they are supposedly adults with a supposed sense of integrity, moral fiber and a knowledge of personal responsibility. These immature butterfly, happy-go-lucky rascals who believe the world owes them adulation without them bothering to deserve it are, in truth, or selfish as hell for inconveniencing everybody else. Being on a board means being at the place you are supposed to be at the time you are supposed to be there with no creditable excuse except sickness or death, and if you are not willing to acknowledge that fact you should not get involved in the process to begin with!

There is no reason to have more than these people and one alternate on the architectural review board, possibly the three interested, responsible ones who showed up on Sept. 9. Too many cooks always spoil the broth and never get anything accomplished. If the ostentation of having large numbers to suggest clout is so important then the board should select an irrefutable guru thoroughly versed in the wisdom, knowledge and lasting quality of 19th century river town architecture to be the leading chief, then find 10 little Indians to act on his superior guidance.

Considering this particular case had no need of a vote, as the building was almost demolished, any one of these members present could have signed off on it rather than putting the matter on hold for another month! Did they plan to rebuild it themselves?

As my grandmother would say, “I can put up with a knave, but I don’t abide a fool.”

Neither can I.

A permit was issued Wednesday afternoon. So “all’s well that ends well”

L.C. Giles, Vicksburg, MS