Shelbyville Times-Gazette: Opinion

Letter to the Editor, June 16 (06/16/13)
Dear Editor, In regards to the letter that Grace Bergloff wrote about speeding on Old Unionville Road in which pets are killed: I believe that there is a leash law in Bedford County, which means that you can be charged with "animals running at large."...

Letters to the Editor, June 13 (06/13/13)
Dear Editor, Kudos to Stanley Smotherman for posting a speed limit (30 MPH) on Old Unionville Road. It took the loss of our furry family member, Chewy to accomplish this. When the driver who hit and killed Chewy, not only killed our pup, he killed part of us as well. ...

Politics of postponing ObamaCare (06/13/13)
It has been more than three years since President Obama and Congressional Democrats passed their overhaul of our nation's health care system. From its inception, the Affordable Care Act -- commonly referred to as ObamaCare -- has been fraught with unworkable mandates, impossibly complex regulations and unintended consequences...

A silver bullet and a man of steel (06/09/13)
It's not surprising that Superman leads our web site reader poll of superheroes, but it will be interesting to see whether that affection carries over to the movie "Man of Steel." Will people consider it an exciting update to a classic story, or will they be put off?...

Letters to the Editor, June 6 (06/06/13)
Dear editor: I am a veteran and was disturbed after reading the article concerning the possibility of veterans officer Gordon Warren losing his position. I have known Mr. Warren for a long time, and I have found him to be proficient and effective in assisting me any time I have had any questions or concerns. I have seen nothing but respect by other veterans toward him. In my experience, he has communicated well and given out good information that has helped many, many vets...

Relay for Life starts tonight: Dont miss it! (05/31/13)
Several years ago, I had only a vague notion about the American Cancer Society Relay For Life. I think I'd stopped by one time, back when our local event was much, much smaller, and taken a photo of the survivor lap which traditionally opens the Relay. I didn't stick around...

Remember the real meaning of Memorial Day (05/26/13)
Memorial Day is not, repeat, not, the beginning of the summer barbecue season, although we often treat it that way. It's a day to remember the sacrifices made on our behalf by brave men and women who died defending our liberty. According to the Veterans Administration web site, the idea for Memorial Day took shape in 1868, three years after the Civil War ended. ...

Letter to the Editor, May 26 (05/26/13)
Dear Editor, I am writing to express my family's deep gratitude to Sheriff Randall Boyce, the Bedford County Sheriff's Department, and the many relatives, neighbors, and friends for all they did during the three day search for my son in Bell Buckle last week...

Letter to the Editor, May 23 (05/23/13)
Dear Editor: On Thursday, May 9, Eakin Elementary School held career day for all students Pre-K through 5th. The school would like to thank the following for the time they spent at our school enriching young minds and helping our students see the importance of math and reading in the workplace...

Reality, emotions clash over video (05/22/13)
The Times-Gazette posted a video earlier this week showing a high-speed chase across the county early Saturday morning that ended with one young man dead and one injured. Our sympathy goes out to the family of the man who lost his life. When searching for a "why" in a sudden, unexpected death, raw feelings sometimes take over...

Free expression must not be attacked (05/16/13)
Enough already. The public has the right to advocate causes, and the media the right to report news, without government intrusion. Probes by the Internal Revenue Service into records of conservative groups such as the Tea Party are completely uncalled for. ...

Giving...and receiving much more (05/16/13)
A few times in recent years, I had participated in the annual "Read Across America" day held in schools around the date of Dr. Seuss's birthday. I always had fun, being a ham actor with a fondness for Dr. Seuss, and so when United Way of Bedford County started its participation in the "Raise Your Hand Tennessee" program, I thought it sounded like fun, and -- being a former United Way board member -- I wanted to support it...

A tuneful asset to Bedford County (05/12/13)
The Nashville Symphony has been performing in Shelbyville annually (with only one or two exceptions) since 1989. All but one of those concerts were in Calsonic Arena; the first one wasn't, because the arena was still under construction at that time, rising in the background as the symphony performed in the big open Celebration arena. I remember covering that concert for the newspaper...

Letter to the Editor, May 9 (05/09/13)
Dear editor, Childhood Apraxia of Speech, CAS, is a speech disorder that seriously interferes with a child's ability to develop clear speech. CAS makes it difficult for an affected child to plan the movements of the lips, tongue, and jaw that are needed for speech...

It's safe to release roadblock info (05/09/13)
Roadblocks -- as we call them or, as they're officially called, driver's license or sobriety checkpoints. Since last year the Tennessee Highway Patrol and, on one occasion, Bedford County Sheriff's Department have issued press releases with times and somewhat non-specific locations of their checkpoints...

Show appreciation to teachers (05/07/13)
Teacher Appreciation Week in the U.S. is recognized the week of May 6-10. This week offers us the perfect opportunity to let teachers know how thankful we are for their efforts. Teachers work to open student's minds to ideas, knowledge and dreams and keep American democracy alive by laying the foundation for good citizenship. A teacher fills many roles: as a listener, explorer, role model, motivator and mentor...

The booklet that takes you places (05/05/13)
I'm waiting on a new passport to arrive. It doesn't seem possible that it's been more than a decade since my first foreign mission trip, to Nicaragua in January of 2003. I went on eight trips in eight years, five of them to Kenya. I had taken a little break the past few years. ...

State achieves balanced budget (05/02/13)
After a great deal of hard work and collaboration, this year's session of the 108th General Assembly finally came to a conclusion on April 19, 2013. Not only did the House and the Senate pass many pieces of important legislation, but more importantly we passed a balanced budget for the State of Tennessee. ...

Letter to the Editor, April 28 (04/28/13)
Dear editor, A heartfelt thanks to all of you who helped spread the word about Dixie Line Days in Wartrace this past Saturday. By a conservative estimate the train show pumped over $6,000 into the local Wartrace economy. The one-day event drew over 500 railfans and hobbyists...

Session wraps up at the capitol (04/21/13)
"When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier. -- Roy E. Disney This past week was a week of great debates and long Session meetings. We all knew that it was getting close to the end of the yearly Session and some of the biggest and most controversial bills would be up for vote...

Letters to the Editor, April 21 (04/21/13)
Dear editor: Regarding the Transportation funding story in the April 11, 2013 edition of the T-G, the State Transportation officials seemed surprised by lower revenues, blaming it in part on the economy. In my opinion, they should have seen this coming (many of us did). In 1975, the United States Congress put in place Corporate Average Fuel Economy or CAFE standards. These standards' goals were to increase the fuel economy of cars, light trucks, SUVs and vans...

Home