The Mountain Eagle
WHITESBURG WEATHER

Speak Your Piece

Tell us what’s on your mind. No need to give your name.


E-m@il address

In addition to the telephone and the U.S. Mail, The Mountain Eagle accepts comments to Speak Your Piece by electronic mail. Our address is: mteagle@bellsouth.com

To the person who wrote Speak Your Piece last week about sweeping the politicians out of office in the next election: We need to get rid of everyone who is in office right now. My motto is anything is better than nothing and that is exactly what we have serving our county. I will vote for anyone except the current officials.

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I would like to thank Letcher County Jailer Don McCall and two of his employees for cutting the trees out of the road after the big snowstorm. They also helped the guys who had a wreck. God bless you, Don McCall, and your two employees. Wish everyone could be as nice. Good work. Two thumbs up to you, buddy.

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Not one prophecy in the Bible has failed to come to pass. The Bible says in the last days we will have a oneworld government, a oneworld currency, and a oneworld religion. All the pieces of the puzzle are coming together.

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The global elite are rich families, the international bankers, the Federal Reserve, whose ultimate plan is to dominate the world. They certainly control America. The Federal Reserve has never even been audited. Who are these people and how did they get control of us? Believe me, they do have the final sayso. Google ‘The Money Masters: How International Bankers Gained Control of America.’ It’s the story of the Rockefellers and the Rothschilds. These two families have had so much control over the world for centuries.

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I was reading in Speak Your Piece where someone said they were happy Whitesburg has a mayor who does things for other people instead of himself. I have a family member who needs the mayor’s help desperately, but nothing is being done about it. I will be working against him in the next election. That is a promise.

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In District Five we have a good magistrate who is good to everybody, even senior citizens. Thank you.

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To the person who commented about the dismal state of affairs that Letcher County is in and said we need to face the fact about the officials that we have chosen: I agree with what you said except for one statement, and that was the officials we have chosen. I never voted for the current officials who are puppets for the gas companies and I never will. Wake up, Letcher County, and vote for an honest candidate.

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Wayne Fleming’s the man. At least someone sticks up for us people.

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This is from the Tennessee woman who drives the Jeep with the tag and stickers on it: If you have known me a long time then let me know who you are. I am dying to meet you. Give me more details. Signed, the Tennessee woman.

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’Twas the night before Christmas without any power, don’t want to open presents, we don’t even care. No way to wash dishes or even to cook, dear old Santa can kiss my foot. We can’t listen to music or watch TV, it’s the most horrible Christmas I’ve ever seen. This time of year everyone is so caring, we’re drinking Bud Light just trying to be merry. Charlie is hungry and hasn’t been fed, we’re giving up and going to bed. No one came to visit, not even a call, all I can say is pee on you all. So we’re going to bed without any cares, ‘cause this is our Christmas without any power.

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This country reached its lowest point in politics the other day when a Republican senator by the name of Tom Coburn took to the Senate floor to call on the nation to pray that 92-year-old Senator Robert Byrd died before he could get to the Capitol to cast the winning vote for health care reform. Why were the Republicans so desperate to defeat health care reform? It’s because they know they now have no chance of beating President Obama in three years or of taking back control of the Senate or House in the mid-term elections.

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Are poinsettias poisonous? A few days ago my mother bought three live potted poinsettias for some of the patients at Letcher Manor Nursing Home. She had made one trip from Jeremiah to Whitesburg and forgot the flowers. I went on the second trip to help with the delivery of these three poinsettias, and one cactustype flower. On the way down the hall we met one of the patients moving slowly in her wheelchair and presented her flower. She seemed to know my mother, but she had to tell her who she was, which put a big smile on the patient’s face as she went on down the hallway clutching her flower with both arms. Her smile did not last too long as we were later to find out, because one of the staff took her flower away from her. We delivered another flower to a patient who was paralyzed, but was asleep. We left the flower and moved on to deliver the two remaining flowers. My mother took the cactus flower into one of her friend’s rooms and talked a while. We then went to the nurse’s station and asked where the remaining patient was, and for a piece of paper to leave a note for the sleeping patient as to where her flower came from. We assumed someone would read her the note since she could not reach to get it, because she is paralyzed. It was at this time we were informed that the patients couldn’t have poinsettias because they were poison. I had never heard of this or I would have bought them for all of my enemies and made them eat one at gun point. So being ignorant ourselves of this factor, we went back into the sleeping patient’s room and recovered the flower, plus kept the one we were in the process of delivering when told of this terrible news that a patient may eat the flower and die. I really doubt if any of the patients we gave or would have given the flowers to would have eaten them. They are disabled, but not stupid or crazy. I really wondered how the paralyzed girl would get up and cross the room to eat hers on the distant table. It took us about five minutes to think about looking this factor up on the computer web site under ‘Are poinsettias poison if eaten”? I did, and there are about 10 sites that confirm they are not. It goes something like this: In 1918 (91 years ago) this fear had originated from the death of a child in Hawaii. For whatever reason the doctor thought the child had died from eating a poinsettia plant. After this, parent magazines, medical books and guides, and even doctors and veterinarians advised keeping these killer plants away from the reach of children and animals. Even some books indicate that poinsettias are poison. For this reason it is easy to see why an average citizen off the street may think this. It is not known by me why a doctor and nurse in the medical field would not bother to spend five minutes as I have, and look up the updated information on a computer. The Poison Control Center in Madison, Wisconsin is one of many who have information that is not 91 years old about this flower. It is now a fact known all across the country, except maybe in Whitesburg. I do not know if they are allowed in the Whitesburg Hospital or not, but you are wasting time and money taking one to the Letcher Manor. The one that they took from the patient who made the escape in the wheelchair now adorns the nursing station desk. At least the patients who are somewhat mobile can enjoy it too. According to the poison control centers, a 50-pound child would need to ingest 500- 600 poinsettia leaves to have any ill effect. This effect would be the same if you eat 500-600 lettuce leaves, in that you would spend a while on the crapper. I don’t know of anything you could eat 600 of and not have some ill effect. They should ban roses and all flowers because 500-600 of these flowers would cause some sickness, but not death. Five hundred to 600 peanuts would be devastating compared to 500 poinsettia leaves. There was a study of almost 23,000 cases where poinsettias had been in children’s hospitals in Pittsburgh alone, and there were no evidence to any kind of toxic harm. Playing in the leaves can cause minor skin and eye irritation if you rub your eyes with them for an extended time, but playing with rose leaves in the same fashion can or may cause some irritation. Choking on a poinsettia while eating it would be the worst-case scenario. I would assume that maybe by this time next year that this information could be presented to the Letcher Manor Board of Geniuses, and maybe you can take your loved ones a flower without threat of death, or a lettuce head if you prefer. One is no more dangerous than the other, and the poinsettias are much prettier. Ladies, we are sorry you didn’t get your flowers, but we did try. For those of you who have this flower in mind for a gift, forget about it! For all of you who have taken them, remember that they didn’t keep them long, and take them something else. There are some plants such as mistletoe, holly, English ivy, azaleas, rhododendrons, philodendron, and others that can cause severe reactions, but poinsettias are cleared. Maybe you can spend five minutes as I did, and clear your plant before taking it in. Informed Citizen.

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What is the Letcher County Water and Sewer District’s board of directors trying to hide by not announcing the date and time of its meetings? I would like to attend, but the board will never announce to the public when the meetings are to be held. This is a disgraceful way to run any kind of public service, but it is typical of how the Letcher County Government is being run these days.

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Drug trafficking — McRoberts was wide open. You would have thought it was New York City. Everyone running to jump on the gravy train. You call, you talk to her and she’ll talk to you. Who did I talk to? You should have stayed home. Oh! The phone is tapped.

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I want to be a role model for autism, the eccentric and dyslexic. I hope you will print a message in Speak Your Piece for a certain person for me. Friends at a local music store put down my website out of friendship: www.myspace.com/ donaldhowell. Billy Ray Cyrus’s (singer/songwriter and actor) secretary emailed me and said he wanted to record my funny song/poem. I hope that Billy Ray Cyrus, Dwight Yoakam will help me get into Hollywood to parody lyrics as a professional songwriter/abstract guitar player, but no way in the spotlight for me. I’ve never done drugs or beer. I stay away from jail bait and married women. I do my mom’s housework, cooked off and on from age 16 to now at 46. You remind me of my mother in Letcher County. I miss you as my wife. I met you at the fireworks on the Fourth of July, 1989. I test everybody before I trust them. Second is all. My math skills are on the third year in college, and that is why I don’t need a guardian. I have real good hygiene. If I could have made $5,000 at McDonald’s from Sept. 1989 to Sept. 1990, I could have been a songwriter in the music field.

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I’m glad to have you for a daughter-in-law. You know who this is. This other person says she’s a Christian, but keeps trouble going on for years. You are prettier than she is, and a far better person than she is. She’s just jealous that he thinks the world of you. Let her keep rattling on and just ignore it. I doubt if she even knows what a Christian is.

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For anyone out there considering an affair, please hear me out. You might think it will be out of love — and that will make it okay, or that it will be an ‘innocent affair.’ There is no such thing if two people are married to others. Of course, I speak from experience. A coworker and I became friendly the last year or so and started spending some time after hours. We thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company. One of us got transferred to a new plant, so around that time we finally spoke of our feelings for each other. All meetings took place at his convenience, on his breaks from work. After a few months and many arguments, he agreed to reserve a couple of hours on a weekend, bimonthly for me. All of these hours spent together were truly wonderful. There is no denying that. However, they weren’t worth what it would cost us in the end. I came to understand later that the weekend hours offered me were to guarantee that I’d ask nothing else of him on his own time — ever. Eventually, he could not understand why I’d become upset that he’d never meet, even after empty promises of ‘always being there for me.’ I became offensive. I found a temper within me that I never knew I had. He didn’t seem to believe me when I said I had never acted like that with anyone else, but it was true. The very situation made me crazy, but I still never even considered hurting our spouses, and to my death would never say anything to hurt his wife. I sent stupid, detailed e-mails letting him know how he had hurt me. He was turned off by everything that dealt with the issue. He shut me out more and more. Loving habits that he once had were disappearing, being replaced with lies and broken promises. I used to find the good in him, and there honestly is very much that is good. However, I became nit picky as my insecurities that already existed, mounted. I felt much unloved, and I actually became quite unlovable. The more he shut me out — and shut me out he did — the more I needed him to prove that he did love me. I needed to see him, I needed to talk to him — I became a pest. We both protected ourselves by blaming the other. He would never be there for me when I needed him. He proved that over and over, and I couldn’t let go of letting him know how that had hurt me throughout the relationship. The affair only worked when it was during the week and I could make time to meet him — or during the scheduled hours every other weekend. He strictly wanted a Mondaythrough Friday affair with someone who would never ask anything of him beyond that. I’m quite sure he eventually resented arranging the bimonthly times. I became selfish and obsessed with the whole affair. Still, I didn’t compromise his marriage in any way, but I emailed the same things over and over because he ‘didn’t get it’ and we fought when we did meet. Of course, he did get it, but was not willing to budge an inch on his end and basically didn’t want to hear anything from me. E-mails weren’t always read — easier to delete rather than to read through my garbage. I was dense beyond belief, and turned into a jealous, suffocating bitch. Quite the coincidence — I became what he said he disliked the most in his marriage, and I complained about non-communication in mine. In the end, there was no good communication with my lover — only make-out sessions and arguments. Now, consider that this was the best case scenario. We both knew it had turned into something awful at this point and we ended before families and friends discovered what we were doing. Still, I’ve never felt worse about myself. What I did was so very wrong. I do love my spouse, and he loves his. It is possible to love two people, but not without complications. This other man and I were once good friends. We’ve showered each other with blame and neither of us could understand the other’s point of view. We both became stubborn, unyielding people in this situation. We both felt guilt and needed control — neither of us willing to relinquish that control in the relationship. We had some wonderful times together, but they definitely were not worth what this turned out to be in the end. For anyone who would like to preach to me about this, I already hate myself more than I could even believe possible. I hate what I did to my family, hate how desperate I acted to this man who I actually still love a great deal, and hate who I’ve become. I hope to feel God’s forgiveness with time, but right now I don’t even want to feel anyone’s forgiveness. Don’t make the same mistake that I’ve made — please. It will destroy you in the end, as I feel that I’ve destroyed the entire person I once was. I can hardly make it through a day right now. Depression is constant and most certainly is closely tied to the guilt and loss.

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I heard a song the other day that needs to be dedicated to the gas companies raping our land in Letcher County. It goes something like this: ‘Hit the road, Jack, and don’t you come back no more no more.’ Will some radio station dedicate this song for them?

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To the person who keeps trashing Archie Banks: Your comments are untrue. You take a few basic rumors, sugarcoat your response to exaggerate your charges against him. If your intention is to use mudslinging to increase your chances in the next election, you might want to try something else. Like just beat the pavement, shake hands and talk to people. But trashing someone who has helped a lot of residents in District 2 isn’t going to be very rewarding. You anger people like myself and ensure that we won’t listen to the other candidates for wondering if one of them might be the person who is doing this. Telling voters your ideas and intentions if elected is really the best way to win votes. Trash talk won’t get mine. I don’t know if Archie Banks is a saint, really don’t care. But every time I’ve called him, he always answers. And every request I’ve put on him was addressed. To me, these are the requirements of a magistrate. Can he bring in world peace? Doubtful. But to put the blame of county troubles on his shoulders only reminds me of the old phrase, ‘You can please some of the people some of the time …’ Good luck to Archie and to all the candidates. And to the person who has this huge chip: Try to enjoy the holidays. The campaigning and vote will come soon enough.

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Happy New Year to all the Letcher County Water and Sewer District board members, board chairman Peewee Back, and Letcher County Judge/Executive Jim Ward. May all of you change in the coming year and try to be a better person when serving Letcher County. God knows you have failed Him in the past by failing to treat the Christian workers in an acceptable manner. What problems do you have with Christianity?

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There are real credible stories from people who certainly ought to know terribly illegal and unjust things going on undercover in the government here. Some of them aren’t very far undercover. I am satisfied they are true, and they are burdens that good people shouldn’t have to endure. I don’t know how the socalled leaders and politicians here can get away with all they do. Countries on our borders investigate these things and lock up the ones who violate their office and public trust. What we’ve got to realize is that when the government steals they are stealing from all of us. No one escapes. I don’t fully understand the water and sewer board mess, and it seems to me that someone needs to clear the air there. It just seems like the whole climate here is poison and that we don’t have anyone that we can trust to turn to.

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I agree that this water and sewer board situation and all the shady involvement of the fiscal court should be a matter for the grand jury. I don’t understand why this hasn’t been done already. In the absence of any official action, though, there is a lot that can be done by any citizen. Anyone is entitled to any water and sewer records, or any other government records for that matter, they would like to see, and those records are easily obtained through the Kentucky Open Records Act. All that is required is that a letter be written to the water/sewer board requesting whatever information is needed and stating that the letter is a Kentucky Open Records request. The board is required to answer in three work days. It’s the law, and the people who are rightfully concerned and indignant about these improper actions, and the inaction of officials who seem to be trying to ignore them, can, and should use this law.

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What goes around finally comes around? Congratulations, Appalshop. I hear the layoffs continue over in Whitesburg. You thought you could spend your time fighting against the livelihood of mountain people who work for a living and it would never get back around to you. Maybe we can put up a monument once the big brown building falls in so everyone can remember that it is not a good idea to bite the hands that feed you. Bye bye now.

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The Letcher County Water and Sewer District should be ashamed of treating the Christian workers the way they have been treated in the past. The county judge is also guilty of this act, because he controls the district’s board members and employees. The Christian people of Letcher County should band together and vote the current judge out in the next election for helping to persecute the Christian employees of Letcher County.

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To my Virginia girl: We will be together soon. It will work out. I know it in my heart. Love, Caveman.

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