The Mountain Eagle
WHITESBURG WEATHER

Speak Your Piece

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



Call 633-7508 from 9 am Tuesday to 9 am Friday.

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: mtneagle@bellsouth.net

I was wondering if I could try to get a phone number or name for the guy that is operating the junkyard on Tunnel Hill, overlooking the Upper Bottom. I’ve got three or four junk cars that I want to add to it and I’m sure the people in that nice neighborhood won’t mind if we start a scrap yard up there. If anyone can find the name or phone number of the person in charge of that junkyard, let me know.

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I was calling about our Letcher County government television channel. I don’t think that channel should be used as a political station for the candidates to try to get a vote. After all, that is a public station. I think that people that are running for election should also be able to do the call letters and let people know what they are running for. There are a certain few that are always on that channel. To me, that is campaigning and I don’t think that is fair, especially to people that are running for public office and can’t use the channel for their own political purpose.

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I agree with the caller last week talking about the preacher getting some no votes voted against him during the election. That proves people aren’t afraid to vote against him. They are right. He needs to worry about all of the people that didn’t vote.

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There’s a certain woman that lies on her ex-husband just to cover her own past.

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I went the other night to watch the little girls perform in the pageant, and that was the dirtiest pageant I have ever seen. The judging was real dirty. I have never seen anything as dirty as that, but that can be expected in Whitesburg.

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Having a University of Kentucky football game on ESPN GamePlan, especially with the key game with the University of Louisville down at Papa John Stadium, was a joke. We can see having the game with Western Kentucky on GamePlan, but having a key game on GamePlan with the outof state alumni in southwestern Ohio and good friends wanting to listen to the game when we have always listened to it every other year was kind of an insult and a joke. Before University of Kentucky football gets to be on the same scale of University of Kentucky basketball, it needs to get back to where it can be seen by all of the folks. So much for GamePlan. ESPN, you are a joke.

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As for the people with the Friends of Coal stickers on their vehicles, I’m not so much worried about those folks. I am worried about the people that are taking pills, talking on their cell phones or smoking a fatty going down the highway, especially coming from London or coming down the Mountain Parkway. Those are the reasons why I really start to freak out while coming into the mountains. I am not really worried about Friends of Coal stickers. Those are not my real problems and, by the way, if you are so worried about Friends of Coal, maybe you should start worrying about what is in front of you and not how many stickers are on those vehicles.

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You want to get in good with a certain pastor? Take him to see a few Cincinnati Reds game or Wildcat games. Then you can virtually get anything you want.

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This is about the comment about the coal miners and our future. If you take mining out of here, do you think Walmart is going to stay? Do you think any of these places are going to stay with just minimum wage jobs? You better thank a miner, because without them this place would be a ghost town.

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This goes out to the man who says he is a Christian and stole his sister’s grandbaby: He also kicked her out of his house when she was sick. She is currently in the hospital waiting to have surgery. He thinks he is scoring Brownie points with all of the bigwigs. How you can be a Christian if you are stealing someone’s grandbaby and kicking them out when they are in need? Is this a Christian? Is this what God wants us to do to families?

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Soon, very soon you are going to get a chance to tell me these things to my face that you said in Speak Your Piece. Then we’ll see how bold you really are.

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This in regard to the nurse’s response to the comment about the emergency room: They treat everyone like they are a drug addict. They treat you like you are not supposed to be there. The Whitesburg hospital is a joke. I wouldn’t put my dog in that hospital.

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I’ve got a comment. I have been buying The
Mountain Eagle
for the last 25 years. I love to read about local people. People from Ohio, we don’t know those people and we’re not really interested in reading those columns. So could somebody out there somewhere start writing a local column so we could know what is happening locally?

(Thanks for reading The
Eagle. Our pages are always
open to local writers who
wish to contribute a column
about the goings-on in their
community. Know someone
you think would be good
at it? Then encourage them
to do so. As for columns
from Ohio and other longdistance

places, those are
generally written by former
Letcher County residents
about county natives who,
in most cases, no longer live
here. And those columns are
quite popular with a sizeable

portion of our reading
audience.)

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I just would like to know why no one is now working on the bridge on U.S. 119 at Mayking even though we still have to sit at the traffic lights, which are extremely long. At first, 20 people were working on the bridge and now no one is working on the bridge. Could somebody tell me what the problem is?

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Brother, God bless you for giving your wife to that preacher. You know the Bible says you shall receive tenfold. Sir, if you get too much on your hands you can’t handle, please just put it in Speak Your Piece. A lot of us would be glad to help you, sir. God bless you and you have a blessed day.

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To R.A.: Glad to hear that your needs are being met at the Letcher County Jail — three hots a day. Ponytail is not lonely. He is with your mama. The dogs are gone and so are you.

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One, two, three lucky birds I see./You’ve given me the most beautiful set of wings./I’m so glad you are here today because tomorrow I might have to go and fly away. Fly away./Play us a song, you are the piano man./Play us a song tonight./ We’re all in the mood for a melody and you’ve got us feeling alright./Yeah, you’ve got us feeling alright. Damn, that kid can sing. This is the M.P. singing.

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To the troublemaker that lives on so-called Drama Drive: You are going around spreading a rumor that you punched somebody and they wouldn’t fight you back. These three witnesses know that you wouldn’t get out of the car because you were too much of a baby. You were too much of a coward. Take care of business and get it over with.

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Whitesburg ARH has some of the hottest security guards of any hospital I have ever been to, especially the one that works dayshift.

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Logic makes me sick. The gospel according to the M.P. states that he who is logical or he who thinks he be logical is insane and trust and honesty has flown from him. Example, I can logically prove that I am not here. Am I in Chicago? No. Am I in Philadelphia? No. Am I in Cincinnati? No. So if I am not in Chicago nor Philadelphia nor Cincinnati, then I must be somewhere else. Somewhere else cannot be here, therefore I am not here. If you start with the wrong premise, you are wrong throughout. Example, all grandmothers are old. She is an old lady, therefore she is a grandmother. No, not if she doesn’t have grandchildren. This is the M.P. speaking. Thank you.

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Judge Samuel T. Wright was wrong then and he is wrong now and that is a fact.

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I would like to report that I have lost a set of keys. It has a small can of pepper spray attached to the keychain. It is in a little black case and it has a Food City Value Card, a library card and several keys attached. If anyone has found the set of keys, please write back in Speak Your Piece with your phone number and I will be happy to call you. Thank you so much.

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This is regarding the photo on the front page of this week’s Mountain Eagle.
The Hummer that was being loaded onto the rollback, it was not Donald Niece in the picture. It was Greg Bentley from Payne Gap, who has the garage there. I just wanted to correct you on that.

(Thanks for setting the
record straight.)

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Every time I watch the news I’m always seeing how they are having drug raids in these other counties. I wonder why here in Letcher County we never have drug raids. It seems like the drug dealers in our county get away with anything they want to. I’m just like a few more people. I think it is time for a change. I think it is time for our sheriff ’s department to start doing something about some of these local drug dealers that are selling guns and dealing drugs and prostitution. I think it time for a change and time for the sheriff ’s office to put these lawbreakers behind bars where they belong.

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There’s a boil at Jenkins Middle High School over something pretty trivial. The football coach ordered black jerseys because the ones they were wearing were too tight. Some of the school board members didn’t like it. Most schools have threecolor uniforms and black is a widely used color. Studies show that athletes that wear black are more aggressive and win more games. Shouldn’t the students have a say so in this? They love the black uniforms and jerseys. Besides, things change after awhile. We have to go with the flow. And why would they want to run off Larry Maggard? He is a great coach. He loves the kids. He and his wife, Grace, are such an asset to this community. Let’s quit squabbling and get behind him and our team.

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The National Examiner is such a great little magazine. It’s got a lot of good stories and unusual things that happen across America. My family and I buy some of these magazines on the newsstands and we swap out with each other. It gives us something to look forward to. There are a lot of good natural remedies in these magazines. It’s not just gossip. So check them out.

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How often does the county check to see how many big garbage bills are left unpaid? I wonder if they just do that every 10 years, because I am thinking about letting mine go. I could be dead by then and wouldn’t have to pay it.

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From the family of Richard McFarland: We just want to thank each and every one of you who came to see him one last time. And for the flowers and gifts, but most of all for the hugs and soft words of sympathy that meant so much. Thank you, from the McFarland family. We would also like to thank Darlene Sturgill for jumping in and helping out. You were a very big help. Thank you so much.

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I was just calling to see why the Letcher County Wolves semi-pro football team isn’t getting any recognition by you guys. At the beginning of the year you guys were helping us out. We need as many pictures in the paper as we can get. I was just wondering why you guys haven’t been backing us or supporting us or putting anything in there saying ‘good luck.’ We’ve got to go all the way to Washington D.C. for the second round of the playoff s this year. We won our first playoff game. Go Wolves.

(Apparently you didn’t
get the chance to read last
week’s paper. If you had you
would have seen the ad we
donated congratulating the
Wolves and letting readers
know how they could contribute

toward paying for
the Letcher County Wolves’
playoff trip to Washington,
D.C. Earlier this year, when
the Wolves were forming, we
devoted nearly a full page
to a story and photographs
introducing the team and its
concept. During the following

weeks, a freelance writer
and photographer submitted

a story and a photo each
week, but stopped doing
so after a while. You might
check with him to see why
he quit covering the games.)

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I would like to speak my piece. I live in Hemphill, which is called the Baker precinct, and I am a son of a coal miner and a coal miner myself. I was watching the T.V. the other day and I heard county officials talk badly to a man that is trying to feed his family. They made fun of him because he was a grass cutter, so I am going to vote in November for his opponent and I ask you to do as my family is and vote against Archie Allen Banks.

 This is to the one that put the comment in about Ridge Rider: If you know who he is, describe him and what he drives.

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I was just reading my Mountain Eagle
and I was just wondering if somebody could please tell me where the rest of the article is about Judge Stephens being stabbed. It says continued on page two and it’s not on page two. I’m trying to find it, but I can’t find it. I was just wondering what page it was on. Never mind, here it is on page 14. I guess you all just made a mistake.

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To the person who called in and said God not ought to have done you all that way: Even though you all are evil people and you admit you are evil people, God shouldn’t have done you that way. I don’t think you are as much evil as you are stupid. God probably knows that as well. And He probably does loves Satan more than He loves you. That’s probably true.

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You and Snagglepuss, you guys destroyed your lives because you think you are too cool. You and Snagglepuss are too smart and way too cool. Your lives were destroyed when you came out of the womb, both of you.

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The Pure and Simple Band that played Friday night at Neon Days was the best show Neon has ever had. The bass playing and the guitar playing were so hot. I can’t wait to see them again. I hope they play at the Mountain Heritage Festival.

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To the person who made the comment about ‘seven men and everybody knows’: Please give more information as to whom you are talking about. If it is about me I know that it is the same old lying whore with more lies.

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Learn to live with it. I am not moving to make you happy or any of that scum that live with you.

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This is to Letcher County Judge/Executive Jim Ward: You might ought to be careful as you turn around, because you are bound to step on Deputy Judge Eddie Meade since he stays so far on your heels. Without you, Eddie could not move.

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This is to the man in downtown Whitesburg who had a birthday on Sept. 17: Hope you had a good one. From you know who.

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I have never met two people just alike, but you two troublemakers are crazy. When you all are on Xanax and other pills, you lie, running from door to door. What you wouldn’t do for a pill is unreal. I really feel sorry for you two. Just remember, what goes around does come around.

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No, the three stooges are not dead. They hibernate and then come out every four years to run in an election. Moe runs for judge. Curly runs for magistrate. And Larry, he is the chief. They don’t look too bad, do they? Vote for them.

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I just want people to know that if you are looking for some pot plants, go up Stinking Branch.

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To the people concerning the new church you’re starting: You say you don’t want newcomers, no sinners, and you don’t have sacrament foot washing. I’ll just say that you all are in desperate need of salvation. You both need to repent, okay? Please print this? Thank you, Daddy Long Legs.

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I pray for the day to come when a certain person of Perry County will be a man and come forward and tell the truth so an innocent father can go home to his two small children, who are terribly suff ering from this wrongful conviction caused by a small-town cover up of a police department that coerced your testimony to hide the mistake of arresting the wrong man. If you are the so-called Christian you claim to be, then do what’s right. How can you live every day knowing that your cowardice has ruined an innocent family’s life? I hope you do what is right before karma bites you on the behind for what you have done. You know the truth, so does the Lord. Go to Frankfort and do what needs to be done. Until then, may God have mercy on your soul. Only true men speak the truth. When will you stop being a boy?

 I have attended many meetings over the years in many diff erent forms concerning labor, PTA/PTO, and for politics. I recently attended a meeting for a religious organization where the Roberts Rules of Order were not kept, as well as their very own written rules. The leader, or moderator, is an educated and religious man who completely threw out their own constitution. In other organizations I’ve attended, this leader would have been thrown out of office and dismissed from the organization. I saw men weep from the false statements this man read openly in public. Why do we have to fight corruption like this to simply obey God’s laws?

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The worst misuse of power that many have ever seen. Your office put on a display. You harm a church or a child of God, you have sinned. When you bear false witness against a child of God, you have sinned.

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I thank my lucky stars that the horrible traffic bottleneck at the west end of Whitesburg is finally fixed, thanks to President Obama’s stimulus program. The Obama bashers can whine all they want about burdening grandchildren with debt while they enjoy the newly free flow of traffic, but fortunately their grandchildren will never know what a malfunction junction used to exist there. In other words, that money is not gone, it bought us something we really needed, and will have from now on.

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Whatever happened to the good man running the auto shop in Payne Gap? I went back there the other day to get some work done, and the guy who was there charged me more than the young man would have. If the young man reads this, write back in The Eagle and I will have you do my work, wherever you moved.

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Hello Letcher County. I am really getting sick and tired of hearing about coal this and coal that. Yes, don’t get me wrong, these people do work hard, and they do deserve to work. I am tired. I don’t care, the lights will be on regardless. Another thing that is not right, and well, if people get ticked off over this so be it, this is my soapbox, and I, my friend, am on it. Why should these miners get paid these big salaries and a very high percent of them can not even read or write, and I myself went to school, have my master’s degree, and make nothing close to a miner? What’s wrong with this, Letcher County? I thought educations pays. Well, I have yet to see it. But someone that chose to not learn all that they can and better society and get their education, makes this massive amount of money. It’s not right, no matter how you try to justify it, it’s wrong. So all you coal miners can call me a tree hugger or whatever you want, odds are you have no clue to what it means anyhow. Keep on going to D.C., not like it does any good. So keep on wasting money. You’re just ticked off because you are just getting a taste of what the people that have got theirs has been tasting for years. The Educated Tree Hugger.

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In Perry County, Judge Stephens got stabbed with a pocketknife and was treated and released from the hospital. Evidently, it was not premeditated attempted murder the man who stabbed her would have had something besides a pocketknife. The case in Letcher County where the Fields man was shot in the head was premeditated since the guy got a gun, drove 10 miles on cold weather on a four-wheeler, and then shot Fields in the head. Fields was not treated and released, but flown to Holston Valley for a prolonged stay in the hospital with multiple surgeries at death’s door. His shooter is charged with first degree assault, so am I the only one who sees something wrong with this scenario? Allegedly the Letcher prosecutor is trying to get this reduced down to even lesser charges. So what is the difference? They may have a real prosecutor with some sense in Perry County, or is it that a judge is worth more than a regular citizen? One does not have to be a genius to see the complete loss of justice in Letcher County and its prosecutor. How do the rest of you plain citizens see this? Is there money and politics involved, or am I just an ignorant hillbilly, as some political figures see the rest of us?

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Dr. Rand Paul said that when people’s Medicaid or Medicare was cut out, he saw them as patients. He failed to mention he received $100,000 from Medicaid. He also appears unaware that people like me have a co-pay so high that we can’t afford doctors and medicine.

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At the Faces of Coal Stand Up Rally on Sept. 15 in Washington, D.C., Kentucky was well represented by elected officials. Some of those in attendance were Knott County Judge/Executive Randy Thompson, Perry County Judge/ Executive Denny Ray Noble, Perry County Sheriff Les Burgett, Kentucky State Rep. Fitz Steele, Kentucky State Sen. Brandon Smith, Kentucky State Senate President David L. Williams, Kentucky State Senate Majority Leader Robert Stivers, Congressmen Ed Whitfield and Hal Rogers, and U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell. Kentucky State Rep. Leslie Combs and Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo were invited speakers, but they were too busy elsewhere to show their support for coal. Perhaps the Hazard disc jockey who said he has proof that Leslie and her brother are financial supporters of people who want to end surface mining is right. Perhaps Dr. Mongiardo still considers us uneducated hillbillies who just don’t know any better, or maybe they are like our governor who is too concerned with horses and his little casino dreams to worry about the end of an industry and a way of life that would devastate not only this region, but our entire country. Believe me, these three people are no friends of coal.

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Everyone talks about the Medicaid budget in esoteric terms. When you give people a blank check, it’s a license to break the bank. I know at least one or two hypochondriacs with state medical cards. How is the budget to stand a license for free spending and free billing by all involved?


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