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.

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

On Tuesday, February 19, a miscarriage of justice occurred in Letcher County. A man who was charged with statutory rape got away with the crime for which he was charged — sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl. This brave little girl faced her fears and sat in front of him in court and relived every terrifying moment while pouring her heart out to the jury. Not to mention, this little girl has a form of autism. As she sat and cried, the defendant was doodling on a piece of paper, completely unconcerned. His lawyer then attacked her over her recollection of time. Does it matter what time a person was sexually abused? I think not. Also, if you look up autism, having no concept of time is one of the main symptoms. None of this was mentioned, nor could any previous charges against the defendant be mentioned during this trial. Maybe if the jury knew about the other allegations it may have a rendered a different verdict. As of now he is back on the streets. So watch your young daughters everyone. Keep them safe. This also goes for the members of the jury and the attorneys with daughters, because no one is safe.

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If someone ever honestly loved you, they will always love you even if the path they choose leads them away from you.

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There are times in our lives when God sends a stranger into our mist when we least expect it, but we need it the most. A great bond is formed. If that bond s ever betrayed and broken, we have thrown away a wonderful and precious gift that God intended specifi- cally for us.

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If you call the sheriff ’s office to have something done, they won’t do anything about it. They just sit there and act like it is hearsay when everybody in the Jeremiah area knows what is going on in our neighborhoods at night, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. I have a video camera and I am going to start filming what goes on in our neighborhoods and it is going to be turned in to the proper authorities. That way the proper authorities can come into our area and take care of these no good, rotten, drug dealing bums and drunks. There is even one of them who thinks he can work at a certain company and deal his pills on the side and even get young teenagers to follow in his footsteps. The truth is going to come out about him later.

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Why wouldn’t you take a few dollars out of the church fund and buy our secretary a simple floral arrangement and a card for her 27th anniversary? That would have been appropriate. Now we are starting to wonder if you are the right leaders for our organization.

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The person quoting Arch Coal’s CEO should read his comments again. The CEO said the coal industry would be flat for three to five years. The reason is because coal prices are down because of low natural gas prices, warm winters, and low demand. The EPA and Obama didn’t cause any of this. Coal companies, however, are shutting down, laying off, and making excuses so the unemployed workers and their families won’t blame the coal companies. If they continued mining where would they sell it if the market is already glutted? Where are these Friends of Coal when their ex-employees need help? They’re sitting on their mineral deposits, knowing that the coal is in the ground and can’t be outsourced to India. When coal prices rise, they’ll lure the workers back at lower salaries they’ll blame someone else for, and if a worker ever mentioned the union before being laid off I guarantee there will be no job for him. The folks who love the mountains are your friends. Most of us have miners in our family history. The coal CEOs only care about their bottom line. When you are no longer of use to them, they will dump you like overburden. Think about it.

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You self-righteous hypocrites. How long will your money keep pouring in when the church members find out that you are spending $64,000 of their money in tithes to send four wealthy members of the church to Haiti? Wow, what a vacation on donated funds. Stop and think how many hungry or desperately needy Letcher Countians that money could help. Is this why you don’t want church problems aired to church members and the community?

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I don’t volunteer my time and effort to just one organization. I help all of God’s children, be it a church, a group or organization or an individual anyone needing help.

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Someone clue me in to why Kentucky didn’t run up the score on Florida, especially considering how highly rated the Gators were, like they did those high school teams they’ve played. And why did they leave their starters in the game and subject them to injury when it was clearly a lost cause? Calipari makes millions for this?

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Happy anniversary to Lonnie Benjamin and Ashley Cornett of Kingscreek. They were married 10 years on February 15.

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Happy birthday to Xavier Cornett of Kingscreek. He turned five on February 15. His parents, Ashley and Lonnie Cornett, celebrated their 10th anniversary on the same day. Happy birthday from your mammaw and papaw, Pack and Eddie.

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I hope my beautiful mom, Sheila, had a happy Valentine’s Day. I love you, Mom. Love, your daughter Megan Hope.

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I wonder if Grandma thinks she really deserves her home. Well, I don’t.

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Now we have the football coach gone and Anna Craft is going to be retiring in June. We only have one more to go. Please, Anna, take the basketball coach with you.

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Ten warning signs of a cult: 1. Absolute authoritarianism; 2. No tolerance for questions; 3. No meaningful financial disclosures; 4. Unreasonable fear about the outside world, evil conspiracies and persecutions; 5. There is no legitimate reason to leave. If former followers are spoken of, they are evil; 6. Former members often relate the same stories of abuse; 7. There are news articles and Internet postings that document the abuse of this facility; 8. Followers feel that they can never be good enough; 9. The group leader is always right; 10. The group leader is the exclusive means of knowing truth or receiving validation. No other process of discovery is ever acceptable or credible. Wake up, people.

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The Bible makes it perfectly clear that being a homosexual is abomination in the eyes of Christ. So all you people who enjoy that lifestyle, good. All you are going to get out of it is a free ticket to hell.

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I would like to say hello to the one who drives the LKLP bus and hauls me around two days a week. I live at Jeremiah.

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There are only four girls on Letcher Middle School’s speech team and I just want to congratulate them all for doing so good in region and wish them good luck at the state competition.

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A certain department at a certain store needs to do something about the rudeness one employee shows to her coworkers and customers. I have never seen such. I would like to know why a big chain of stores lets this go on. Something needs to be done. Everyone has problems and people who are sick in their family, so this is no reason to let this humiliation go on. She needs to get off her high horse. Neither me nor any other member of my family will buy anything from that department as long as she is there.

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There have been several comments to the effect that those complaining about the recreation center should have done something before it was approved. I would like to point out that there was a full-court press by the judge and his allies on the fiscal court to get approval. I have never seen such pressure and determination. I can’t predict the future any better than anyone else, but my guess is that this center will eventually wreck the county financially. Someone said, correctly, that if coal severance can’t support the center that taxes will be raised. The only problem with that plan is that if taxes were raised 100 percent there still would be a shortfall. If I were one of the elected officials instrumental in the center’s creation I would certainly be looking for a financial solution before the next election.

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This is concerning the Hemphill Community Center, which is a nice place to go for a little entertainment and bluegrass music: If a certain lady is sick and can’t stand music, then she should stay home and let everyone else enjoy the players. If Mountain Melodies are run off, I will not support the Hemphill Community Center anymore. From a community center fan.

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I wish the Facebook and Speak Your Piece crowds and others in Letcher County would stop writing or saying something ignorant every time someone mentions the words ‘president’ and ‘Obama.’ While I don’t like it one bit that my husband is laid off from the mine either, I am not stupid enough to blame all my family’s problems on Mr. Obama. Neither is my husband. If some of you would bother to read and keep up with what it going on out in this big world of ours you would know our miners who are laid off will not be going back to work in eastern Kentucky and southwest Virginia as long as natural gas can be had for so cheap. A power company would be ignorant to burn coal right now when they can get natural gas so much cheaper. After all, power companies are in business to make profits for their shareholders on the stock market. They could care less about the people or communities they hurt when they decide to burn gas instead of coal. Please just think before you just blurt things out that make you look and sound so uninformed.

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I’d like to wish my stepdaughter, Debbie Back, of Cloverdale, Indiana a very happy birthday on February 22. We love you. From Dad and Wilma.

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Can we get off the subject of the recreation center? Can we just move on? That would be very nice. Thank you.

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Speak Your Piece is a fine part of the newspaper that everyone should enjoy reading, because it brings news and expresses everyone’s opinions. However, and I have said this before, when you put in something in about Bible verses and the paragraph is as long as the page, you immediately lose our interest after three or four sentences and we just pass it over. Actually, your breath is totally wasted. If you have something decent to talk about — maybe something of interest like politics, the county or whatever — make it worth reading. Have a good one.

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To a certain person: I adore you, but you have got to take it a little easier on me. I cannot have your babies, because I have too many demons. I am scared that if you don’t slow down we won’t be able to be friends in a month and then we won’t be able to be good to each other. And that would break my heart.

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I think a certain woman should be settled in her home after four years.

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I think instead of wanting to band together with your community to see about getting the grants for the sewer instead of grants for the swimming pool, you should look at applying for both types of grants. Those are two different areas of money that people allow for things in your communities. Some are set up for sewer, some are for clean water and some are for recreation and entertainment. You would learn some of these things by attending your local government meetings and paying attention instead of making your petty remarks. You might learn something and then your community would work stronger.

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I hope certain people at Mountain Breeze get what is coming to them. Karma is a bitch.

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I’d just like to tell the people of Letcher County that we need to get together and get officials in office who will keep these drug dealers and drug abusers off these highways before they hit somebody and kill one of our family members. I know one of those officials wouldn’t like it if one of their family members got hurt. They let them out and let them go to the doctor to get more pain pills and they sell them to our younger generation. I just don’t know what to do. I think we all ought to get together and find a solution.

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I’m in dire need of a vehicle and I am wondering if there is a sister or brother out there in the Lord who can help me or give me a deal on a vehicle. I would thank them very much. If so please reply in next week’s paper. My phone number is 832-0284. Call anytime. Thank you and have a good day.

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To my sister-in-law in Kansas: Glad you got your Mountain Eagle. How do you like it? Later, Sis.

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I was reading a back issue of Speak Your Piece and a guy said he was 70 years old and the Democrats are to blame with what is wrong with Social Security. The Democrats are to blame with what is wrong with Social Security because they created Social Security. Republicans had nothing to do with it. Republicans voted against creating Social Security. Only 16 Republicans voted to create Medicare. Former Republican Senator Bob Dole, who ran against President Clinton, voted against creating Medicare. So blame it on the Democrats.

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Blair Branch residents wonder if a certain deputy sheriff has joined the CSX detectives in his great search for stolen fuel from the train that sits behind the church, or if he is just guarding the Old Regular Baptist Church that was burglarized years back. CSX surely isn’t graced enough to have his talent working for them in catching the culprits who sold the fuel to a local scrap dealer. Yes, most of the county knows this now, except maybe the deputy. Blair Branch thanks you for your presence since everyone feels safe, but your secret mission is blown. But surely another hollow and another bad guy may fear you again someday. I think they are stealing the fuel at another location while you watch this one.

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To a certain family: You goofy hicks you. I am going to take you and your wife to court for slander for going around talking about me. I’m not bothering you all. You all are liars and you made your daughter out to be a liar, too. That is the way you raised her. I’m taking you all to court for slander. I’ve got the witnesses that you have been talking about me to. They are going to go with me.

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Someone needs to tell a certain lady who sings in a certain church out in the county that she can’t sing. Please do her a favor and ask her to please not sing again. She can’t sing. Thank you.

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I’d just like to say one more time that I’d like to see that Number 3 Goodwrench go around that Daytona 500 track next weekend by itself. Just three laps. I hate to give that fellow up. I don’t think it would hurt anything. I don’t see how it could. I really think they owe the fans that. I would like to see it one more time and then I will let it go.

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I’m going to stop buying the newspaper if you don’t stop putting in there about a pregnant woman having sex with men. That is horrible. Who likes to read that trash?

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To all of the churches in Letcher County: Please help me pray and ask God to put a circle of love around our families. Help me ask God to answer our prayers.

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Those who would like to stop the discussion on the county recreation center should know that there is wide concern about the county’s financial future, and that the center is a big factor. The prospects for Appalachian coal are bleak, and the forecasts come not from the Sierra club, or other environmentalists, but from the CEOs of Arch and Alpha Natural Resources. They say the big problem is a dwindling market because so many utility coal-fired plants are being converted to natural gas, and that the remaining coal in this area costs more to produce than it can be sold for. Technology has made coal from the Powder River Basin more usable, and they have huge seams that are easily accessible. It can be mined at a fraction of the cost of coal from this area. None of this is good for coal severance funding, which is on a steady decline. What we need is planning and a solution for this obvious problem, not assurance that everything is fine.

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This is King over here in Rocky Hollow, Jenkins. I am going to do a little rebuttal on what was put in last week’s Speak Your Piece. You were talking about compensation insurance. When I put the King’s Rally on I had $8.5 million on the ground. I also had Kevin Mullins, who was then a practicing lawyer, draw up a draft stating drag racing-type fuel is dangerous and made everyone sign it. My point is, don’t call The Mountain Eagle and waste the paper’s time if you aren’t going to put your name behind it. You put your name behind what you said in last week’s paper and I will look you in the face and odds are I’ll knock two or three of your teeth out if you have enough cojones. Don’t hide behind Speak Your Piece and not put your name to it. Put your name to it and I’ll personally see you in Jenkins, Whitesburg, Dorton, Pike County or wherever. Thank you.

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This is King again. I have one more thing to say to the people who commented about me and compensation insurance in last week’s Speak Your Piece: You better not worry about me. You better get the rights to those Jenkins Day shirts with ‘Who’s Your Daddy?’ because I think they are going to sell like eight million of them. Jerry Springer is supposed to come in and do a show on Jenkins Days and ‘Who’s Your Daddy?’ So buy you a silk-screen press or whatever and get it rolling and don’t worry about what I have to say.

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I would like to say a big shout out thank you to all the people that came to my rescue when my house burned down. To all my friends for the beautiful gifts I got at my shower, for the food and furniture, to the Hurricane Gap Baptist Church. I know I will forget someone so I will say I am forever grateful to anyone who had anything to do with helping me. To my brother and sisters who helped me so wonderfully, I love you all. Carolyn Pratt and family.

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This is the preacher man. Don’t go to church judging others, no matter what this woman sitting over there does. Judge not lest ye be judged. Point your finger at yourself. God’s the judge over man and woman. Nobody’s perfect.



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