I just read Catherine Downing's column, "This is a job for the army," and I think she needs to be reminded of a few facts.1. The Army is not "Them" and the rest of the population "Us." The Army has always belonged to all of the people in the United States. That is one reason our army has been so successful.
2. Those chemical weapons she is so irate about have helped defend this nation since World War I. Without them we could have been speaking German, Russian or another language. She is right that no one expected to demilitarize them. We expected them to be used in a war. Luckily we won the Cold War and found we can now get rid of them.
3. I have some experience with chemical weapons. One local agency would have you believe that in an accident, nerve agent would be dripping from our rooftops. Educate yourself on the true likelihood of an accident, what the probable size of the release would be, then make your decision. Once you know the facts about what we face you will realize that evacuation is impossible, and sheltering (using the ridiculed duct tape and plastic sheeting) is more than enough.
4. Look closely at the motivation of the agencies involved. Is it in the best interests of the Army to put the public in danger? Is it in the best interests of the Calhoun County EMA to demilitarize the source of their funding. Ninety percent of county EMAs operate out of a store front or a basement in the courthouse with a table and a phone. Calhoun County has an emergency operations center that makes most states green with envy. County agencies like the fire, law, and paramedic departments all have radios that can talk not only to each other but have enough range to cover the entire county. The county is covered by a siren system funded by the CSEP program but used on a regular basis for weather events such as thunderstorms and tornadoes.
5. The incinerator is not an untested technology. This is a third generation system. The first generation incinerator completed its job without major incident or injury and is being shut down.
6. Educate yourself, look at the motivation of the different agencies, and accept that the stockpile and the incinerator belong to all of us.
Gary Mann
Jacksonville
Brookins cartoon
Thanks for running a Brookins cartoon on the October 26 editorial page. As one of the late, great Jeff McNelly's disciples, and inheritor of his "Pluggers" strip, Brookins continues the artistry and humor of his mentor. His cartoons are a refreshing improvement over the mean, chinless, grotesqueries of Wright, whose work so frequently appears in The Star.William Hubbard
Jacksonville
Ayers Lecture Series
Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye - a headline of Oct. 25, "Ayers lecture series looks at standards of the Press." Indeed they do exist. Despite "dumbing down" of the media, Sir Godfrey Hodgson remains optimistic.Editor Ayers credits Mr. Hodgson with knowing more about U.S. politics than some senators know. Shortly after leaving the Senate, Alan Simpson concluded that journalists have no standards.
After being blistered by Ms. Judy Woodruff for referring to the senator's views during an earlier Star banquet, my curiosity did not die. I'm grateful that constructive criticism is still alive despite our challenge to survive.
John A. Vanderford
Jacksonville
