Speak Out

Speak Out ... On incineration and emissions

By our readers
07-12-2002

Please allow me to clarify a point of fact that may have been missed in the lead editorial of Thursday’s Anniston Star. After reading the editorial, our neighbors, fellow citizens and your subscribers may now believe we will not be monitoring our operations when we begin the shakedown phase of operations at the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (ANCDF) this fall. That is incorrect. The fact of the matter is, our on-site chemical laboratory has more than 270 different monitors throughout the facility and area. While the monitors have specialized roles to ensure we are operating safely, different monitors are tuned and calibrated to check for chemical agent, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide or oxygen. Our entire monitoring system will be operational when we begin processing chemical agent and begin shakedown operations. The system includes 90 Automatic Continuous Air Monitoring Systems (ACAMS), 155 Depot Area Air Monitoring Systems (DAAMS) and 27 Continuous Emissions Monitoring Systems (CEMS). The complete system allows us to check for chemical agent in ducts, filters and the common exhaust stack. We can also monitor for carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and oxygen to ensure efficient and complete destruction of the chemical agents during disposal operations. There is a substantial commitment of resources at the ANCDF involving highly skilled professionals and high-tech equipment to ensure we are operating safely from the first day we introduce chemical agent into the facility all the way through the completion of our mission. And with the completion of our mission we will have achieved our ultimate goal — the safe elimination of the risk to this community due to the storage of chemical weapons here. Timothy K. Garrett ANCDF Site Project Manager Anniston Politics The runoff is over and once again it has been proven the better man doesn’t always win. The District 4 Calhoun County Commission race is over until November ... I, myself, reside in District 3 but watched the District 4 race closely. How could the voters forget how J.D. Hess burned out the homeless veteran and cost the county taxpayers thousands of dollars. No doubt in time people do forget. District 4’s loss is the Calhoun County Board of Education’s gain because Dale Harbin will remain on the board. He no doubt would have made the residents of District 4 proud but they have chosen to go with Mr. Hess for now. I’ve known Dale Harbin for many years. The county would have been a better place if he had been on the commission. For now, though, let’s watch, wait and see if Mr. Hess has changed since his last term. Benny D. Howell Wellborn The Pledge Our country was founded on the Christian beliefs. That has been the way of life and beliefs of the majority of citizens in the United States. I do not think the federal judges should have the right to rule on something that is of such importance. If our president and congressmen do not stand up for our heritage I have no faith in a judicial system or government that would not uphold what so many have died for: our rights to say the pledge, to pray, and to worship or not worship. Cynthia Crosby Piedmont Pledge again I don’t think someone should be forced to say “one nation, under God.” I believe people have a right to say it or not to say it. It’s up to them. They shouldn’t take away the rights of those who want to say it. They shouldn’t take away the rights of those who don’t want to say it. If we’re restricted from saying it then we lose our freedom of religion/speech. If we’re forced to say it then we lose our freedom of religion/speech. Jason Price Anniston More Pledge Most of America wants everyone to be forced to acknowledge the big G: God. But, Nature’s god is the god of the Declaration of Independence. As a deist, I know that Nature’s god is one of the trinity of deism. Nature’s god gave woman, and then man, knowledge. The Christian Bible says that Nature’s god was the serpent. Because Nature’s god gave us knowledge and the desire for survival, the Bible refers to that god as Satan. The Founding Fathers knew that Christians were not allowed to worship little g gods and that is why they left the cruel big G God to England and the Christians. Today, clerics fear the removal of IN GOD WE TRUST from the money. The love of money is the root of all evil; the root of all evil is surely Satan. Since we officially started trusting in God, we have not won a war, crime has skyrocketed, divorce is rampant, schools are unsafe, and clerics rape our children. I remember a time when America’s motto was E PLURIBUS UNUM. We trusted in ourselves; schools were centers of learning; most families stayed together; and it was safe to leave your doors unlocked and walk the streets at night. But that was before 1954. Rev. Hank Shiver Talladega

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