Sunday, November 6, 2011
The Vicksburg Post
WEEK IN Vicksburg Pleasant temps were on tap for the week as highs were steady in the 60s and 70s. Overnight lows were a bit chilly, remaining in the 30s through most of the week. Just over a 10th of an inch of rain was recorded. The Mississippi River inched up on the local gauge, topping out at 12.4 feet before dipping back to 12.1. Forecasters were expecting a reading of 12.4 feet again for today. A reward was being offered for information in a rape reported by a disabled woman at her Drummond Street home. CrimeStoppers put up $2,500 as reward money, but more was expected to be added by the Vicksburg Police Department. Vicksburg High School won the River City Classic, defeating the Warren Central Vikings 28-23 in their 31st annual high-rivalry meeting. Re-creations staged at the Vicksburg National Military Park were part of the firstever Shadows of the Past, an evening walking tour that featured historical personalities. About 150 people attended the event, which hoped to attract “non-traditional” visitors to the park. The St. Aloysius swim team earned the school’s first Class 1 state championship held at Delta State’s Aquatics Center. A school record was broken in the 400-yard freestyle. A new alumni center and commemorative plaque were dedicated at the former All Saints’ Episcopal School campus by the Right Rev. Duncan Gray III, bishop of Mississippi. The event was part of an all-class reunion held at the former private boarding school, which now houses the AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region. Larry Gawronski, director of the Vicksburg Convention Center and Auditorium, announced he will leave his post at the end of the year to accept a similar position in Iowa. Gawronski has served VCC for 12 years and, with his wife, Diane, was active in numerous civic and community organizations. About 45 people gathered at the third candidates’ forum, the final one before Tuesday’s general election, held at LeTourneau Volunteer Fire Department. The final round of finance reports shows candidates have raised and spent nearly twice as much as candidates four years ago. After slipping into financial straits in 2006, the Battlefield Inn has been sold to Unity Hospitality Inc. and will be managed by Nehal Patel. Renovations are planned for the motel area, though its name and present lounge facility are expected to remain the same. More than 100 people, too much for the WIN Job Center to handle, lined up at the facility after Tyson Foods announced 24 job openings at its Warren County plant. Vicksburg police helped control the chaotic crowd, a sign of a bleak job market, facility officials said. Local deaths during the week were Minnie O. Allen, James I. Robertson Sr., Eula M. Dedmon, Louise W. Laird, Tom Neal Jr. and Jowilla Biedenharn White.
A5
Ultimate gut-check for democracy is shouted down OXFORD — “Historic” is a term often used, but having three citizen initiatives at the bottom of Tuesday’s statewide ballot in Mississippi is, in fact, historic. The state and federal constitutions establish our fundamentals. They define us. They create the core from which all other statutes, rules, regulations and court decisions flow. So it follows that using direct, popular vote to write the words of a constitution is democracy in its purest form. Mississippians got the power to petition and change the 1890 Constitution in 1992. Since then, the only question put to voters has been whether to limit terms of elected officials — and the people said no. By coincidence, this month’s exercise in unfiltered self-government by Mississippians was almost joined by people of Greece — current residents of democracy’s birthplace — taking their own pulse in the most fundamental way. The measures proposed to Mississippians have been serious. Whether voters should be required to present photo IDs, how much eminent domain powers should be limited and whether personhood begins at conception are not trifling matters. Voters in Greece, however, were to face the ultimate gut-check until the pressure on Prime Minister George Papandreou grew to great last week. Greeks are the heirs of Cleisthenes, Ephialtes and Solon, the trio most commonly credited with coming up with the idea of citizens in a community setting the rules by which they would live. Until they came along, rule-makers had been the strongest men, the best hunters, tribal chiefs, commanders of the largest armies. Cleisthenes, Ephialtes and Solon hatched the notion that people had enough sense to develop ideas and practices to work for the common good. Citizens, they figured, could be trusted to create limited systems — called governments — to moni-
CHARLIE
MITCHELL
Leaders of other “democracies” went bananas at the notion that the very future of Greece might be decided by the people of Greece.
tor and enforce the rules that members of a community adopted. Democracy has been an on-again, off-again proposition since those glory days in Athens. Self-rule has been usurped time and again by the power-hungry. Democracies are easy prey because they are so messy, so hard to manage. Life is easier when someone just tells us what to do. A partner of democracy is free trade. Economic turmoil has wracked nations in the Eurozone since the near-collapse of the U.S. economy in 2008. Simple math is at the core. If 10 people are working for every retiree, governments can gain favor and perpetuate
themselves with generosity. Big programs, lavish pensions are no stretch. In a contracting economy, things change. Governments are in a vise. Those that have been the most generous get pinched first and hardest. The government of Greece has been “too good,” “too generous” and can no longer come close to paying its bills. In a way, Greeks have fulfilled the prophecy that no government will last once people realize how easy it is to create a system where the many live fairly on the productivity of a few. Anyway, late in October, world markets rallied after it was announced that agreements had
been reached to resolve Greece’s financial imbalance. Lenders would write off a lot of the debt, but the people of Greece would also face more tax increases, more cutbacks in services, more reductions in programs and pensions than those already in place. But Papandreou quickly rankled the finance ministers by saying the agreements would be “put to the people.” There would be no deal unless the people of Greece approved the package in a referendum. Leaders of other “democracies” went bananas at the notion that the very future of Greece might be decided by the people of Greece. Directly. Unfiltered. There was overwhelming apprehension Greeks would not step up and take the medicine, sacrifice more to rebalance their nation. There was also muted cheering. After Papandreou caved and said his government would impose the agreements with no public vote, The Mail, a British publication, had a headline calling the reversal “A damnable contempt for democracy” and saying, “In their sheer contempt for the principles of democracy, Europe’s arrogant leaders are undermining their own enterprise.” Implicit in all this is that there could come a day when the people of the United States face, on a single day, the same question: Will we stop pretending that government outgo can exceed government income indefinitely? Will we accept major changes, self-imposed hardships? The questions span 250 centuries. Greeks invented democracy. Greeks were poised to show us whether people would actually engage in self-denial as part of selfrule. If the referendum had been held, it would have been historic. •
Charlie Mitchell is a Mississippi journalist. Write to him at Box 1, University, MS 38677, or e-mail cmitchell43@yahoo.com.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Redefining personhood on Tuesday Amendment 26 is a ballot measure that, if passed, would alter the state constitution, redefining the word “person” to include every human being from the moment of fertilization. Proponents would like you to believe that this initiative is simply about voting yes or no to abortion, but it is about so much more than that. While this initiative would affect the one — yes one — abortion clinic operating in the State of Mississippi, it would also ban IUDs and many forms of birth control; would limit in vitro fertilization in such a way that it would make it impossible to effectively work; force rape victims, regardless of age, to carry and bear a rapist’s baby, even banning the morning after pill as part of the rape kit that is administered in the hospital; force mothers whose very life might be threatened by pregnancy to carry the child; and cost already overburdened taxpayers millions of dollars in legal battles over the constitutionality of this initiative. This issue is very personal to me. After years of not being able to get pregnant, I sought treatment from an infertility specialist. Through in vitro fertilization I was able to conceive and carry my son, who is the light of my life. I am not willing to support any initiative that would negatively affect in vitro fertilization in any way. Proponents of this Amendment want you to believe that this initiative will not make in vitro fertilization illegal. While no, it will not make the practice itself illegal, it will limit it in such a way to make it impossible to work and will force the wonderful infertility specialists whom this state is lucky enough to have to close their doors and move to another state to practice. Voting for Amendment 26 is voting against the advice of the Mississippi State Medical Association, the Mississippi Nurses Association and the Mississippi Chapter of the American Congress of Obstetrician Gynecologists. Also among those who are publicly against this Amendment are the Bishop of the Episcopal Church of Mississippi and the Bishop of the Mississippi Conference of the United Method-
Voice your opinion Letters to the editor are published under the following guidelines: Expressions from readers on topics of current or general interest are welcomed. • Letters must be original, not copies or letters sent to others, and must include the name, address and signature of the writer. • Letters must avoid defamatory or abusive statements. • Preference will be given to typed letters of 300 or fewer words. • The Vicksburg Post does not print anonymous letters and reserves the right to edit all letters submitted. • Letters in the column do not represent the views of The Vicksburg Post. ist Church. This is not about being pro-life or pro-choice. This is about saying NO to a badly written amendment. Please educate yourself on what you are voting for. Leslie Sadler Vicksburg
Daigre is the best choice For the past 3 1/2 months, I have been canvassing with, and for, Jan Hyland Daigre, candidate for Warren County Circuit Clerk. I have worked with a dedicated group of volunteers who traveled all over Vicksburg and Warren County knocking on doors. We have tried to meet and talk to as many citizens of Warren County as possible to share Jan’s vision of a circuit clerk who works for the people rather than for personal gain. Going door-to-door for more than three months has been hard work with long hours, but your response has made it worth it. Jan’s campaign message made it easy because it is based on straightforward facts and the truth — without the political spin. I have met people throughout the county who recognize and appreciate Jan’s dedication to public service, first as a trustee for the Vicksburg-Warren School Board, and now in her quest to be circuit clerk. As your Warren County tax col-
lector I spent many years serving the people of the county. I understand what it means to be a trustworthy public servant. Integrity is at the top of my list. When it comes time to cast my vote I look for and expect those same qualities in the candidates. I can tell you that Jan fits my idea of a people’s servant. I know that she means what she says and will keep her promises. She will always put you before herself. That is the way she is. Jan will be one of the strongest circuit clerks in the State of Mississippi. I am supporting her with my time, my effort and my shoe leather. Patricia “Pat” Simrall Vicksburg
Not plastered all over town I’ve been asked several times why I haven’t put signs out all over the first district. My answer is this: I’m not in a sign contest, and I’m not trying to see who can spend the most money on signs and ads. I am trying to show that I am willing to try something different. It’s about saving money and this is the same concept that I will use if elected. We don’t have to have new equipment to do a good job. We have to have leaders who are willing to keep up with what’s going on in their districts and make sure that the work is being done in a timely manner, that it’s done right and to make sure that the employees are trained the right way to do a job. It’s time to change the way county business is being done. It’s also time to stop the fly-by-night developers who are out there selling property and building substandard roads, that homeowners will have to pay extra taxes on for the next 20 years to have a nice road to ride on. Reed Birdsong District 1 candidate
Vote no on 31 Today I saw another Farm Bureau sign reading, “Vote for Amendment 31 – HELP stop Eminent Domain abuse.” What abuse? They can’t produce a single victim. Our present laws work. Leave things as they are. Amendment 31 will greatly
hamper — if not kill — our state’s ability to assemble mega sites such as Toyota’s. Amendment 31 is a mega job killer. In Mississippi, we protect property rights now. Our record speaks for itself. Vote no on Amendment 31. Leland R Speed EastGroup Properties
Understanding fiscal responsibility We need someone in the circuit clerk’s office who understands the importance of fiscal responsibility and accountability in handling public funds. We need a circuit clerk with the educational background and business experience to operate the office in a proper and legal manner. We need someone who, in public office, has proved herself responsive to the voters. And we certainly need someone in the circuit clerk’s office who will serve with integrity. Who can do these things? Jan can. Vote for Jan Hylnad Daigre for circuit clerk. Gordon Cotton Yokena
Ask yourself this I know you will choose to vote for, and support, Doug Tanner in this election for Warren County Tax Assessor when you answer the following questions: Is your home worth the same today as it was in 2006 and 2007? Has the Warren County Tax Assessor’s office lowered the assessed value of your property since 2006-07? DO I need to say more? The value of single- and double-family housing has declined about 30 percent in the last five years. More of the same of a fair evaluation? You have a choice on Nov. 8. Pat Ring Vicksburg