The Comet welcomes letters to the editor responding to articles and events in the news. They must include the author's name, address and telephone number. The letter writer's name and city/town will appear in the paper - no exceptions. Letters must be 400 words or less in length. Please send your letters to: editor@carrollcountycomet. com; Letters to the Editor, Comet, P.O. Box 26, Flora, IN 46929 or P.O. Box 179, Delphi, IN 46923; or fax 574-967-3384 or 765-564-2010. By submitting a letter or opinion article, the author grants the Comet the right to publish, distribute, archive or use the work in print, electronic, on-line or other format.

Why bother?

Although my husband and I have chosen to recycle plastic, newspaper, aluminum, and metal cans, we wash, sort and accumulate. Recently, my husband took seven garbage bags of plastics and cans to the recycling center in Delphi. A trash truck was there emptying the "recycle" containers. My husband was told to just throw the bags in the back of his truck where they were all compacted together. Is the public being misled into believing we are doing something 'good' for the environment when everything is actually being deposited in the landfill?

This has also happened to us at a Wisconsin campground. Residents were required to buy clear trash bags. When we missed the recycling truck, we were told, "Just put it in the dumpster; it all goes to the same place." Who is telling the truth? Is it worth our time and effort to clean and separate? Kay and Bill Miller Delphi

Clarifies statement

The people who serve on the Board of Trustees of the Delphi Community School Corporation try to do the best job as possible. As with any elected position in government, it is impossible to please everyone or even to agree on every decision.

It appears that most patrons in the school corporation feel little need to contact board members regarding matters involving the school corporation. Whether this means that they feel the board is making good decision or they have little interest in what is going on, I do not know.

Since very few people attend the school board meeting, they rely on the local media to keep them up to date on what is occurring at the meetings. If local media wants to attend meetings, then detailed information needs to be reported. The media pushes the Open Door Law and the board attempts to comply with the Open Door Law. Therefore, information provided in meetings should be reported as it is presented, especially when critical decisions are made and explanations are given.

Too many times detailed explanations are shortened to only quips. The public then perceives some of the moves by the board as uninformed or questionable. It sometimes appears that articles are written to reflect only certain opinions of a vote.

A prime example was the vote on Sept. 22, regarding whether to proceed with a 1028 hearing to move forward with a renovation project at the school. The vote came down to a 3-3 tie, which meant the board president had to break the tie.

The article reported statements made by those in favor and those against. In a couple of cases every detail they stated was printed. But it was reported that the president made the following statement in breaking the tie. "If we don't do something now, we might as well forget it"

The transcript from the meeting reports that the following was stated in breaking the tie. "I am in agreement that we need to move on because all that we are doing tonight is establishing a dollar amount for the 1028 hearing, we are not deciding on what we are going to do. Therefore, I break the tie and vote aye. Motion carries"

The transcript goes on to state "This is not a personal grudge match against anyone in the community, each one of us are elected to represent a district, but also this sevenmember board is representing the entire school district. This is the way I look at it; if we do not do something now then we might as well forget it and let someone else try later on."

What was reported and what was said, has a much different meaning. If the media is going to report on the happenings of a school board meeting, commissioner meeting, council meeting or any other governmental meeting the facts should be reported completely even if it requires a little more ink and paper. The community, patrons and taxpayers deserve the opportunity to read a complete and factual report. Robert R. Resler Delphi

Great community effort

A hearty bon appetit and thanks to the county officials, servers, entertainers, Manor tour guides, cooks, auxiliary personnel, and specially the Indiana Packers Corporation for the tasty luncheon provided on Sunday.

This was certainly one of Carroll County's finest hours—helping each other in a time of need. Mark A. Smith, Brookston, Proud Carroll County native

Manor benefit surpassed expectations

On Sunday Indiana Packers Corp. sponsored a pork chop dinner for Carroll Manor. The turnout was AWESOME - three times what was hoped for! Everyone who volunteered their time or came to the dinner was blessed.

In this time of uncertainty and hard times, it was good to see a community come together. Human kindness was the theme of the dinner. We, the staff, were overwhelmed by the masses of caring people who came to join us for some great food, entertainment and fellowship. This is a time to stop the name calling, blaming others and politics. Do not be a part of the problem… help fix the problem! Terry Liebert, Manor staff, Delphi

Our government has failed us

"I believe in the sacredness of private property, which means that I do not believe that it should be subjected to the ruthless manipulation of professional gamblers in the stock markets and the corporate system…I believe that the government, without becoming a prying bureaucracy, can act as a check or counterbalance to this OLIGARCHY* so as to secure the chance to work and the safety of savings to men and women." Franklin Delano Roosevelt Aug. 20, 1932

*Oligarchy - a government in which a small group exercises control, especially for corrupt and selfish purposes.

Where's the help for Americans who are watching their jobs go overseas?

Where's the help for those without health insurance who are brought down to their knees?

Where's the help for Americans who are struggling to pay their basic bills?

Where's the help for those who lost their homes due to the corporate mortgage ills?

Don't bother to give me any answers to these questions, our government has had their say. We don't invest in the people anymore, big business and corporate greed is now the American way. Belinda Griffin Flora