Friday, May. 30, 2008

LETTERS to the EDITOR

Dear Editor:

I am a non-smoker; I quit January 1, 1969. However, that doesn’t mean that I want the State of Texas to tell adult citizens whether and where they can smoke.

Your story in the May 16 Messenger newspaper regarding Rep. Myra Crownover’s crusade against smoking highlights her desire to have the state intrude ever deeper into the personal lives of Texans.

She states, in your article, that this isn’t a passion, it is an educational issue. She is dead wrong.

Everyone knows that smoking is unhealthy. She cites a statistic that 53,000 Americans die every year that are non-smokers. That hardly justifies creating another set of laws and regulations and another government bureaucracy to police smoking in public places and work places. Thousands of people die from thousands of reasons. We don’t need the government to intrude on personal liberty everytime someone dies.

Personal responsibility and personal freedom are cherished Texas values. Bigger government and more government intrusion are cherished socialist values. We don’t want to become another failing European-style state in Texas.

Thanks for your time and attention.

— Owen Davis, Highland Village

Dear Editor:

I am long-term resident of Flower Mound and I am extremely concerned that there is a proposal to drill for gas on Hillard Field.

The location is right behind Shadow Ridge Middle School and Bluebonnet Elementary School. In fact, for kids playing in the playground behind the school, the drill sight will be the single largest sight that will dominate the landscape.

Also, folks entering Flower Mound from the south on FM 2499 will be greeted by the sight of this drill right at the entrance to the town, and this [Flower Mound] will become known as “the town that has all the drill sites.”

Why don’t we invite the gas companies to drill right on the Flower Mound itself, which is next to the Tom Thumb on FM 2499? That should make a fine statement about our town. That way, we - the town residents - can send the message out to everyone more clearly. I am just being sarcastic, but ...

— Prakash Parameswaran, Flower Mound