Letters to the Editor

Time to be counted

The Rev. Michael Pfeifer / Bishop / Catholic diocese of San Angelo

The year 2010 is census time again for the United States of America. The information gathered by Census 2010 helps us to understand our nation, our state and our community better. Sadly, although the U.S. is spending $14 billion on the 2010 census,... Full story

Some tough reading

Kenneth D. Yeilding, Ph.D. / Retired professor of government and history / Odessa College

Re: Health care bills before U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. One really has to want to read the current “affordable health care” bill known as HR 3962. It is 1,999 pages in length. However, whenever I see on TV the bill... Full story

Opportunities to help the less fortunate

Debbie Douglass, Noel Blake, Buzz Hurt, Betsy Triplett-Hurt, Sue Wright, Don Wright / Samaritans By Grace

Thank you for publishing Rick Owens’s letter spotlighting homeless members of our community. As some of the many members of Samaritans By Grace, we invite Rick and anyone else to help us feed those good folks. We are members of First United... Full story

More compassion needed

Rick Owens / ODESSA

Walking with my wife and my 2-year-old son in Noël Plaza one recent Saturday, I was saddened. There were two homeless men sleeping on the benches and flower beds. Looking around, I noticed that the park is surrounded by huge churches. These... Full story

OHS accomplishments dimmed by time

Charles Gillespie / ODESSA

I am a great believer in tradition so I should meddle elsewhere. However, the American’s policy of consistently belittling the accomplishments of Odessa High School’s track teams in the early 1950s has aroused two of my hobbies —... Full story

Socialist health care?

Edward Clark / ODESSA

Re: The Oct. 10 letter from the Rev. Mark Miller, who I guess speaks for the Catholic churches in South Odessa. I have been wondering why he just didn’t sign his letter as an individual. Here is what is troubling to me. If one individual is... Full story

A great educator

Susan Brennan / ODESSA

Recently there was a stunning story about Lori Low, an Ector Junior High School teacher. She had successfully found a way to motivate and galvanize local business people to underwrite the cost of publishing her students’ writings. Now that is... Full story

A matter of rights

A.R. Chasteen / Gardendale

In the Sept. 26 paper, there was a letter from a gentlemen who obviously supports the idea of a governmentally controlled universal health care system and his right (entitlement) to government funds to pay for his health care. It is my firm belief... Full story

A class act

Susan Ferrini / Odessa

The West Texas Talent Search event at the Permian Playhouse was a hit. There were 14 very talented acts, and they encouraged each other. Although many were very nervous, they gained a lot of confidence from their performances and the support of... Full story

A matter of privilege

Danny Bailey / Odessa

Health care is not a right.  Health care is a privilege. It is surprising that the Rev. Mark Miller would twist Scripture to fit his argument.  Nowhere in the Bible does it suggest that the government should provide health care. Nowhere... Full story

Special performers

Blaine Corbin / Odessa

My hat is off to a very special group of people. These individuals come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Some are wealthy. Some are not. Most ethnicities are represented as well as all age groups. These folks share two common traits: They are... Full story

Fighting for freedom

K.V. Murphy / Crane

Can America’s liberty and freedom be saved? I’m sure a few out there actually realize that the United States government is a speeding runaway train nearing the end of unfinished tracks. If we do not remove ourselves from hands of the... Full story

Cheering the freedom of expression

Jim Collins / Barstow

It brings a smile to my face when an OA reader writes and asserts that a major network news organization is deluding the American public about the policies and programs of the Obama administration, without providing a shred of evidence that this... Full story

Fight pornography

Our generation has witnessed the devastation of terrorism, war, the scourge of AIDS and many other sorrows and pains. Today we are faced with another form of devastation. It is the devastation of pornography, which rips families apart, destroys the... Full story

Fighting tobacco

It’s been a little more than three months since Medical Center Hospital, Midland Memorial Hospital and Odessa Regional Medical Center enacted tobacco-free campuses, and the American Cancer Society is still noticing the local health impact the... Full story

More information needed

It is wonderful that our president, Barack Obama, won the Nobel Prize for Peace. It was certainly the perfect follow up after Al Gore won the prize last year. It fills one with pride to know that we Americans are dominant in peace. Now let’s... Full story

No customer service

It does not surprise me at all that sales tax revenue is down in the Permian Basin. It is not just because of the sagging economy.Ever walked into a retail establishment looking for a particular item, not finding the item or a sales representative... Full story

Not relevant here

Re: Oct. 11 column by Steven Greenhut.What? An Orange County Register article? Who comes up with these? At least make it somehow relative to our area.I’m in law enforcement and have been for 34 years. The pension information Greenhut talks... Full story

Self-serving officials

Is there no mechanism in place for the American people to halt all congressional action (submitting bills, voting on legislation, etc.) until a full investigation into the actions and dealings of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the... Full story

Sex education seems to have worked

It was with a fair amount of interest and amusement I read the letters section of the Sunday paper about how teens need to be educated about sex. With the Ector County teen pregnancy rate far above the national average, I’d say they already... Full story

'Letters to the Editor' Archives