Council listened to library fans
Re: “Grow a Spine, City Hall — Backpedaling on plans to close library shows Dallas City Council is afraid to stick to its guns,” Monday editorial.
The Dallas City Council backed the idea to keep all libraries open to the community. Each library is vital to our city. They provide opportunities for learning, increased reading skills, interaction in groups for toddlers to listen to stories and adults to be included in learning arts and listening to authors.
Skillman Southwestern is a small library on a bus line and centrally located in East Dallas. Each year this library has two book sales for all people in the city. Books are collected from donors and stored until the sale takes place. Books are sold for 35 cents to $2 initially but are reduced each day. At the end of the sale, books that did not sell are collected and donated to schools, nursing homes, and independent and assisted living facilities all over the city.
The Dallas City Council did not back down. Members respected the work that volunteers and library workers do every day.
Nancy Somodevilla, Dallas
4,000 signed library petition
Apparently, The Dallas Morning News doesn’t believe that the voice of the citizens should carry any weight in making budget decisions. This editorial criticizing the decision to keep open the Skillman Southwestern branch library states, “If our local representatives capitulate every time an interest group champions a pet cause or challenges an unpopular but well-reasoned policy proposal, then Dallas will just keep kicking cans down the road.”
I thought council members were supposed to be responsive to the needs of the community. The petition calling for the library to stay open garnered almost 4,000 signatures from average citizens. It was not the effort of some limited interest group. About 10 of the 14 current council members were elected with fewer votes in the most recent election.
We are constantly told to make our voices heard and let our council representatives know when we are passionate about an issue. What’s the point, if we simply will be criticized by the only paper in town for being selfish?
If the City Council is not under any obligation to listen to the wishes of 4,000 people who were committed enough to take the time to petition to save their library, why bother to participate in local government?
John Haley, Dallas
We are spiritually lazy
Re: “Heads bowed, hands raised — Americans’ love of prayer has a long history, and so do the results,” by John McCaa, Sunday Opinion.
McCaa’s excellent, well-written column on prayer in America was timed extremely well. As today is Sept. 11, I remember how the country on this day in 2001 bonded in prayer together: liberals, conservatives, Black and white, old and young, all prayed fervently for our nation.
Now, 23 years later we have become spiritually lazy. A man who many admire is Coach Joe Kennedy, a former Marine who was told he could not pray on the football field after games. He prayed, was fired and then took his case to the Supreme Court. After seven years, he won his case, striking a victory for religious freedom.
Our organization, Roaring Lambs, is inducting Kennedy into our Hall of Fame Nov. 2 as his commitment to prayer was exemplary and courageous.
Prayer is communicating directly with our creator, and Scripture says to pray without ceasing.
Anton Skell, Plano
Voter drives and speakers
Re: “UNT bans voter drives in classes — Word spreads that registrations led by students violate law,” Thursday news story.
Drives to register voters should be applauded, particularly on college campuses. However, I support the University of North Texas’ position on keeping voter registration out of the classroom.
The purpose of a college class is to educate students in the subject the class is designed to cover. Although not mentioned in this story, I hope the administration permits and even encourages voter registrations elsewhere on campus.
As a UNT alumnus, I had to smile at the administration’s evolving position on political issues such as voter registration on campus. In October 2017, it welcomed a speech by Donald Trump Jr. to university officers, professors and supporters. Trump Jr. ‘s $100,000 speaking fee was paid by the then chair of the board of regents.
UNT later accepted a visit from Rudy Giuliani. No other universities in the state have UNT’s record of openly merging politics and education.
My hope going forward is that UNT and other universities maintain consistent and lawful positions regarding the importance of education, regardless of the political leanings of regents, college presidents and state governments.
George Morey, Arlington
What to know before voting
I am a deputy voter registrar in Dallas County and a member of League of Women Voters, a 104-year-old nonpartisan organization whose mission it is to register voters and promote democracy.
I wanted to point out to voters that you do need to show a government-issued photo ID when voting in person. Refer to Dallas County Elections Department at dallascountyvotes.org or call 469-627-8683 for a complete list of acceptable photo IDs.
If you’re ages 18 to 69, your photo ID should be current or can be expired up to four years. If you’re 70 or older, your ID can be expired for any length of time but must still be otherwise valid.
If you are registered in Dallas County but have moved or changed your name, notify the DCED of these changes. If you lack an acceptable ID and have no way of obtaining one, contact DCED to find out before going to vote what ID accommodations could be made. If you plan to vote by mail, find out far in advance of the election what the requirements are and how to request a mail-in ballot.
Please vote. Without your vote, our democracy cannot survive.
Joan M. Ridley, Old East Dallas
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