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The recent passing of former Oakwood basketball coach Earl “Red” Gardner is not only the loss of a great basketball coach but of a fine gentleman as well. I had the privilege of serving as manager of the basketball team during my senior year (1969-70 season). During that time I saw a man who while being an intense competitor (as his record shows), he also had a real sense of
fair play and sportsmanship.
I feel the naming of the court in the Oakwood pit “Red Gardner Court” would be a fitting tribute to Mr. Gardner. I am sure his response to this idea would be “Hells fire, they don’t need to be doing that”. I know however that those who knew him would respectfully disagree.
Charles L. Hall Jr.
Centerville
Yes, it’s time - I’m putting myself into retirement again for awhile. So my last three regular shows will be the dates I have scheduled at Neil’s Heritage House on:
Friday, 11/18 from 8 p.m.-10 p.m.
Friday, 12/02 from 8 p.m.-10 p.m.
Friday, 12/16 from 8 p.m.-10 p.m.
I hate to say I’ll never do a show again, and I hate to say I will. And I’m well aware that I’ve “retired” before, so this time I’ll just say that Betty Greenwood & Company is going on an indefinite sabbatical. You know how I am.
Always . . .
Betty Greenwood
Well, another Thanksgiving is upon us and all the darling housewives should be headed for the store to gather their turkey accessories. This time of year reminds me of how mindlessly we behave in the fashion that is expected of us. Instead of just relaxing and enjoying a day off from the grind, we get together with a bunch of people who annoy us and who push all our buttons.
Yes, this is the time of year to celebrate our ancestors for no apparent reason other than they sat down to dinner with a bunch of Native Americans…and then gave them smallpox.
But don’t let me spoil your holiday fun…I feel better already and I really don’t have time to write this little piece. I should be looking through cookbooks right now trying to find something to bake since my X chromosome requires that I still bring a casserole.
So I’ll see you in the grocery line right after I dust off my oven!
Dana Winkler Whitney
Kettering
On Sept. 20, The Oakwood Register published a letter I wrote regarding the attempt of atheist Michael Newdow to remove “Under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance. Now he has filed a suit against the U.S. Treasury Department to remove “In God We Trust” from our coins and currency. The First Amendment to our Constitution says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” No doubt the case will eventually reach the Supreme Court. ” To require the Dept. of the Treasury to print new currency and strike new coins to suit Mr. Newdow’s whim seems a bit much!
Tom Cecil
Oakwood
In regards to the letters responding to the article about the Harman Halloween Party, we would like to point out several facts which the authors of those letters have either disregarded or overlooked.
While it is true that some children may have had fun with the game, the reality is there were children who felt pressured to take part in an activity which, to them, was not “fun”. To quote from the original article: “Some of the boys felt they were being laughed at and made fun of by the girls...[w]hen the second group came out, they had been told by the first group of what to expect and there was some resistance. At this point, some of the boys were allegedly taunted by the homeroom mothers as well as by the girls. Boys who did not want to participate allegedly were told in some cases that they had to take part in the activity by some of the adults.”
In what sense is being force or pressured to take part in an activity “fun”? We would venture to guess that none of the adults at the party (or who responded to the article) would want to go to a party and feel forced to take part in an activity. A good party, one that is fun for all, has several different activities, all of which should be voluntary. Moreover, the fact that the boys in the first group “were not told what to expect” makes the “game” sound more like an ambush.
We would also ask, what purpose did this game serve? Was it to make the girls feel powerful, to have control over the boys? Was it to pit children against one another? Any game or activity in which one group is being controlled by another ceases, to me, to fall under the category of innocent fun.
Our final question is, why are our tax dollars going to support a school system where children are being forced to take part in activities which serve no educational purpose? Schools are to educate, not to provide a place for children to mock others and set them up for embarassment. The real travesty here is that there were adults present who, for whatever reason, allowed children to humiliate others. If that is what the Oakwood Schools stand for, then perhaps we should review where our tax dollars are going.
Stephen and Karen Cain
Oakwood
Conventional people are roused to fury by departures from convention, largely because they regard such departures as criticism of themselves. —Bertrand Russell
I want to take this opportunity to express my disappointment in the article on the Harman 6th grade Halloween party in your paper. I am disappointed for two reasons.
The first reason is that most of the information in the article is inaccurate. While I was not at the party (just as neither of the two fathers quoted in the article were at the party) I have spoken to several adults and many students that were at the party. I have also spoken to other parents of sixth grade Harman students. The picture that they paint of the party is very different than that of the one pointed by parents, quoted in the story, that were not there. It appears to me that the kids all in all had a
great time at a party.
Parents volunteering their time and efforts put on this party and all of the parties in the schools. I would suggest that if people are not happy with the supervision and ideas of these parents that they volunteer their time. I know for a fact that all are welcome and encouraged to come up to Harman and help out.
While it may be possible that a couple of boys did not have fun, there is nothing to suggest that things had gone wild and that there was “hazing” as was stated by some of the parents. It is a real shame that things have to come to the way they are today. I would not be surprised if the school decides to stop all activities and parties. Things certainly seem to be heading in that direction, While some might say that this is a way to make sure no one’s feelings get hurt, it will in fact harm the vast majority of the kids and parents that don’t let little things bother them.
My second disappointment was this was even in the paper, let alone the main article on page one. This was a non-story. People get their feelings hurt all of the time. This does not make it a news item. The real main story for the paper should have been Emma Jandel winning the state golf tournament.
Stan Maher
Oakwood
To all of the students who are doing community service…
What a blessing to have such great volunteers come to our homes to help our seniors. A group of three ninth graders raked my leaves which is more than I can handle at this point. They were courteous, serious-minded and they finished their work in no time. My sincere thanks for a job well done.
Sally Riffle
Oakwood
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