Davis, Daniels not good for Indiana (09/12/06)

To the editor:

I served two hitches in the armed forces - one in Europe where I received a commendation from the Queen of Holland for outstanding service; and another in Korea, which may or may not have been the right thing ... you will have to decide. I served because I want the U.S.A. and particularly Indiana to be a stronger and better place to live.

Now Mr. Bill Davis and his leader Mitch Daniels and others vote to give, lease, sell or whatever you want to call the deal for the Indiana Toll Road to a foreign consortium so they can make a barrel of money off the good old U.S. and particularly the people of Indiana.

I guess our state leaders think the foreign consortium is smarter than we Hoosiers, and if you look at the figures I think it will be proven they outsmarted our Hoosier lawmakers who voted to make this deal.

How much money they make on this deal depends on what rates go to in the course of 75 years, and you and I, our kids and grandkids mostly will be gone when this contract ends.

Don't ever think the manufacturer, the distributor, the retailer, the trucker, the warehouser, etc., are going to absorb the costs for using the Toll Road. It will be the good old taxpayer who will pay the extra costs.

Bill and Mitch say they are not going to raise taxes, but call it what you may. I call it a tax increase.

Sure, we got a lot of money from this group, but a lot of truckers and individuals will move down to Ind. 30, Ind. 6 and Ind. 20 to avoid those high fees, and guess who will pay for the maintenance to repair those highways? The good old taxpayers of Indiana.

Mr. Davis complained about his opponent voting for a 1 cent gasoline tax per gallon raise in the last election, and guess what? Gas is approximately doubled per gallon depending what day and where you bought it.

Mr. Davis and leader Mitch and others refuse to take the sales tax off gasoline because it would take much-needed revenue away from the state of Indiana. The raise in price has helped the state in the amount of money they have on hand, again thanks to the taxpayer.

Bill and Mitch are bragging about this in their campaigning. So, what has Bill and Mitch done for us? Done away with the Toll Road for 75 years, closed four license branches in our district (that calls for another letter), spent countless hours on daylight saving time, and there is still only 24 hours in a day. No new jobs related to this administration that I can think of.

We need a representative who not only smiles and shakes hands, but works for the people of District 33 and no so much for the powers of Indianapolis.

Ernest Gierhart

Portland

Class starting

To the editor:

The Portland Citizens Police Academy 2006 begins Thursday. The class will meet from 6:30 to 9 p.m. every Thursday for seven weeks.

Class members will have the opportunity to learn more about the officers and just why they operate the way they do.

It's easy to criticize something you don't understand. I surely was guilty of that and I certainly have changed my opinions and learned just how hard a police officer's job is.

Give the class a chance. You'll also have some fun.

For more information, contact the Portland Police Department at (260) 726-7161.

Tom Kennedy, member, citizens police academy class of 2005[[In-content Ad]]