LETTERS

Where all sense vanishes

I believe any country in the world in this day and age needs a strong military to remain free. You only need to look at the daily news to see what is happening to countries who cannot or do not maintain a large military force to defend themselves.

I vehemently object to the Defense Department’s fiscal 2015 budget that will cut and diminish our military forces and their benefits. I think it is shortsighted and will most certainly be detrimental to the freedom in the United States of America in the future. Veterans and their families make sacrifices every day for this country and those who are serving or who have served this country honorably have earned and deserve to keep their benefits.

Saying that I am angry at both Democrats and Republicans and their extreme partisanship is an understatement.

There must be something in the air in Washington, D.C. It’s almost as if once someone arrives in Washington, he begins to lose whatever intelligence and common sense he may have had upon arrival. After observing the Democrats and Republicans for 54 years, I have come to the conclusion that the Democrats are better liars.

I fully support cutting the salaries, benefits and retirements of the president, Senate and House. I support shorter term limits for the Senate and House. We need to consider candidates and vote carefully in order to stop returning dysfunctional people to Washington.

Also, how asinine is it to keep borrowing billions of dollars from China to give away in foreign aid to countries that hate us?

DOROTHY HUGHES

Benton

Predators taken over

It was pleasantly surprising to see your Southern heritage arise as you talked up possibly the most venerable of Southern game birds, the bobwhite quail. Thanks.

There used to be no finer sport than quail hunting over a brace of good bird dogs. Yes, there is more going on with the population decline than loss of habitat.

A story: I used to successfully quail hunt on an island on Beaver Lake. Upon returning this year, there were two dramatic changes. First, the island was covered with the dens of ground-burrowing predators. Second, there were no quail.

I think until Game and Fish diverts some of its funds to pay bounties on these animals, quail will not come back. Add the explosion of bobcats, coyotes, house cats, and wild turkey (they will gobble up quail hatchlings just as easy as a junebug), the once fine sport of quail hunting will remain comatose.

DAVE JOHNSON

Fayetteville

Bobwhites easy prey

I believe there are three reasons quail have disappeared in our beautiful state: fire ants, coyotes, and most of all, feral hogs. It seems this bird along with another ground-nesting bird, the meadowlark (also seen less and less), nest on the ground in fields and are easy prey for these vicious predators. The wild turkey also nests on the ground, but in the woods and is much more clever at hiding its nest.

The wonderful editorial about the quails’ disappearance brought back pleasant memories from the ’50-’70s of being able to whistle and call up lusty bobwhites at our farm at Ferndale.

I actually heard a bobwhite call in the summer of 2011 in the Little Missouri River bottoms near Chidester, the first I have heard since the mid’80s. The ground in these bottoms looks like Fire Base Khe Sanh in 1968 from the rooting of feral hogs.

I think until we declare all-out war on these monsters, I’m afraid the quail in Arkansas will be nearly as rare as the ivory-billed woodpecker, and the meadowlark won’t be far behind. Let’s save these lovely birds!

BOB CARNATION

Austin

Name of game birds

In a recent editorial, the editor made reference to “bobwhite quail.”

The northern bobwhite is a quail, but unlike the Gambel’s Quail, California Quail, Mountain Quail, Scaled Quail and others, “quail” is not part of the northern bobwhite’s name. It can be called northern bobwhite, and bobwhite, but to call this bird a “bobwhite quail” is incorrect regardless of how many times you hear it or see it in print. To do so detracts from the responsibility to educate the public by providing the correct information.

The Arkansas farms may look the same, but not to the northern bobwhite. The native warm-season grasses have been replaced by exotic grasses such as fescue, Bahiagrass, Bermuda grass, and other introduced grasses that do not support native insects, seeds or northern bobwhites and other birds.

JERRY W. DAVIS

Hot Springs

Jerry W. Davis is a certified wildlife biologist.

Done in by progress?

I read the editorial about the quail and its unique call of “bobwhite.”

I can tell you my belief on why the quail disappeared. I grew up on a farm 10 miles south of Stuttgart. At that time all farms had livestock and fences to hold them. There were also open canals used to irrigate rice. Those fence rows, canal banks and ditch banks grew up in weeds, grass and bushes. This was a perfect habitat for quail.

As farming methods improved, farmers quit growing livestock. They also laid underground pipe for irrigation. The farmers took down the fences and filled in the canals so that land could be cultivated. The ditch banks and roadsides were kept mowed so there is no habitat left for quail. I seldom see quail or rabbits any more.

MARVIN HENDERSON

Humphrey

The reality in Crimea

Jack Schnedler is due commendation for his recent guest column pointing out the reality in Crimea.

Crimea was once a part of Russia and in a recent election nearly 97 percent of its people voted to reaffiliate with that country.

There were no reported fatalities or injuries during the election, which was overseen by international observers.

International law may or may not have been broken by Russia in annexing Crimea, but we should be careful about calling the kettle black when we invaded both Iraq and Afghanistan at the invitation of no one.

At least, however, we don’t want to annex either country. Thank goodness.

VERNON McDANIEL

Ozark

Pinpointed real issue

I believe recent letters by Hiram B. Cooper Jr. and Michael Sanders address the primary problems we are encountering today and appear to be heading for in the future unless we change our attitudes.

Criticism of Barack Obama is blamed on racial prejudice and that of Hillary Clinton on sexual prejudice when I believe the real blame is not what they are, but what they are or are not doing. We elected them and have no one to blame but ourselves. Unless and until we acknowledge this, we cannot hope for improvement in the direction our nation is going.

I believe we truly have turned from God and are paying the price. I hope and pray we wake up, bring God back into our lives and take the necessary steps to correct matters in the near future.

DICK STEMPLE

Sherwood

Hope for their return

I just read your editorial on bobwhites and the Aggies’ study to find the reason for the bird’s gradual demise in our area.

Thirty-eight years ago we came to the Ozarks to run away from Los Angeles, smog and freeways. We bought 40 acres in the middle of what is now Hobbs State Park. We built a log cabin in the woods and slept with all of the windows open at night, weather permitting.

In the evening we could hear owls, coyotes, whippoorwills and “Bob White … Bob White.” When we answered their whistle, they came right up to our front yard. Today we have only the first two. A walk in the woods sometimes flushed up a whole flock of wild turkeys. Now we rarely see one or two.

My husband and I were both graduate master naturalists from the program at Hobbs, and since his death I volunteer there and have a feeding station for birds on my deck. I also have several nightly raccoon visitors and browsing deer.

I hope the Aggies are successful (in their study) and can find some answers that will result in the return of those nightly bobwhite serenades!

GLORIA HOWELL

Rogers

Money’s just as green

I think it’s funny. I just read a letter from a man in Bigelow shunning the complaints of others about the curling corners of the paper because his paper doesn’t get there every morning before 6 a.m.

I read that letter from the March 2nd paper that I only recently received. I am in the Pine Bluff Unit. I prepaid full price for a year’s subscription in advance. I may receive seven papers a week, but they are always from the week before or even from two or three weeks before if I get them at all. There are several that I never received.

Is it because I’m in prison that the dependability of receiving all my papers in a reasonable time frame isn’t a priority? My money is just as green as the next guy’s. It seems I should receive the same service.

MICHAEL WILSON

Pine Bluff

Making up for fathers

I believe the letter from Mr. James Gwin was so very spot-on identifying the causes of child-protection failures and resulting juvenile delinquency. In my view, he did well by beginning the accurate listing with the single-most causal factor of all-missing fathers.

In my last 33 working years, I was a certified court reporter, the final 12 years as an official in a state district juvenile court of a highly populated area. Becoming aware of how few fathers appeared to stand before the bench with a child, I kept score for six months. Less than 5 percent.

With decades of this up-trend, what task force, program or other influence could stem, then reverse, this tide of invisible fathers?

DAVID CHANCE

Conway

Feedback

Does not add up

Never bought an Arkansas lottery ticket. Don’t think I ever will. Regardless, I was troubled by the recent editorial on the subject. You state: “The number of mathematically impaired folks buying lottery tickets seems to fall each month,” and “what this means is that Arkies had 7 percent more to spend on their bills.”

Apparently, the editorial staff remains mathematically impaired. A 7 percent reduction in lottery sales does not equate to a 7 percent increase in our collective spending power. In fact, it’s probably less than 0.01 percent of what we spend.

Argue all you want against the lottery, but please do it without manipulation of the facts.

JOHN BRAYMAN

Little Rock

Stop being so petty

The letters complaining about curling newspapers have gotten old. There are way too ills in the world for people to be so petty.

Get a life and get over it already. Go help the elderly, the homeless or do something constructive. Thank a soldier or a police officer or fireman for their service.

Get a life!

CLAY BELL

Des Arc

Editorial, Pages 15 on 03/28/2014

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