An old-timer at a cafe in northern Johnson County was giving me his experience on the subject of quail restoration in Arkansas. I'll paraphrase our conversation:
"I've had a covey or two of birds on my place all my life," he said.
"Still got 'em?" I asked excitedly.
"Naw, not for several years."
"What happened, did you clean off the cover?"
"Nope. Same good fields, same water holes. It's the dang skunks and possums. They've overrun the place and they wipe out every nest the quails make."
"Well, they tell me it's the fescue and loss of good habitat."
The man agreed that's part of it, then asked me if I see as many meadowlarks (ground-nesting birds like quail) on my place as I used to? I had to stop and think because I have good fields for them, but then I replied to the old-timer, "Well, no, I don't see them, now that you mention it."
"Me, either," he said. "And they used to be all over everywhere."
Then with a slightly cynical smile and a hard eye, he looked at me and said, "It ain't no coincidence!"
Dave Johnson
Fayetteville
Should campaign funds come from firms that will benefit?
Back in May, I had the opportunity to vote on the millage effort by Bentonville schools. While I certainly want the school district in which I reside to be successful in educating our kids, I am a retiree on a fixed income and will have to forego something to pay the roughly $50 the millage increase would cost me.
Well, the election was successful for the school district and that was that. I took it in stride. Progress comes at a cost, you know. Then in your July 5 edition, I read that the school campaign benefited by $62,549 donated primarily by companies that will directly benefit from the construction of the new school buildings. Construction companies, catering companies, photography companies were among the donors, as well as members of the school board. To my knowledge, no laws were broken, but with all due respect, this stinks. It's bad enough that a school district picks an obscure time for the election, then the proponents of raising my taxes take money from the people who will make money directly by getting construction contracts, food service contracts and photography contracts. And the school board members that purportedly represent me donate money for the passage of the millage.
This just shows you that all politics are local, as they say. Even with all the brouhaha going on in Washington, it might behoove citizens to pay closer attention to what is happening in their own backyard. I know I will.
Tom Candela
Bella Vista
Put public employees on Social Security scale for raises
I read in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette about the 2 percent raises for state officials. We on Social Security received a 0.003 percent raise. Isn't it time for county, state and federal employees' raises to be calculated by Social Security criteria?
My house insurance went up by almost 10 percent this year. It seems transfer of wealth is a two-way street and not all going from the top to the bottom, as some folks would have you believe.
Millie Foree
Bella Vista
Commentary on 07/19/2017