Putting lives at risk
My son was recently issued a warning for parking in the wrong place at his high school in the form of a large page glued to his front driver's side window. It completely obstructed the view to the left and could only be removed with a razor blade.
Not only does this practice put the lives of young drivers at risk, it also puts the vehicle in violation of Arkansas Code 27-37-304(a)(1)(B), which prohibits the operation of any vehicle with an attached object obstructing the view through either front-door window.
Any citation or warning should be placed under the windshield wiper or affixed to the vehicle in a location that does not obstruct the driver's view.
Since this is a significant public safety issue, the Arkansas Department of Education and/or the Arkansas State Police should issue such guidance to all school districts in the state.
JAMES BARNETT
Bentonville
Tourette Syndrome
I am writing to ask you to consider adding more awareness for Tourette Syndrome in the middle school classroom. It is hard enough for kids to fit into school to begin with. Now imagine going to school and having to face people bullying you for tics you cannot control and are often times embarrassed by.
According to the Tourette Association of America, once the child gets to middle school it is more about the social aspect more than it is about the teachers' understanding of Tourette Syndrome.
Some personal experience about this is that my little brother, Jack Walker Combs, is in sixth grade this year. He has skipped days of school just because of how bad his tics are, and then there are other days when he comes home crying because someone made fun of his tics that he cannot control. Tics can be anything from excessive movements to making different noises and yelling out words.
Programs from the Tourette Association can provide help for kids with Tourette Syndrome to have not only peace of mind but a way that they can help inform their peers to understand what they go through on a day-to-day basis.
One weakness of this could be that the kids with Tourette Syndrome would get special treatment, and that is not fair to other students. However, such programs will be extremely helpful not only to the students with Tourette Syndrome, but their parents will be able to have peace of mind. I kindly suggest you look into this and into more funding and education for Tourette Syndrome in schools.
REGAN COMBS
Bentonville
Not very neighborly
So we have Central American people fleeing their fellow Central American neighbors. Why should we expect people who cannot live with their neighbors in their home country to come here and be good neighbors to us? They are fleeing themselves, basically.
Is the goal to have Americans live in the corrupt squalor of Mexico and Central America?
ROBERT KITTELSON
Powhatan
Our own King George
If President Trump's wall is what we must build to save us from the poor and powerless seeking sanctuary, dehumanized by Trump, who pretends they're an existential threat to the USA, then why wasn't funding for Trump's wall carved out of the $1.5 trillion Republican tax giveaway to corporations and America's richest taxpayers?
What excuses will our Arkansas congressmen offer to explain their collective failure to save us by way of Trump's wall when they controlled the Senate, the House and the White House from 2016 until now?
And what about Trump's promise that Mexico will fund his wall?
Reminded by "fake journalists" of his forgotten promise, Trump pretends Mexico's funding will be hidden within Trump's "awesome" replacement of NAFTA.
Awed by his perpetual awesomeness, Trump pretends, as well, that his wall will stop ISIS from ever again attacking us, even as he abandons Syria to ISIS and Vladimir Putin, and deserts our allies.
We must mindlessly swallow Trump's fabrications, for he is our very own 21st-century King George III who adheres to the misguidance of Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity.
We must ignore, as well, the histories of the Great Wall of China and Hadrian's Wall as we toss accolades to Trump for his brilliance in shielding us from the huddled masses at our door seeking to escape murderous gangs and corrupt governments which we have heavily armed for profit over too many decades.
BOB REYNOLDS
Conway
Perception or reality?
I own a Prius. I bought it a few years ago for a job that had me driving a lot. I love it! It has all the power I need and sips gas so penuriously that Mr. Scrooge would be envious.
But having always owned either trucks or SUVs before my little rice rocket, I have observed a marked difference in the way I am perceived by full-sized truck drivers here in bright red Arkansas.
They hate me. When I am in front of them on the expressways, it's never enough that I am traveling 10 mph or more above the speed limit in the left lane. They have to creep up behind me to within a car's length, daring me not to move over lest I desire a gentle bumper kiss. I have no liberal bumper stickers on my car and do not drive like anybody's grandmother. I simply drive the car most readily identified with liberals.
And the more gas I save, the more these irritable Billy Joe Ray Bobs feel the need to waste theirs as they power past me, typically slowing back down again once their anabolic acts of aggression are accomplished. For them it seems a matter of pride, wasting gas. Somehow more American to consume unnecessarily.
Am I reading too much into it? My wife thinks so. But my rearview mirror is aimed at me, not her.
DANE BUXBAUM
Little Rock
Editorial on 01/04/2019