The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Dear Editor:
I had to respond to a "letter to the editor" in last week's, September 28th Quill by Helen Ryan of Stronghurst.
As the grandmother of four school age grandchildren who are involved in sports I know first hand about kids and sports and I am proud to say that only good has come to them from these experiences.
The children learn self discipline, good sportsmanship, working as part of a team, and keeping up their grades in school, when they play a sport during the school year, because they must keep up their grades if they want to play on the team.
As for your concern about the funding for these sports and uniforms you can rest easy because parents, and fund raising through Sports Boosters, etc. pay for this, and I commend everyone involved from the coaches to volunteers who help with the teams, the parents, teachers and all the great kids who do such a good job and still maintain good grades.
What better way to help form the citizens of tomorrow than to teach them to be part of a team, which in turn adds to the incentive to do better in school and in life.
Not only does this apply to sports, but music, dance, and other extra activities that a child may be part of that helps round-out their lives. All this adds to good experiences in life and what is wrong with that?
Gloria Snyder
La Harpe
Dear Editor;
To Whom It May Concern:
It has come to my attention that letters are being sent to some residents in Henderson County stating they are the beneficiary of $8,200.00.
The catch is you must send them $3.00 for a phone call you haven't even recieved yet. I can assure you though, you will get numerous calls asking for more money once you send back your letter and $3.00.
The letter comes from a so called Canadian based company called "United Claims Center".
I called the Canadian Phone Busters, which is the same as our Better Business Bureau. They said yes in deed this is a scam and they have had hundreds of complaints about it.
I also found a web site set up to address complaints about these letters. There were hundreds of complaints from people that had responded to the letter, just find out later it was a scam.
The Canadian Phone Busters ask that anyone who recieves one of these letters to please call them.
Their number is 1-888-495-8501. It's toll free. They also stated, if you have to pay money to claim a prize it is probably a scam and the only person getting rich is the guy who sent you the letter or made the called.
Sincerely,
Gloria Short
Henderson County Health Department, Senior Services Director
Dear Editor;
I am writing in response to the letter from Helen Ryan that was published in your September 28th edition.
Dear Ms. Ryan & Tax Payers of West Central #235.
After reading the letter written by Ms. Ryan I was rather shocked. We agree with you on two points that you had in your letter. The first being that good grades and education come first. Second, you do have a right to freedom of speech. We would like to clarify a few points that you are mistaken about the elementary football teams.
Our son is a proud member of the 5th/6th grade West Central football team. First, the school has no affiliation with the 1st-6th grade teams. They were gracious enough to let our children use our school name proudly and allow the teams to use the practice fields located at the North Campus.
Second, the football programs are sponsored by the Burlington YMCA and Rec Plex. All fees, which are paid by the parents/guardians of the players, are paid to the YMCA and games are held on Saturday mornings at the Rec Plex. NO TAX DOLLARS ARE BEING SPENT TO FINANCE ANY OF
THESE TEAMS. The YMCA and Rec Pleax suppy all of the equipment and uniforms for the players.
Third, as for our son losing interest in his school work. We give him the incentive to keep his grades up or we won't allow him to play. That will be a rule when he enters sixth grade and begins playing school sponsored sports.
Next, our parents are in charge of tranporting their players to and from practices and games. We believe that these parents are spending their hard earned money wisely helping the players become stronger-physically, mentally and socially. Not to mention in the day and age we live in this give us more time to spend with our children as a family.
This program has allowed a bonding process with our children. They have formed wonderful friendships within the new consolidated district.
Lastly, most of these children won't go on to play college or professional football, but it is a great learning experience. They are learning how to interact socially and work as a team. These are skills which will help them in their adolescent and adult lives no matter what they choose to do in life.
We appreciate the staff, administration and school board at West Central for allowing our teams to use the practice fields and the "West Central" name. Volunteer Coaches Goff, Smith,
Engen and Giertz are appreciated for all of their hard work and dedication.
Respectfully,
Jeff, Teresa & Clayton Pullen
Oquawka