in a war apart from

I

see that Southland is opening its big expansion and I’m glad for all the new jobs that it is creating but the real question is how fast can the city of West Memphis spend all that extra money? From what I’ve read they’ve already spent money that they haven’t even got yet! [Editor’s Note: In a recent article, I believe last month, the city council was basically in agreement that it was time to curtail spending based on a budget with future Southland tax revenue until some of that is actually paid for. Cities operate pretty similarly to regular households in that there’s always something that need money spent on it and you can put it on the credit card and pay for it later, but you don’t want to put yourself in a _nancial burden by having already spent tomorrow’s dollars on today’s problems. Our federal government is seeing the rami_cations of doing just that, as we’re still adding to the bill that goes back through the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations. You know, they’re talking about student loan forgiveness. Maybe the U.S. should just call up our creditors and see if they can’t knock a few trillion off the top?] The news that Russia is deploying landmines in Ukraine despite them being banned by most countries is horric. There is no reason to use landmines

preventing people returning to an area and leaving any remaining people terried of the dangers that visiting their own properties might bring. They are banned for a reason and their use is just another example of why Putin must be stopped and removed from power forever. [Editor’s Note: I wonder what support from the American people would be for an actual war against Russia? I think American tradition has always been a willingness to _ght “the good war,” as seen in World War I and World War II. Even support for later campaigns like the early stages of Vietnam and the Gulf War and the War on Terrorism saw support among many Americans. A war with Russia might see public sentiment go either way, and I hope it doesn’t come to that. Hopefully, either the Russian people or a strong showing from the United Nations or NATO can put an end to Putin’s reign.] Look at all of the great teachers West Memphis is losing … and its Superintendent! I hope you remember this when the school board elections take place in a few weeks and how they didn’t want the four day school week. West Memphis’s loss will be somebody else’s gain!! [Editor’s Note: I don’t want to be too critical of the West Memphis School District, because I think its a wonderful school system. My oldest son graduated in 2014, my daughter is a sophomore at AWM, my wife is an assistant principal at East Junior High, my youngest son teaches History at West Junior High, my daughter-in-law teaches English at East Junior High and my sister-in-law teaches _rst grade at Maddux Elementary School, and they all love it. Having said that, something’s got to give when it comes to teachers and their mental health, physical well-being and the impact teaching has had on them in the past three years. Is it a four-day week? Is it more money? Is it something else? I don’t know, but these people (and the students) are struggling and fewer people are entering the _eld of education. It’s not just here. It’s everywhere.]