Giving kids away
Arkansas legislator Justin Harris has justified giving his adopted daughters to another family on the grounds that the Department of Human Services would not allow him to return one of them despite the fact that she had serious behavioral problems.
He and his wife apparently believe that an adopted child comes with a warranty like a television or a toaster oven, and if the kid is defective, DHS has a responsibility to accept returns just as Best Buy does. This recalls the legal status of enslaved people in the American South, who were defined in almost all states as chattel, a species of movable property (in Louisiana they were real estate).
Harris' many defenders in the legislature are certainly correct in assuming he did not knowingly give his children to a child molester, but he is not blameless. It will be nice if the lawmakers pass promised legislation to prevent this tragedy from happening again. I also hope they come to believe, as Harris manifestly does not, that the children we adopt are every bit as important as the ones to whom we give birth.
CHARLIE BOLTON
Little Rock
Quail restoration
Regarding "Them's Debatin' Words" (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, March 2), just two sidebars: 1. You're right, it would be beneficial to hear authoritatively from the Game and Fish Commission on its quail restoration policy. However, I fear it would involve the sad default position of something about the unfavorable economics of same. Rather, the Commission would take the harder high road with an active quail restoration policy for the reason you (Don McKenzie) state, to not let a tradition slip through the cracks. 2. Thank you, Editor, for keeping the quail issue alive in your paper. There must be an old quail hunter among you!
DAVE JOHNSON
Fayetteville
No newspaper here
Before you break an arm patting yourself on the back with letters from happy subscribers who've received their newspapers in areas of the state with even the most severe weather, please be advised that March 6 was the sixth day without a newspaper delivery to my home in the Sturbridge area of northwest Little Rock. On two of those days our mail was delivered.
WILLARD M. LEWIS
Little Rock
Dedicated carrier
What a difference a smile makes on a snowy/icy day! It's 10 a.m., our doorbell rings, and just as I arrive at the door, I recognize our newspaper carrier. All bundled up, she had walked up our steep and icy drive and delivered our paper.
Without hesitating, she waved and smiled and continued her route.
Thank you for your dedication and never missing a day, since we have received our papers for over 15 years.
JUDY PETERS
Maumelle
Sizing up Bill O'Reilly
The crude bullying tactics and almost demented hostility shown toward any and all who would attempt interjecting truthiness into one of Bill O'Reilly's faux-rage moments led me to believe he was a pint-size mini-barstool hothead. Imagine my surprise, sports fans, when I learned the poor bombasticus is a few serious inches above six feet tall. Guess he must be defending lesser inches somewhere else, right?
ELIZABETH HARRIS
Evening Shade
Investigation needed
The re-homing situation with Justin Harris raises unanswered questions about his allegations that DHS threatened him and his wife with the removal of their sons, and that DHS lied to them about the girls' issues. It seems that if the Harrises felt so threatened, they would call their attorney and find out DHS couldn't take their sons. This also ignores the fact they had previously returned one child without any repercussions. As to their claim DHS lied to them about the girls, this has been refuted by others who assert the Harrises had full knowledge of all the problems.
There are other disturbing questions about whether the Harrises' receipt of subsidy checks after the girls left constituted a criminal act and why the Harrises were not forthcoming about the situation when the rape occurred, almost one year prior. Because DHS is bound by privacy laws to both the Harrises and the children, DHS cannot comment on this case and the public is unable to get the full story.
There needs to be a thorough investigation by the prosecuting attorney to get both sides. If DHS operated in this manner, then sanctions should be brought. If not, the public has a right to know. For the present time, Justin Harris should be permanently removed from any legislative positions related to DHS, and until a full investigation is completed, he should also be removed from any committee positions dealing with children, money or the public welfare.
MARY LOWE
Greenland
Tuition troubles
Woe is me. Reading about rising rates for students at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville makes me nauseous.
U of A Fayetteville isn't for everyone. My great-grandfather and three generations have attended, and riffraff are hurting the prestige and elite status of the university.
David Gearhart and the last decade of administration have continually allowed low-income, outclassed, poorly educated students to over-populate classrooms and labs, diluting the educational process for generational family students who can afford U of A without handouts. They are even letting in foreign students who are not U.S. citizens.
All of this in the name of "diversity" is watering down both a U of A education and rubbing a lot of glitter off the edges for families who built this institution.
There are many technical schools, junior colleges, and even U of A at Jonesboro for these people. It's time for Fayetteville to restore its luster.
ASHTON MILLER III
Hot Springs Village
Editorial on 03/11/2015