Crisis at the border
There is a border crisis, and it extends beyond humanitarian concerns to an erosion of American historical values. America welcomes people to our shores and borders. America recognizes that greatness comes from a diversity of people, ideas and beliefs.
The next Bill Gates, the next Warren Buffett, the next Willie Nelson and even the next Donald Trump may be among the immigrants seeking asylum in the United States.
Why throw away our future?
NEALUS WHEELER
Mountain Home
Place for senior men
Many times decisions are made by people who don't really understand the situation or have all of the facts. In the first place, golf has become a sport that can be enjoyed by seniors, whereas young people really have a hard time finding time to learn and enjoy the sport. War Memorial and the short nine at Rebsamen are played and enjoyed by many men over 60 years of age. As an example, I am 92 and my friend is 99, and we still enjoy playing the short nine at Rebsamen. What other sport can people that age still enjoy? We don't see many young people on the course.
War Memorial should have been reconfigured into a nine-hole executive course with five par-four holes and four par-three holes. A course that could be walked in two hours. That would have been enjoyed by people of all ages and not so time-consuming. It particularly would furnish senior men a place for recreation, which is sorely needed. Many senior men cannot play baseball, ride bikes, play tennis, or jog, but can still play golf.
Did anyone consider this when making their decisions? I doubt it.
RUSSELL CANNON
Little Rock
Keep the golf course
I had made up my mind to keep my thoughts about the closing of War Memorial Golf Course to myself.
But I now want to go on record as wanting to remind everyone that this administration is not the first to want to destroy this historic golf course, which has enjoyed play since 1930. Little Rock and many of its citizens are so proud of its history that I cannot believe for the life of me that anyone would not want to preserve this golf course. But for several years, even to the point of paying out thousands of dollars to outside consultants to come up with plans to repurpose the land that War Memorial Golf Course sits on, the decision was made to keep the golf course. Think about this ... it is the only public golf course in Little Rock that does not flood. The zoo has always wanted a portion of the land the course sits on, and the city, or certain people in the city, have wanted to do something other than keep the golf course. Please understand I am a firm supporter of the zoo.
War Memorial Golf Course is located in midtown, very convenient for a very large portion of Little Rock residents who play golf. From young people who like to walk and play to older people who ride and play, it is perfectly located even if it didn't have such a wonderful history.
I now live in Maumelle, but I still like to see the proper decision made in a city that I love.
TERRY DUFFLE
Maumelle
Making painful choice
At the risk of sounding like the current president ... I recognize that there are good people (and good arguments) on both sides of the issue of golf-course closings in Little Rock. As a somewhat avid golfer, I tend to lean toward wishing there was another solution, which I guess has about the same effect as wishing we had a different president. Nevertheless, please allow me a couple of points.
I have now twice heard that the course in War Memorial Park will close "after accommodating a scheduled tournament." Golfers in Arkansas know that this is not just any old tournament. The 83rd Annual 4th of July Championship is the "scheduled tournament" taking place. This event is somewhat akin to the Masters with its status among major Arkansas golf tournaments. I'm certainly not comparing War Memorial to Augusta, but on a local level, the winner of this event carries a great amount of prestige, well-earned.
In a recent article, Mr. Bill Bristow calls First Tee a "fad for rich kids." This is absolutely wrong. The rich kids don't need First Tee; they are playing at their parents' country clubs. The course condition is not up to its original intention (when lots of private money was provided), but it still is in better shape than many public courses, and is an interesting layout. And it is a tremendous place for young people, rich or poor, to learn the game and its inherent values. Check it out!
Finally, it is a shame that the economy is so good we still must make such painful choices because of money issues.
CHUCK GOSS
Little Rock
On restoring power
Sincere and grateful thanks to all the workers who labored tirelessly to get the power back on. I saw so many complaints on Facebook and in the newspaper about it taking so long. We were without power for three days, and although we have a generator, it was still miserably hot and inconvenient. I know there were tens of thousands without power, and it took an exceptional amount of manpower to get it back on for everyone. It was also extremely hot, so the workers had to take care of themselves, too. Look at the gear they have to wear. Can you imagine spending hours in the heat dressed like that?
I also want to respond to the person who was quoted in the paper Saturday saying the "better neighborhoods" got preferential treatment on power restoration. That is absolutely not true. I live in what she would probably describe as a "better neighborhood." It is a matter of numbers. If you are in an area with 75 out of power and there is another area with 44 out (which we were in), the larger number gets first attention. They are going to solve the problem that will help the largest number of people first.
So please don't blame the workers or the company (and I am not an employee or kin to anyone). They did an awesome job!
KAREN HERBERT
Little Rock
Editorial on 06/27/2019