In defense of Tony May: ‘Rules for thee, but not for me’

Well, here we are again… While combing through Friday’s paper, I found another article talking about Tony May, this time written by Natalie Bristol, a 16 junior in RE-2. To restate, I am 19 years old, recently graduated from high school and thus, I am one of Miss Bristol’s peers.

She states: “We don’t need a political agenda dominating the way we learn.” I happen to totally agree. However, there already is a de-facto political agenda at work in our schools that is prompting the conservative response. Miss Bristol was ‘angry and bitter’ when she first heard about the ‘racist and prejudiced’ ABS. Having taken the time to review the ABS, I find it humorous that Miss Bristol would use these words if she has looked further into its standards.

The current social studies program in place is highly partisan to a certain political agenda, namely one seeking to divide the people across racial, sexual and class lines, whilst claiming to be ‘respecting minorities and oppressed groups’ and ‘equitable.’ Unfortunately, this same political agenda is held by most of our media and news agencies, and thus any attempt to stray or depart from it is instantly loudly decried as ‘racist, bigoted, and fascist.’

We can see this perfectly demonstrated with Tony May. Mr. May’s attempt to institute a decidedly non-partisan and reasonable social studies program which strayed from the set agenda was immediately set upon from all sides by adherents and sycophants. Even after Mr. May backed down under ever-increasing pressure, the angry mob wasn’t satisfied. Now a petition is underway to remove him from the school board, trying to brutally crucify him personally and professionally and frighten potential dissenters from opposing ‘The Agenda.’

Again, I do agree with Miss Bristol’s statement about an agenda dominating the schools, but her attack against Mr. May is very hypocritical. ‘Rules for thee, but not for me’ seems to be the unspoken motto of this Marxist movement which is destroying our traditional American culture by rebranding it as ‘sexist, racist, and patriarchal.’

Lucas Villarreal, New Castle

I found fulfillment by being a Big Buddy

I have had the honor of serving as a Big Buddy to two different girls over the past five years. I met my first Little Buddy when she was a high school sophomore. We spent three years together, attending The Nutcracker and X Games, going to the movies, walking my dog and hosting a radio show together, among other activities. Our official Buddy pairing ended when she graduated high school; However, we have stayed in touch.

I was eager to be rematched with a new Little Buddy and was subsequently paired with a fifth grader. Over the past two years, we have had fun getting to know one another through our shared passion for skiing, art, games and movies. Both of my mentoring relationships have been unique, based on the age and personality of each girl, yet they share similarities in that we have each benefited from them in profound ways. Giving back to young people has been my life’s work; as a child growing up in Aspen in the ’70s, many adults outside of my family helped shape my life. I believe that being a positive role model is the most important thing an adult can do for a child. Please consider donating your time by becoming a Big Buddy. You may be surprised by how much happiness and fulfillment it brings to your life.

Brenda Carlson Stockdale, New Castle

Tired of Glenwood’s traffic situation

Public opinion only changes once things get so bad that even the dogs and cats complain. Forty years ago, Grand Avenue was so degraded from its 1961 widening from a tree-lined two-lane “bridal path” to a four-lane treeless thoroughfare, that potholes were the least of the problems. It got so bad and stayed that way that creative people wrote and performed a local play with a play-on-words of the then-popular miniseries “Roots,” called “Ruts,” making light of Glenwood’s dire traffic situation.

It’s interesting to see that human nature has stayed the same in this span of time. (I did miss the proposed rebroadcast of “Roots” in 2003 at the start of the Middle East War. It was canceled perhaps because the lead character, Chicken George, may have been too closely associated with our president, George W. Bush. It may never be rebroadcast in this age of political correctness.)

Obviously, the traffic volume through Glenwood is maxed out and unsustainable, with few alternatives. The best one so far is the suggestion to route traffic along the Roaring Fork River. The biggest question is how to link it to the Exit 116 intersection with a Colorado River bridge to follow the Roaring Fork River corridor which has an overburden drop to the river that would make a tiered lane relief, and still maintain the bike path on the ridge. It may take a local to write a new play to motivate a traffic solution. “Tunnels,” anyone?

Fred Stewart, Grand Junction

Doubts about South Bridge

Now that the South Bridge project seems to be moving forward, I wonder if the traffic study used for the approval of the development at 8th Street and Midland took into consideration the increase in traffic this project will cause at this intersection. That was the reason the city bought the property at 8th Street and Midland for future highway needs. The exit off Interstate 70 at 114 will be very attractive to the daily commuters going south on Highway 82. At the present there are only two signal lights between the exit and the 27th Street roundabout. In three or four years when the bridge is built, the traffic by then should be somewhere in the neighborhood of 30,000 to 35,000 cars a day going down Grand Avenue. Ao, you can imagine how many cars will be avoiding that route. The recent article in the paper seems to indicate that the city has a money shortfall for this project. I have been against this project from the start mainly because I believe this should be a Garfield County and CDOT project. After all, they will be the main benefactors. If the city must borrow money for this project, what future projects will have to be put off until the city can once again be able to borrow? This will also benefit anyone wanting to develop the Four Mile area, by eliminating the major Obstacle of handling increased traffic from this area. I wonder if the council has considered the cost of all the modifications that will be needed in the Midland Avenue corridor. 

Don “Hooner” Gillespie, Glenwood Springs