In Defense of Betsy Child
In your Jan. 23 Ear to the Ground column, you asked, "Who is Betsy Child," the new Commissioner of the Department of the Environment and Conservation. As past chairman of the local Knoxville area chapter of the Sierra Club, as an environmentalist and friend of Ms. Child, I was happy and relieved to know that she had been appointed commissioner. In Betsy, Tennessee has a commissioner who will do all she can to protect and improve the environment. Betsy is honest, hard-working, focused, goal oriented, smart, and has the strength and energy to follow through with a plan.
I have enjoyed the Metro Pulse. I was disappointed in the Metro Pulse for writing a column regarding Betsy without checking with some of us who are environmentalists. What kind of newspaper would write an article casting doubt on a person's abilities and qualifications without trying to get the facts from people who know her? You stated that you checked with a top environmentalist in Nashville. The person with whom you checked must not have been at the inauguration or even watching television. It is certain he could not have seen Ms. Child, since Ms. Child was not wearing a fur coat as has been suggested or for that matter even a faux fur. This type of reporting is what gives newspaper journalists a bad name and is certainly not up to the standards that I thought Metro Pulse had set for itself.
Randy Humble
Knoxville
Editor's note: According to Bredesen spokeswoman Lydia Lenker, Betsy Child was wearing a "tan wool coat with black velvet collar and cuffs" at the inauguration. Metro Pulse regrets the error.
Go to Chattanooga!
I disagree in the strongest possible terms with Barry Henderson's assertion that the Tennessee Aquarium and Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies are roughly equivalent in terms of educational value. The Tennessee takes hours to go through and one gains a wealth of knowledge from its extensive displays and descriptions. On the other hand, one can easily tour Ripley's in 20 minutes—including not one, not two, but three full trips through the shark tunnel—and leave having added not one whit to one's understanding of marine life. Their displays and educational descriptions are minimal, at best, or completely non-existent in many cases.
My family was infinitely disappointed in Ripley's and felt that it was the biggest rip-off we've ever encountered. Whenever we meet someone considering a trip to Ripley's, we tell them not to waste their money or their time. By contrast, we go back to the Tennessee time and time again, learning and seeing something new each and every time.
Perhaps Ripley's has some value for tired tourists who want a place to escape from the heat outdoors and provide their children with mindless entertainment in a form other than a video game parlor or the latest action movie. However, if a truly engaging experience is desired, the drive to Chattanooga is well worth the time and effort, providing lasting, and valuable, memories for parent and child alike.
Suzanne E. Peters
Knoxville
Remember the 1960s?
Publishing a cover story such as "Revenge of the Disabled" the week of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was ironic, indeed. The absence of state and local enforcement of federal guidelines meant to protect minorities rings a familiar bell, eh? I expected your article to point out this parallel to the race-related federal laws the 1960s Civil Rights Movement worked to enforce on a local level. I hoped you would then encourage today's Knoxville government and businesses to toe the ADA line on their own; I was disappointed.
Resistance, anger, and ridicule toward individuals backed by advocacy/watchdog groups characterized the Southern response to the 1960s sit-in and boycott participants. The tone of your article toward the local disabled certainly parallels these sentiments.
Alice Schoo-Jerger
Knoxville
TDOT Column, Part 3
This letter is in response to Charles Barber's letter to the editor of Jan. 30. Mr. Barber, I hope I can explain my frustration with your response to Mr. Sullivan's editorial [Jan. 16] about the dedicated, antiquated gas tax. As you stated, it is true that 90 of Tennessee's 95 counties are rural and do attain most of their state income through TDOT. However, many of these jobs in which many of these fine citizens work are on road maintenance. Incorporating the gas tax into the general fund, if common sense serves me right, will not eliminate these necessary jobs. Hopefully it would eliminate unnecessary road building such as these infamous "Orange Beltway".
Secondly, it would allow these rural areas and fine citizens a better-quality education in both academics and trade to better improve their rural communities. More money in the general fund for education helps both higher education such as Roane State Community College and Walters State Community College, as well as primary and secondary education in all Tennessee counties. Your "prejudicial characterization of country folk" helps the state legislators in their attempts in the "dumbing down of America."
Jeannie Ullrich
Knoxville
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