City employees say 'Thank you'
We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the following people and businesses that so generously gave to the 15th annual City of Pea Ridge Christmas food drive. Boxes of food were provided to 106 families this year thanks to your generosity. We are so proud of our community and citizens for making this project such a huge success. From the bottom of our hearts we thank you and wish you a Happy New Year.
Action Tree Services, A-OK Insurance, Arvest Bank, B Chic Boutique, Beaver Farms, Blackhawk Auto Repair and Tire, Blackhawk Grill, Donnie Chesnut, CVT Towing, First Assembly of God Church, MJ Hensley, Jack Kelly, Lori Rogers Agency, Marvin's Food, Northwest Utility Services, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Ozark Propane, Pea Ridge Barber Shop, Pea Ridge Golf Classic, Pea Ridge Tire Shop, Pea Ridge Veterinary Clinic, TH Rogers Lumber Co., Wal-Mart Stores, Webb Feed and Seed, White Oak Station, Williams Tractor Supply and several anonymous donations.
Thank you,
Jackie Crabtree, mayor
and the City of Pea Ridge employees
To School Board members and community
Every time we turn around we read that the school wants to spend more of our taxpayer's money. Just because the economy is better than it was in years gone by is no reason to continue to pour money into the school for unrealistic things that we have been able to get by without for so many previous years. The latest expenditure is this new Pre-kindergarten class that the school wants to implement. When I went to school the taxpayers only had to pay for my 1st -- 12th grade classes. Now the taxpayers have to pay for them plus the kindergarten classes and the colleges and the tech schools and before you know it they will have kids going to school as soon as they are potty trained. For years we did without the 3+ million dollar stadium. Then we needed a storm shelter, then we had to have the tech school, and now you want to do a major renovation to it so that you can put pre-k students in there. A year or two ago the tax payers bought new laptops for every student in school at several hundred dollars each. Question? Does the school have any type of master plan that they are following or are they just winging it?
Part of the problem as I see it, is that it is the same with the sports program and the summer food program and the new pre-k program. If every child can not participate then it should not be available to any of them. Think about it for a moment, say you go to Kindergarten and you meet a new friend and they already know their colors because they got to go to pre-k but you didn't get to go because of not having enough spaces or funding in class.
Just like all of the kids who live in the country who do not get to eat the free meals at school during the summer. It does not sound fair does it? What about the all the boys who want to play football but they do not get to play as much because they are not quite as good as the star players. They get to be on the team but they also get to warm the bench. Maybe we should chalk all this up to; Life is not fair?
I just wish that there was someone on the school board who had the wherewithal to consider the tax payers. Just because we can have a new toy does not mean that we absolutely need it. If we did not have it ten or twenty years ago then who's to say we need it now.
I just hope there are others in the community who are keeping track of all this money the school is spending so that when they come asking the taxpayers for more money we can send them a resounding; "No More Taxpayer Money".
Boyd B. McNiel
Pea Ridge, Ark.
Editorial on 12/31/2014