Frank Lang
Recent allegations of Marine atrocities in the Iraqi city of Haditha have hit hard in our community and around the world. The deaths of at least 24 Iraqi civilians and supposed cover up of their death by the Marine Corps, has caused politicians on both sides of the political platform particularly liberals, to speak on the issue and to use it as a crutch for their political gain. Comments by politicians or any other person on television accusing Marines of murder and war crimes to promote their political agenda before an official investigation is complete is irresponsible and shameful and should not be tolerated during a time of war. Brave members of the service who put their lives at danger everyday in this difficult war should be afforded the right to tell their stories before being found guilty by someone who doesn't know the facts and wasn't there.
John Murtha (D-PA), a longtime critic of the war in Iraq, said, "Marines killed innocent civilians in cold blood," after responding to an ambush by insurgents that killed Marine Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas, 20, from El Paso Texas on November 19th in Haditha. Murtha also said that Marines killed women and children and that there was no firefight that was described in the first official report. Marines had reported that they were ambushed by insurgents in some houses off the side of the road using an improvised explosive device and small-arms fire, which resulted in the death of Terrazas. After the initial explosion the Marines conducted a textbook maneuver for countering an ambush, assault through the ambush and kill the enemy, but insurgents had taken over ordinary Iraqis houses and used them for cover to inflict casualties on the Marines. In the issuing battle innocent civilians were killed, including some enemy fighters.
Having been in the Marine Corps and serving two tours in Iraq, I know firsthand the difficulties of ou military fighting the enemy in Irqq. The days of conventional warfare when two massive armies meet on the battlefield are over. The enemy's tactic is to kill or maim as many of us as they can and hope the American people will lose interest in the region and will pull out. Insurgents don't wear uniforms and hide behind innocent civilians for protection, and Iraqi's who don't cooperate with the insurgency are beheaded or shot.
When the allegations of the Marine atrocities in Haditha first broke, I was inclined to believe The Marine Corps and the individual Marine on the ground. Having been in many difficult situations in Iraq, I know that in a combat you don't have time to think and analyze everything and reaction to being shot at is an instinct for survival that automatically happens. If the Marines were being shot at by insurgents in a house with innocent civilians inside, the Marines had no way of knowing that and the insurgents are to blame. With so many different versions of this story involved, there's just know way of knowing what happened until the facts come out. Until what happens comes to light, individuals with access to the media should keep their opinions to themselves. Service members, as well as the enemy, have access to media outputs to get information on what's going on in the world around them. It demoralizes our troops to hear accusations that could well be false, and more importantly it's giving are enemies fuel to fight and kill Americans around the world.
Most service members fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan have fought heroically, and their bravery should not be tarnished by the actions of a few. With the continued fight on the war on terror, we must support our military and defeat the common enemy who wants to destroy our way of life. Our countrymen in uniform who put themselves in danger deserve a fair trial and do not need the media putting their names out to the public before a conviction. After the outcome, then speak your mind, but until then, we ,don't know what happened on that road in Haditha on November 19.
Anonymous
Resident in District-11 have been dealing with the issue of limited classroom space for years. Students know that when they head off to school, they will be learning in an overcrowded classroom or a portable building somewhere on the school's property. District-11 taxpayers rant about how these learning environments are not conducive to successful learning; however, it is not the district's fault. The people behind this mess in the district is the taxpayer.
Every two years District-11 tries to pass bonds to improve the teaching level of the district. Since 1990 the School Board has tried to pass a bond to raise taxes for new schools. Almost automatically Colorado Springs taxpayers reject the idea because they do not want to pay anymore then they already do; however, a $15 annual fee would be the only addition to what they already pay. Currently the district has had to make harsh decisions dealing with program cutbacks and staff reductions.
Everyday District-11 is short at least 65 substitute teachers because it pays them $15 less per day than any of the other districts. This means classes sometimes must double up. District-11 substitute teachers are far and few between. The District has scrimped enough money to open two new schools next year. However each will open at capacity when the ideal percentage of occupants is 85 percent. Now, the district finds itself in a hole using emergency funds for new portables and necessary faculty just to accommodate the growing numbers in the district. This $15 annual fee would take their kids out of the onsite portables and into brand new, state of the art schools. This data is brought forth regularly to the voters in a desperate fight to save the district, but still the bonds do not pass.
There is one reason why the bonds are unsuccessful every voting season; 80% of the residences in District-11 are owned by retirees. This specific community no longer has children in the district, which would lead them to think, "Why should I pay for something I do not need"? This idea seems valid; however, there is one flaw. Someday, either they or their grown children will have to sell their home in District 11, and they will find out quickly that it will not be easy. Their once valuable home will have depreciated, and the previously high market turn over rate will have gone down with it. A house's resale value is based on how good are the neighborhood schools. The 80 percent of retired District11 residents may not realzie they are setting themselves up for thousands of wasted dollars on the resale of their home.
Kayleigh Powers
As the school year comes to an end, the district 11 board members had just started its biggest problem of the year. On June 1, members of the District 11 board announced the firing of Superintendent Sharon Thomas. The dissection came days after an evaluation came out in
The Gazette saying "her work was frequently unsatisfactory." Thomas was hired on a 4-3 vote last May. The three who voted against hiring her in the first place, Willie Breazell, Craig Cox and Eric Christen, voted to fire her after criticizing her work noting she was not setting a clear direction for the district. Soon after the year came to an end, they took another vote. This time it ended up being 3-4. Sandy Shakes, who first supported Ms. Thomas then switched sides to fire her.
The district hired Ms. Thomas with a 3-year contract. By firing her they will have to pay her $426,000 for the remaining 2 years of her contract. Many people ask where that money is coming from. The board assures us that the money will not affect the way the schools are run, but the money is coming out of funds that they have been saving for if something like this where to happen.
The day after the firing hundreds of people stood outside the Sistrict 11 building; they were all holding signs reading "Recall board. Do not fire Sharon." And "Save our Superintendent" Many people are for the firing and many are against. Many believe that she did nothing for our school district and that she should have never been hired in the first place. Others say that she was just thrown into this big mess with no support from the community.
Cheri Powers, PTO President for Doherty High School for 4 years, said the board is at fault for all this. "The wrong thing to do was giving Ms. Thomas a job with no support and unreal expectations to perform a miracle." She believes the board set her up to fail. "You can't have someone come in and try to fix the whole district in less then a year." .
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As a first time reader of the PPCC college newspaper I was impressed with the content even though I cannot benefit from the contrast of having read the paper prior to its being reworked. Many of the articles are interesting because the topics are provocative. Included in the paper are topics from smoking, traffic problems (who can't contribute to this one), lack of funding and interest in the theater and even tattoos.
In the half hour I spend reviewing
The Pikes Peak News, I read tens of articles and identified something that seems to be missing wholesale as a topic: having fun. My intention is not to undermine the necessity of discussing topics that are important to us culturally but to remind us that life is not all business. I am not a full-time student, so I suppose that my level of stress is inherently lower than many of you reading this article. Don't let being busy stop you from enjoying yourself. In fact, a busier person should have more interest in this article than those who have time on their hands.
Let's talk tactics. My tactic for enjoying myself is simple. If I do the work first, then the rest of my time belongs to me and I can enjoy it that much more. I buckle down and "git'r done" as Larry would say. Personally I spend my leisure time either playing console games such as "Shadows of the Colossus" and "Black" (the Uzi is terrible), surfing the internet and coming up with other ways to have fun. Examples of other things I have done are purchase a yo-yo and a jump-rope (fun and exercise) . One of my roommates told I was doing "something stupid."
Don't sell your TV or stop your subscription to the newspaper. Instead, turn off the television and put down the paper from time to time, go outside and do "something stupid."
