LETTERS EDITOR TO THE

To the Editor,

My how time passes and things change; it has barely been a month since the democrats have invaded Washington D.C. and taken over the reins of government in our Congress and the Presidency! Have you noticed the legislation Congress is writing; that if passed, will destroy the Rights of the people and end fair and honest elections, depriving “We the People” of our God given Rights.

Under the 1st, 4th, 9th and 10th Amendments of our Bill of Rights ‘We the People” are guaranteed the following Rights and Freedoms. Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of Religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or shortening the freedom of speech, or the press; or the Right of the people peaceably to assemble, and partition the government for a redress of grievances. Further: the Right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, this being supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and regarding the persons or things to be seized. Continuing; the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain Rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. Finally, all powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the People.

Any reasonable person who takes the time to fact check what our New President and the Congress and Senate are actually doing, from Executive orders [57], to policies being advocated, and legislation proposals set for votes, will recognize the major disregard for the above Rights and Freedoms of “We the People” by our representatives in Washington. They believe they have actually won the election and are now in total control of our country, and our lives. It is clear they no longer regard the Constitution and our Bill of Rights as enforceable.

If we hope to save our Country and restore our Government to the People; this Leftist/Socialist regime must be held to account and voted out!

Thank you,

Royce Purifoy Sr.

El Dorado

To the Editor:

This year marks the quadcenten-ray of the Mayflower,1621-2021. Romanticies to us as young childrean, the pilgrims did not intend to create a new holiday, so much as attain social, religous, and political autonomy. I am currenlty reading a book, in paperback, written for this historic milestone.The pligrims were separatists, trying to break from the corruption and oppression of the Church of England.In an effort to live a set apart life, and create a more purified spiritual kingdom. Although they grew austere, their intentions were well intended. They also had forms of self rule ,by a freely elected state legislature, and in some colonies, even the governor. Their achievements later set the stage for the English Civil war and Glorious Revolution. While I do not embrace Puritanical legalism, or the llegalism of our modern day fundementalist brethren, I adhere to the mission satement inscribed in the Family Life Center of College Avenue Church of Christ, Love God, love others ,share the Gospel. Leslie Putman

El Dorado

To the Editor:

As many important issues come up for review in our legislature, it’s important we take time to look at bills that can have an impact on small businesses across Arkansas. One such bill is the Arkansas Works Program, which is coming up for it’s biannual review. As a small business provider in a rural community, we can speak to the positive impacts the Arkansas Works Program has had for us. It has increased our ability to serve clients who were not receiving the services they needed. Affinity Counseling Services is a small, independently owned counseling office that provides mental health services to the people who live in Piggott, AR. Access to quality mental health services is notoriously limited for towns like ours. We have been able to reach more people because of the AWP—- 30-35% of our clients are on the program. We have seen a lot of success stories in our almost 2 years of serving Piggott. Changes to the AWP would greatly impact our ability to continue providing care to the clients we now serve.

This program has also helped to keep rural hospitals like ours open.

Many rural hospitals in our area have shut their doors for good…before Coronavirus. Now, in the middle of a pandemic, we are the only hospital available in a 40 mile radius. We are thankful that programs like the AWP have helped to drop uninsured and no payment burdens that small hospitals like ours have struggled to carry. Our hospital not only provides essential services in a close proximity, it is also a huge employer of our area. The loss of this hospital would drastically impact our families, friends, and neighbors. Because of the Arkansas Works Program, we continue to have access to the care and jobs we need.

To wrap up this letter, we would like to encourage our lawmakers to consider their future actions carefully. We are in a time of great uncertainty for what the future holds, and we are struggling to deal with challenges that have greatly impacted the present. By looking at the recent past we can see that the Arkansas Works Program has worked for Arkansas. It has helped our citizens get the insurance and care they need. It’s given them the choice of quality insurance options. It’s also benefited our underserved communities by keeping rural hospitals open, and providers like us in business. There are many more points that could be made for keeping the AWP, but I believe helping out everyone on Main Street is the most compelling of all of them.

Sincerely;

Matthew Yount

Piggot, Ark.