The Springfield News-Leader from Springfield, Missouri • Page 6

Editorial Board members Thomas A. Bookstaver President and Publisher News-Leader Monday February 10, 2003 David F. Ledford Executive Editor Cheryl Whitsitt Managing Editor Robert Leqer Jennifer Portman Editorial Page Editor Associate Editorial Page Editor Sarah Overstreet Jean Warren Columnist Employee Representative Tis a privilege to live in the Ozarks Our View readers' Letters JL If not money, then security for arts iMywpimiiiiMJ i utm It iWV'' about this excess. I spoke with two employees of City Utilities, a member of the Springfield City Council and two members of the Greene County Commission. Each was kind, cordial and sympathetic, and told me, "I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do." Their only question was how the thousands of dollars generated by this surcharge would be replaced in the budget if the surcharge were to be removed.

I don't know law, but the surcharge is unfair and undemocratic in that I have no local representation. A rep-'resentative in the Missouri legislature has promised a bill to remove the surcharge. I think this is proper, and I hope the citizens who read this or who know any of the other 17,000 families paying this surcharge will understand our con The past several months have seen deep cuts to colleges and universities, the dra-conian slashing of general relief assistance for the poor and the canceling of Show-Me ChalleNGe, a National Guard boot-camp program for troubled kids. Not investing in those or any number of other programs threaten the state's long-term health. There will be more self-defeating sacrifices to come before the economic climate turns.

Until then, as Springfield Sen. Norma Champion says, it's a matter of priorities. The decisions to be made are horrible. There is no good choice when weighing arts funding against, say, the need for classroom teachers. Still, teachers win.

Lawmakers can and should provide the arts community some hope and future security by extending the sunset for the Cultural Trust program to 2015. Legislation must also be passed to require all taxes collected from nonresident athletes and entertainers go into the trust fund as promised. That will allow the fund to grow as it was intended, allowing the arts council to become more self-supporting. If there is no money to give, that's the least the state should do for the arts, which lift the spirit of Missouri citizens. Arts deserve a future if state budget is slashed.

About 300 advocates for the arts were in Jefferson City last week, lobbying lawmakers to stop Gov. Bob Holden's plan to cut funding for the Missouri Arts Council in next year's budget. Their cries join those of many other groups that rely on a piece of the state budget to stay alive. Missouri's bleak budget picture has created a chorus and stiff competition. Arts advocate and former Sen.

Roseann Bentley doesn't think the state should have to choose between the arts and other programs. It shouldn't. But as she knows, it does. And when money is so short, as it is now, those things that enrich people's lives take a back seat to the necessities. State general revenue funding for the Missouri Arts Council is relatively small, about $3.9 million.

But today, every penny of state money counts, and that won't change any time soon. The arts are not a mere luxury. They are a viable part of Missouri's economic engine, with an impressive return on investment. A study by arts advocates found for every $1 spent, the state re- NEWS-LEADER FILE PHOTO Members of the Springfield Ballet dance in a scene from "The Nutcracker. ceives an average of $8.25 back.

Arts council supporters are absolutely correct when they argue that cutting their state funding is shortsighted and a bad business decision. The loss of state general revenue money puts about $950,000 in federal matching funds at risk of disappearing. And Gov. Holden's recommendation to make up the loss by dipping into the already shorted Cultural Trust would gut it by a third. But finding a way to balance the state's budget has forced a lot of shortsighted decisions in Jefferson City.

Part of Missouri's share of the national tobacco settlement will be mortgaged to cover projected budget shortfalls. cerns. Jim Mentis, Strafford Bravery of faith community often goes underappreciated Members of the faith community have long put their personal safety at risk to help their fellow man or woman. They never know if the person entering their church is simply in need or deranged or dangerous. But they rarely turn anyone away.

John Spicer, pastor at Church of the Good Shepherd in Springfield, says incidents such as the stabbing aren't something he thinks about. When the transient man walked into the First Baptist Church in Conway asking for money last week, the Rev. Steven Strauch responded as he has done before he helped. And even though the man stabbed Strauch as he talked on the telephone trying to arrange a meal for the man, the minister is sure to keep helping the poor and homeless who come to his church door. "You don't judge people based on how they look," Spicer says.

Because of this, faith workers are both venerated and vulnerable and deserving of appreciation from the greater community. The Rev. Strauch made headlines because he was harmed while trying to help. The daily love and goodwill shown to strangers by Strauch and others like him doesn't make the news enough. RESTAURANT SMOKING BAN Tobacco money not a good deal The Feb.

7 letter to the editor "Ban smoking? Who will pay?" implied that the tobacco settlement money and tobacco taxes were the "only things keeping the state of Missouri afloat." The tobacco settlement money is partially reimbursing the state of Missouri for tax dollars spent on treating smoking-related illnesses over the past 25 years and works out to approximately 10 cents on the dollar. Not a very good deal. Smoking, according to conservative CDC estimates, costs the state of Missouri $7.18 per pack in health care and disability costs annually. This adds up to $4.1 billion or $700 for every man, woman and child in the state every year, with a substantial portion paid by taxpayers. Missouri smokers contribute only 17 cents in tax to the $7.18 costs.

Not a good deal for Missouri. What about the health consequences of secondhand smoke in restaurants and workplaces? According to the American Lung Association, secondhand smoke causes 3,000 lung cancer deaths and more than 35,000 heart disease deaths annually in U.S. nonsmok-ers. It also causes hundreds of thousands of respiratory illnesses in nonsmoking children and adults. The author of the recent letter to the editor asked what shape Missouri would be in if all the smokers in the state just quit.

We would all be a lot healthier and a lot wealthier. Dr. Jim Blaine, Springfield Smokers will eat in nearby towns As a former resident of Springfield, I am surprised to learn that Springfield is considering an ordinance to ban smoking in restaurants. The restaurant owners who support this ban already have the prerogative to offer that atmosphere to their customers. I own and operate a restaurant in Scottsdale, and have greatly benefited from such a ban in neighboring Tempe.

Their residents have flocked to my establishment because there is no such ban in Scottsdale or my establishment. My target clientele enjoys selecting a nice cigar from our humidor to enjoy with a fine Belgian beer after a meal. Such a ban would seriously affect my business plan and make the money I have invested in ventilation and smoke-eaters rather fruitless. The Springfield City Council should concentrate on supporting its small business owners and not legislating away their rights. Johnny Miller, Scottsdale, Ariz.

CU SURCHARGE Fair share paid long ago by some With the exception of four years, I have resided in Springfield or Greene County since 1946. In 1977, 1 moved from Springfield into Greene County, less than one mile from the city limits. I began paying a surcharge to City Utilities of Springfield and was told the assessment would pay for lines and equipment providing the service for this area. By 1997, 1 felt that I had paid my fair share of costs to establish service to my area, and I decided to complain Ozarks Voices Learn why school bond issue is vital As a parent of three children in the Springfield School District, I would ask the residents of Springfield to support the "no-tax-rate-increase" school bond in April. Think of it in terms of personal finances.

Would you live in a home where you needed multiple buckets on the floor to catch the rain? Or had an electrical system so outdated you could not plug in a fan without blowing the circuits? Or had an inefficient furnace and windows? No, you would not. You would do everything possible to maintain your home and major investment. You may not have the funds to do such extensive repairs, but you would find a way so your living conditions and in PATRIOTISM Real Americans show it by voting I reflect somewhat quizzically today on the multitude of patriotic symbols on display American flags, banners asking God to bless America, signs declaring, "United we stand." I think of the members of our armed forces who are stationed in or traveling to war zones as I write this, protecting the freedoms we enjoy and supposedly treasure in this country. Yet I am ashamed to realize that fewer than 6,000 citizens of Springfield could leave the comfort and security of their homes and workplaces to take advantage of our most basic and valuable right the right to vote. Is true patriotism the public displaying of symbols or the quiet, faithful fulfillment of our responsibilities as citizens? Thanks to all of you who cared enough about your fellow Springfieldians to go to the polls Tuesday.

Joan Ward, Springfield SCUFFLE Group peaceful in name, deed The picketing incident reported in the News-Leader (Feb. 3, "Question of war leads to describes the kind of event Peace Network of the Ozarks has been trying to prevent. A person who had not been previously connected with PNO was involved in a fray with one of the people supporting President Bush. Police arrived promptly, and had the situation well in control. Most of us left the scene after being assured that everything was settled, the one who was physically aggressive was under arrest, and there was no reason to stay.

PNO supporters would never have left if we had known the person attacked would also be arrested. The situation is complex, we are trying to ascertain what happened, but we want to state we do not condone nor support verbal or physical violence, and we regret deeply this has happened. Our group has established guidelines for behavior that state all of our discussions and actions will be fair, polite, civil. Political discussion will be nonpartisan. No person or group will be referred to stereotypically.

Nonviolence will be practiced in speech and action. These guidelines were followed by all members of PNO. Joan Collins, Willard, coordinator, Peace Network of the Ozarks Jury snookered into pot conviction ft vestment do not deteriorate. But these are the conditions at our schools. Schools need roofs fixed, electrical upgrades, and furnaces and windows replaced.

We have summer school so that our children can get the extra help; those sites need air conditioning. Our school board members are elected to a vol Washington It is not every day that a jury apologizes to a man it has just convicted. So Ed Rosenthal should feel honored that seven of the 12 jurors who convicted him on Alesia. SHEEHAN three federal counts of marijuana cultivation and conspiracy are now apologizing and calling for their verdict to be overturned on appeal. Five of them appeared and two others had statements read at a news conference last Tuesday outside U.S.

District Court in San Francisco. They wanted to let the Clarence PAGE R. Breyer barred Rosenthal's defense from mentioning the state law because he was indicted under federal law, which does not allow growing marijuana for any purpose. As a result, Rosenthal was prosecuted like a member of the Soprano crime family, convicted and faces a minimum of five years in prison when he is sentenced in June. "Last week, I did something so profoundly wrong that it will haunt me for the rest of my life," juror Marney Craig wrote in a San Jose Mercury-News op-ed.

"I helped send a man to prison who does not belong there." It is no wonder that the jurors feel like, if I may coin an old colloquialism, they got took. After all, they were. It is easy to see why prosecutors did not want Rosenthal's motives to be revealed. In California, which legalized medicinal use of marijuana in 1996, it must be quite difficult to find a jury of 12 people that would convict a man whose only criminal offense was to provide weed to the sick and the dying. Californians are hardly alone in this nu-anced view.

Although fewer than 40 percent of Americans would legalize marijuana for recreational use, recent polls have found that about 80 percent support legalizing it for medicinal use. Even presidential candidate George Bush told reporters in October 1999, that on medicinal marijuana, "I believe each state can (make) that decision as they so choose." Or, maybe not. President Bush's administration is going after California's medicinal marijuana providers with a zeal appropriate for the pursuit of Colombian drug cartels. Who, I wonder, will stop this madness? Contact Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page at cpagetribune.com. unteer seat.

They do not benefit financially; their reward is the satisfaction of doing something to help the kids in Springfield. I don't always agree with their choices, but a new roof, furnaces, air conditioning and electrical upgrades are not unreasonable. As Springfield residents, we need to help provide the finances so we can make the needed repairs and maintain our schools. If you have questions and want answers, attend a school board meeting; sign up to speak. Can't make it to the meetings? Watch it on TV live or watch the rebroadcast Sunday mornings on Channel 25.

Read the newsletters sent home. Go to the library and read the school budget. Visit www.spstoday.com. Parkview High School is in need of renovation to address safety and security issues at the almost 50-year-old school. Go to the "school house chat" on Tuesday evening at Parkview and ask questions.

School board members will be happy to answer them. In my experience, the current board is willing to listen and consider residents' opinions and that is building credibility in our community. Now I take the time and make the effort to learn more on the subject. I found out the reality and severity of the school funding crises. Our kids deserve our support; please support the no-tax-rate-increase bond.

Alesia Sheehan lives in Springfield. world know that they felt misled by the federal judge and prosecutors who did not allow the defense to raise issues of state and local medical marijuana laws in Rosenthal's trial. Rosenthal, 58, is an author, magazine advice columnist and advocate for the medicinal use of marijuana who was growing the grass for medicinal purposes. California is one of eight states that have passed laws to allow the sick and dying to smoke or grow marijuana with a doctor's recommendation. Rosenthal was deputized by the city of Oakland to provide marijuana for those whose doctors recommend it.

Ironically, the program is intended to help the ill and dying avoid the street dealers that the federal drug czar's multimillion-dollar TV ad campaign (your dollars at work) is warning us against. But none of that highly pertinent information about Rosenthal's methods or motives was allowed to reach the jury. Judge Charles How to get your letter published What was said: Read the past seven days' editorials, columns and Readers' Letters at OzarksNow.com. Online Mail First Amendment to the Constitution "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of giicvances." Your letters are an important part of the daily debate on this page. Preference is given to letters that are brief and direct, 200 words or less.

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