Senior services

already covered

by state, federal funds

In response to the letter published recently regarding the upcoming senior tax that we the taxpayers are being asked to support: I would point out that all of the services that are to be covered under this new additional tax are already being covered for seniors. I find the declaration that projections are that funding will continue to decline to be just a supposition.

So why are we being asked to add yet another amount to our property taxes to help programs that are already being supported by both federal and state taxes? Yes, they are supported by federal and state dollars.

Have any of the supporters of this tax, come up with the idea of going to the local churches and community groups and asking them to assist in getting these services done for the senior needy?

I would not support this tax at all. It supports services that are already covered, and it just costs me more in tax dollars. I am a senior, I pay property taxes and I do not qualify for any kind of help from these agencies.

I am asking the rest of the community to take a good look at this tax proposal, and vote no.

Maggie Siegmund,

St. Joseph

Little man in tweed

suit in Reston, Va.,

causes trouble

It takes a lot to make me mad. Turns out, a little man in a tweed suit in Reston, Va., can do it. I have a couple dozen acres registered in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and have faithfully maintained those acres for years. This summer the USDA came out with a special program called the Critical Feed Use initiative to help with the livestock feed shortage that is affecting us here in Northwest Missouri as well as much of the rest of the country. Contract signed and fee paid, I considered it a done deal that my land would be mowed and baled for winter feed.

But that little man in Reston, Va., representing the National Wildlife Federation, decided he’d rather see the price of corn go higher rather than let me hay my fields. So I, and all other farmers participating in the program, received a letter from the Farm Service Agency the evening before the haying was contractually allowed to begin advising me to cease and desist.

What that little man must not know is that by trying to control the use of my land, he has simply assured that I will do two things, which I hope all other land owners will do as well: 1) I will mow my fields anyway as permitted in my CRP contract; and 2) I will pull my highly erodible land out of the CRP program when the contract ends and return it to production, because I will not permit a little man in a tweed suit in Reston, Va., to tell me what to do with my land.

One last consequence: The National Wildlife Federation will never see another dime in donations from me and, hopefully, not from you.

Arnie Kreek

Oregon, Mo.

‘Common citizen’ Sam Graves represents what we need in Washington

It sure was nice of big-city mayor Kay Barnes to grace St. Joseph with her presence and hypocrisy Tuesday night.

Kay Barnes played the role of the typical politician in her speech — for example, pointing her finger at Sam Graves while failing to look at her own record. It seems that Kay Barnes has forgotten about her record as a big-city mayor when taxes skyrocketed and city services suffered. Kansas City is still paying for her, and the 6th District can’t afford her.

Sam Graves is a resident of Northwest Missouri and represents what we need in Washington, D.C. His wife is a teacher, and he suffers from high fuel prices as a farmer. He is a common citizen, just like the rest of us.

David Rich

St. Joseph