Oasis gambling trip      

Way to go, girl !!!!!!!!!!

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GOOD TIME.

I'm not a gambler, but if I was, sounds like a great idea. ENJOY!!!!!!!!!

Joyce Gleason

(posted Feb. 19, 2004)

[Related letter]

Remorse for losses      

Letter to the editor:

I have been sentenced to a prison term for reckless homicide. Three people lost their lives in a terrible car accident that I have accepted responsibility for. One was a passenger in my vehicle. He was a very important person in my life. He was a great friend, more like a big brother. The other vehicle was occupied by a mother and two daughters. One daughter survived, like me, by the grace of God.

To the families and friends of the deceased, I'm truly sorry. I do hope to have forgiveness. Most importantly, I wish for your pain and suffering to ease with the passing of time. I hope everyone will move forward to lead productive and positive lives. That is what these three wonderful people would want also.

[to top of second column in this letter]

I would like to say thank you to my family and friends that have supported me in a time of weakness. Since Aug. 9, 2002, you have come to my house, sent cards, provided transportation, dragged me out of the house, gone to court hearings and continued to communicate. I have been blessed to have so many great people of all ages as my friends.

I was not raised to make excuses; I was raised to make up for mistakes and overcome the worst of situations by hard work in a positive manner. I wish the judicial system would not waste me or my experience. Incarceration is not an example. It is only hiding the example as it hides me. Prison is only keeping me from being productive and helping others. As I sit here, I can only ask that people think enough of their lives to not drink and drive! Maybe someday, I can explain the destruction that can occur in the blink of an eye. Dealing with the emotions of this responsibility is a living hell!

Sincerely,

Christopher Doak

(posted Feb. 18, 2004)

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Lincolndailynews.com is the place to advertise Call [phone] or e-mail [e-mail]

Lincoln site continues developing      

Letter to the editor of LDN:

I write to thank you for your favorable review of my Lincoln community history Web site that appeared in Lincoln Daily News.com on Jan. 31, 2004. Your article provided a welcome boost to my ongoing efforts to publicize this site.

Let me also compliment your staff for the efficient help they gave me when I designed and placed the display ad I ran in your publication last summer during the launch of my Lincoln Web site -- and which you generously extended at no charge as a public service throughout the sesquicentennial celebration!

I continue to develop new information to expand this site, which now approaches the equivalent of 800 printed pages and features upwards of 1,000 photos, maps and picture postcards.

[to top of second column in this letter]

I am soon to add a chapter/page to this site that will present a memoir and a short story that Illinois Appellate Court Justice James A. "Jim" Knecht, LCHS class of 1962, wrote concerning his experience in a pool hall on Chicago Street. Judge Knecht grew up in Lincoln, where he lived with his single-parent mother in an apartment above the West Side Tavern in the Pluth Building on Sangamon Street. You will not want to miss his Lincoln memoir and his brilliant Hemingway-like story, which originally appeared in the Southern Indiana Review. I will let you know when I publish his material.

The navigation panel on the left side of each page in my Lincoln site identifies other subjects for which I plan to add chapters/pages in 2004. This navigation panel also has a link to your review of "Mr. Lincoln, Route 66, & Other Highlights of Lincoln, Illinois." Perhaps somewhere in an appropriate place in your publication you could add a link to http://www.geocities.com/findinglincolnillinois/.

Kindest regards,

Leigh Henson, LCHS class of 1960
Southwest Missouri State University
[e-mail]

(posted Feb. 17, 2004)

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Senior casino trips raise controversy      

Note: The following is a response to a letter to the editor that appeared in The Courier on Feb. 11. Lincoln Daily News did not receive that letter. In it a pastor of Hartsburg, Emden and New Holland churches questioned trips offered through the Oasis senior citizens center to the Par-A-Dice casino and a bigger trip being planned to the Tunica, Miss., casinos. The writer questioned the appropriateness of an agency that receives county and state tax dollars sponsoring gambling trips for senior citizens on fixed incomes.

- - - - -

Re: Pastor Douglas Rettig's letter of Feb. 11, "Taxpayers support gambling trips."

I can't comment on the Oasis plans for future casino trips, sir, but I will respond to the other comments, re: seniors receive significant support from Illinois taxpayers. I am a senior citizen residing in Lincoln. I have no prescription drug program other than the one I pay for out of my own pocket. I get no Medicaid help, and thus far I've received not a penny for utilities. The Oasis may have gotten help from Logan County taxes to maintain the senior citizen programs and our center, but I consider that a very fine gift from this county's citizens, who may just think we are worth it!

[to top of second column in this letter]

I really take exception to the next crack about your taxpayer support making it possible for seniors on fixed incomes to gamble away our money at casinos, as one hand is being held out begging for taxpayer support while the other hand is pulling the handle on a slot machine. Who do you think you are, sir? I know and respect most of the seniors at my Oasis center, and I resent your implications about us. How dare you assume to know what we do with our money. How dare you assume to put a guilt trip on those of us who have saved a little to be able to enjoy our "golden years" as we see fit.

I never thought about asking the "taxpayers" to support me, but maybe now I will. Since you accuse, perhaps I should abuse. I could sure use some help with my utility bills… so, instead of working all kinds of part-time jobs and planting a big garden every year, I'll just ring you up and see if you want to put some money in my plate like you expect us to put our money into yours!

Old but not dead,

Dorothy J. Paxton Butler
Lincoln

(posted Feb. 17, 2004)