JEERS: To whoever is responsible for the Christmas decorations at the Downtown Post Office.  They were poorly done to start with and now it looks even worse, an entire month after Christmas is over. Why can’t these decorations be taken down right away? The Christmas tree that was put up is still there and is turning more brown with every passing day. The lights are hanging off the tree, causing you to have to lower your head to avoid running into them. It really is a disgrace. Just don’t put anything up next year if you are going to leave it up so long after the fact.—D.A.C., Texarkana, Ark.



JEERS: Poor judgment was used by the Gazette in choosing the terrible picture of the few uninterested students at the performance of the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra. My fourth-graders enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity to listen and learn about classical music. Also, I observed this morning the obvious bias of your paper when the can of beer, and the ad for adult DVD’s were included with the article about Huckabee on page 5B, Jan. 26th. Both of these examples were offensive and showed disrespect.—S.S., Atlanta, Texas



JEERS: To the Gazette for the picture on the front page of Ms. Young upset about the loss of her beloved pet. She had to live it the day before, why make her relive it the next day on the front page?—P.S., Texarkana, Ark.



JEERS: I have to say I have seen a lot of different pictures in the Texarkana Gazette through the years but the picture printed on Thursday’s front page (1-24-06) was the most insensitive one I have ever seen yet. I can’t believe the Gazette would put a picture like that on the front page to throw it back into the face of the victim. The poor helpless woman was caught at the exact moment her precious animal was brought to her and she realized it was deceased from the fire in her house. I’m sure nobody from the Gazette will apologize to this woman for printing this picture so just let me tell you Mrs. Young that not everyone in the world is as insensitive as the Gazette seems to have been with you and this picture. I hope your daughter is doing better and I hope you find comfort from friends and family to help you cope with your loss.—M.B., Ashdown, Ark.



JEERS: Why on earth would you run a picture of Diane Young crying on the front page at the paper? There’s not even a corresponding story. Why would you show this woman and her dead dog? The look on her face breaks my heart. This does nothing but make our local paper look bad. That’s some People Magazine BS. I want my 50 cents back on principle alone.—G.M., Texarkana, Texas



JEERS: I really cannot understand why the photographer of our Texarkana Gazette would public a picture of the lady whose dog died in the fire Thursday the 24th. They had a picture of the dead dog being held by a firefighter. Be for real. Was that the only picture you could get of the lady? I cried myself to sleep as I am an avid animal lover and couldn’t see the reasoning of the picture. Be a little more considerate. OK?—B.N., Texarkana, Ark.



JEERS: To the editor of the Texarkana Gazette for placing inappropriate advertisements around the article entitled, “Cash-strapped Mike Huckabee comes up with money for ad.” I believe an adult DVD and Miller Lite ad were intentionally placed within the same block, leading a reader to visually associate a former Texarkana Baptist preacher with two things Baptists, and Christians in general, do not condone. It is easy to see from the product placement that Texarkana Gazette is not an unbiased news source, which is a shame. I expected more.—S.S., Atlanta, Texas



JEERS: To the set-up of the “Cash-strapped Mike Huckabee comes up with money for ad” article on page 5B of the Jan. 26 paper. Enclosed at the bottom of the article is an ad for adult DVDs and a can of Miller Lite beer. I find this offensive and certainly poor planning.—C.Y., Doddridge, Ark.



CHEERS: To the police officer who wrote a detailed report on my daughter’s accident. At the accident scene, the man admitted his fault and was so sorry. The officer carefully recorded the accident details and damage. When we reported it to the man’s insurance, he changed his story and claimed my daughter was the cause of the accident. His insurance company treated her like a criminal. If the police hadn’t taken the time to write the report, it would have been her word against his. Thanks for taking the time to write the report to protect the innocent.—S.R.M., Nash, Texas



CHEERS: I read an article in the Texarkana Gazette today (1-30-08) which was on the editorial page and was titled, “Homeless by Choice.” It was written by Mr. Joe Kilgore, a landlord. Folks, if you did not read this article, please find a copy and read it. I, too, am a landlord and if ever a spade was called a spade, Mr. Kilgore hit the nail squarely on the head. I do not know Mr. Kilgore and have never met or talked with him. One of my favorite syndicated columnists who is printed in the Gazette is Thomas Sowell. Mr. Sowell is black; however that is not why I read his articles. I read his articles because he too tells it like it is. He, like Mr. Kilgore, is more interested in telling the truth than being politically correct. Mr. Sowell writes that “you cannot give someone something for nothing” and he too hits the nail squarely on its head. I salute both of these men for their courage, conviction and honesty.—E.G., Texarkana, Ark.