JEERS: Have you noticed all the litter in Texarkana? Did you realize that much of that litter is flying straight out of garbage trucks? On several occasions, most recently March 24th, I have been behind a garbage truck that had large sheets of plastic, shopping sacks, paper and cardboard flying out of the top of the truck onto the side of the road and snagging on tree limbs and fences. If he or the company were fined, perhaps he and the other drivers would remember the next time. However, as long as no one is held accountable, the trash will continue to fly and our litter problem will continue to be out of control. Please contact trash haulers and your City Council member. If enough of us complain, perhaps we can have a cleaner city.—B.M., Texarkana, Texas



JEERS: To Susan Estrich for defending Barack Obama in her article the Texarkana Gazette published on March 22, 2008. Jeers to the Texarkana Gazette for publishing it. She wants the public to believe that by him running for president and making a desperation speech that he is automatically absolved from being guilty by repeated association with an obviously overwhelming bitter, angry and racist religious leader. Absolving Obama because he is a good orator is a little like letting an Internet child pornography criminal off the hook because he stands up in front of a jury and testifies that he does not know how this “stuff” keeps popping up on his computer but day after day for 20 years he never saw it, never looked at it and does not condone it. It is too late for him to stand up now and say he does not agree with the offensive behavior only after he has been caught in the act.—J.H., Texarkana, Texas



CHEERS: To Texarkana, Texas, EMT Michael Gilley. On Friday, March 14th, during “rush hour,” my vehicle broke down near the Summerhill Road exit. EMT Gilley saw my predicament and offered much-needed assistance, by not only directing traffic around the car ... he helped me work on getting the car started again. He was off-duty, on his way home to enjoy his weekend, like so many of us, but he stayed over an hour until I got on my way. Not only is EMT Gilley a fine public servant ... I also found him to be a fine human being. He is a great example of “our tax dollars at work.” Thanks again, Michael!—L.G., Texarkana, Texas



JEERS: To Senator Obama the flim flam man. The speech that brought him so many accolades was nothing more than a well-spun con job to direct attention from his relationship with Rev. Wright. Obama is very tolerant of black on white racism, but with white on black racism he plays the race card for all it’s worth.

At first he said that he had never heard any of the examples of Wright’s anti-American and racist statements even though he went to church there for 10 years. The next day, he admitted that he had. It appears that Senator Obama, in spite of everything, is just another regular politician.—J.R.W., Texarkana, Texas



CHEERS: To Kate Chambers and the Liberty-Eylau High School Theater Department on their award-winning performance of “Sweeney Todd.” Your hard work and dedication is appreciated by the students, faculty and community.—D.W., Nash, Texas



CHEERS: To the City of Texarkana, Ark., for stepping up to the plate and taking on the responsibility for Sparks in the Park. I, and my family, was very disappointed that we were no longer going to have the event in Texarkana. We chose to have it as a night out with friends and family, visiting and relaxing while enjoying the show. Young and old alike enjoy the beauty of the fireworks and it is an event that families can enjoy together. I wish the City much success in putting together the show on such short notice. If you need volunteers to help, please let us know. The more persons who can help will take some of the labor burden off the city and ensure that we can have a successful event.—D.H.L., Texarkana, Ark.