JEERS: I have been reading in the Gazette about all the problems the Miller County jail is having with inmates—again. I too thought we had solved all these problems years ago when we financed and built a new state-of-the-art jail house.

I think however that I have the solution. His name is Joe Arpaio, the Maricopa County Sheriff in Arizona. Just send whomever we hire, including the sheriff, out there and let Joe train them. He don’t have the kinds of problems that is happening in Miller County jail. His prisoners are too tired to do any damage after spending all day in the boiling sun busting rock; and he doesn’t have many repeat offenders either. No air conditioning or television sets out there and Joe has a big vacancy sign posted at the entrance to the prisoner’s tent. Mollycoddling hoodlums and thugs don’t work. We have had about 40 years of doing this that proves that it doesn’t.—E.G., Texarkana, Ark.



JEERS: To Miller County Quorum Court and Texarkana Gazette for the statements about Sheriff Rambo. She didn’t become sheriff until Jan. 1, 2007. If the jail was a state-of-the-art building at that time, she would have had to work 24-7 to have done as much damage as she was accused of. A lawsuit was reported being filed naming Sheriff H.L. Phillips and Judge Roy John McNatt allegedly letting guards beat a prisoner to death in late December 2006. This was mysteriously changed to just naming Miller County as the defendant, letting Sheriff Phillips and Judge McNatt off the hook, letting us the taxpayers take the blame and foot the bill. Also, the implied accusation that Sheriff Rambo didn’t show up at the jail committee meeting to avoid answering questions, but she did have her representative, Chief Deputy Hollins there; why couldn’t he have answered the questions?—T.S., Texarkana, Ark.



CHEERS: To the Texarkana, Texas, Police Department for standing on the Interstate 30 bridge at Richmond Road and giving tickets to the drivers who run the red light. Thank you for helping to make this area safer for those of us that obey the law.—G.S.D., Texarkana, Texas



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