Take responsibility for your child

    ("Student brings BB gun to Sunnyside," May 9) "Parents, make sure the kids' backpacks get checked."

    ("Student brings BB gun to Sunnyside," May 9) "This is starting to become redundant. Can we not take responsibility for our own children??? How hard is it to talk with our children about what we can and cannot take to school, and how hard is it to check our children's belongings???
    “And, why are the parents not being held accountable for allowing their children to have access to these things? The next time, it could be a loaded weapon that hurts or kills one of our children. Is that the price we have to pay before we learn?"

    ("City taps Denver firm to overhaul long-term plan," May 7) "Once again, more money being wasted on another comprehensive plan. And in the 18 months that this one will be done, it will also be obsolete. Let's just face the facts. This city will remain in the shadows because it would rather hear how things 'should' be done rather than just doing them. Ask the people of this area what needs to be done, not someone who has never been here and will probably never visit again after their plan is put into place."

    "Why does it cost the same to take tree limbs to landfill as it does to take trash? The limbs are burned, compared to cost of burying the trash. Maybe a $5 weight charge would be more in line."

    "If you are a Democrat, you know what is coming. The Republicans will use the same old negative tactics and will attempt to 'swift boat' our presidential candidate. They will use fear-mongering and religion as political ploys. The same old negative political tactics, just like last time.
    "Only this time, Americans are tired of the same old results. It is time to turn the page and embrace the future."

    "I understand that beautifying Wyatt Earp would be a wonderful thing. However, I think the top priority should be giving that money to the police department so that they can keep a real good line of police cars, considering the crime rate here in Dodge City.
    "I think that the priorities are wrong, where beautifying is something that I'm also for. But most importantly, we need the protection of the police, and we can't have them shortchanged on what cars they can have available and what cars they don't have available."

    "Kids are always finding new ways to get high, whether it's alcohol, pills, marijuana or sniffing glue. They say they do it to escape life's problems for a little while.
    "Well, we live in the best country, state and city in the world, with plenty of food, shelter and medicine. What I really want to know is, would you kids prefer to live in Burma, North Korea, Cuba or some other Third World country? I bet those kids would love to escape to here."

    "Do the people in America have any idea why our gas prices are out of control? It's because we have no control. And why? There's one reason: Democrats.
    "For more than 20 years, they have blocked drilling for oil in Alaska. They've blocked any offshore drilling off our coastline. They have blocked the building of any new refineries. They've blocked any building of nuclear power plants. Our gas prices would be a lot lower today if the Democrats had not blocked these tremendous energy sources."

    "I've been reading in the paper about people getting picked up with no insurance on their cars. Whatever happened to the insurance companies notifying the state when people don't have insurance, and the Highway Patrol confiscating their tags until they prove they have insurance on the vehicle?
    "This getting insurance just long enough to get the tags and then canceling it isn't working. There needs to be a stiffer penalty for people who don't carry insurance, like confiscating their tags and a big fine."

    "I think it takes a very low, despicable person to break into Meals and Wheels and Friendship Meals four times within a week and steal money, food and identification from the senior citizens who go there."

    "I'd like to congratulate the Dodge City High School girls junior varsity softball team.They finished their season with a record of 16 wins and only four losses, and they won their last 12 games in a row. Congratulations on a great season, girls!"

    ("County businesses, residents may have to use county landfill," May 14) "Perhaps if the landfill was in a more central location, more people would use it. Being from the far south end of the county, I can tell you it is truly a pain to try and haul things clear to the north end of the county!"