Issues we should be supporting

Ifrequently take a stand in this space for or against activities or proposals that have to do with quality of life issues in the Natural State. Over the past few years so many controversial issues have been placed on the table that it’s hard to know where someone stands. This is my attempt to give my readers a peek at my thoughts. So let’s get started.

■ State education money should go to private school students, but only those whose families earn yearly income levels less than $40,000 a year.

Do we need to pay for kids that have parents able to write a check and pass up free public school?

■ Nutrition and physical education ought to be mandated in Arkansas high schools all the way to graduation, with qualified instructors and no exemptions. We don’t need Arkansans to remain in the top tier of unhealthy obese states.

■ An Arkansas high school shop class can be chosen to construct a lectern for the governor.

■ There should be unisex restrooms in schools and other public facilities. Solve the designated gender problem by putting inside locks on restroom stalls. We don’t need a restroom compliance officer in our schools.

■ Our big University on the Hill ought not to be playing out-of-state “little sisters of mercy” schools in football and basketball. We have plenty of those schools in the state, so why not keep the “pay to play” money here.? Besides, it’s embarrassing when a Southwest Texas at Mule Shoe college happens to luck out and win one. We can practice on in-state schools.

■ Graduate transfer, paying athletes still in school, and letting college players join the pros before they are four years out of high school are all bad ideas.

■ Stop the building of any additional sports facilities being constructed by U of A until an exhibit hall is built on campus to house the 7 million historic museum items currently stored in an off-campus warehouse. A huge trove of Arkansas history from the campus museum now resides in an agri warehouse north of the campus.

■ Don’t ban books, opinions, and speeches by controversial figures. Our librarians and teachers are educated enough to understand the male and female anatomy as well as varying lifestyles, and have enough common sense to determine a level of readers for certain books.

■ The state should offer an annual $100 income tax credit to anyone who plants five hardwood trees. A mature tree removes 40 pounds of carbon a year from the atmosphere. This is our opportunity to make a difference in climate change and save on our taxes.

■ Tired of roadside trash? Let’s ban use of Styrofoam, one-use plastic utensils, and non-returnable beverage bottles.

■ Let’s close or change to natural gas all of Arkansas’ coal-fired electrical generating plants, which are the state’s biggest carbon polluters. We need to do more than ignore the horrible consequences facing our planet as Earth’s atmospheric temperature steadily increases.

■ Restocking of apex predators (bobcats, wolves, and mountain lions) along with a moratorium on killing those remaining in the state, is the smartest way to control deer-killing CWD and restore the quail population. The predators will cull out sickly CWD infected deer and kill quail egg-eating feral hogs.

■ It’s time to pull the pins on the Ouachita River’s Felsenthal Lock to restore the pre-1960s best fishing in the state. The river is a moss-filled, bank-eroded disaster full of dead trees. Barges are as rare as the spotting of an ivory-billed woodpecker.

■ Elected municipal positions should be non-political; all candidates should run unaffiliated. Our local elected officials are concerned with matters that directly affect the citizens of a community, and national issues are insignificant.

■ The state Legislature should have a minimum education requirement, and at least be able to spell “Legislature.”

■ The state’s congressional districts should be redrawn to physically reflect the state and not to guarantee all districts will elect Republicans. Union County, which borders the southern border of the state, and Madison County in the northwest corner, are both in the 4th Congressional District. If that’s not gerrymandering, what is?

■ The Legislature should pass a bill prohibiting the construction of large company animal farms on the National Buffalo River watershed. We don’t want to fight the hog farm battle all over again.

■ The Legislature should ratify the ERA. Why shouldn’t women have equal rights?

■ The Arkansas Department of Transportation should quit ignoring the environment and historic bridges, and stop scraping off twice as much right-of-way as needed. Why not plant trees in the medians? Check out the east bypass as an example of a median with trees in Monroe, La.

■ And finally; don’t call me an “Ar’kansan.” I’m either an Arkansawyer or an Arkie. We don’t call our river the Ar-Kansas River, do we?

Did I miss anything? Let me know.