Editor,

Meet the Tigers in Troup was very disappointing to parents, grandparents, and some players! The event was to start at 6 p.m., although it started at 7:30 p.m., and after waiting so long to hear the introductions of players they failed to announce the names of the JV volleyball teams and the JV football team!

I thought this night was to MEET the TIGERS, several people traveled to see this event and it's sad to see that those teams don't seem to be as important as others. All players are important no matter what team they're on!!
Disappointed in Troup,
Cynthia Matlock
Tyler

Editor,

I kind of thought that after the Council meeting the other night, this water issue had been put to bed.

Council has voted to accept the 25 year contract with Tyler. Good deal as far as I am concerned.

Then I read Mr. Hanks' letter. None of the numbers he throws around make any sense. At one point, he suggests that an increase of 57 cents per month would be a huge burden on our citizens. The next thing he says, is that we will have a much higher cost with Tyler. He suggests that by waiting to approve this contract with Tyler, the citizens have been saved over $130 or more per year. All of these computations are without foundation at best.

Mr. Hanks referred in his letter to someone who said they were not concerned with "later." I believe that he may have been speaking of me. What I actually said was that "I really don't care what was going on in Whitehouse 50+ years ago." Wells drilled here or there, wells that dried up or wells that began to pump sand instead of water. This is 2008 not 1951.

With all due respect to Mr. Hanks, and I thank him for his long-time service to Whitehouse, we are in a new day and time now!

Leo Bradshaw Whitehouse

Editor,

It was our good fortune meeting Mr. Leo Bradshaw several years ago and since that time he has become a friend which we admire and respect very much.

We want to take this opportunity to publicly say, "Thanks, Brad, for speaking out on the Whitehouse water situation."

It takes someone with wit, stamina and fortitude to take an opposing stand with any governing power and the issues before them. You spoke out with deliberateness and rectitude and for that we are thankful.

Your letters to the newspapers have been a beacon of inspiration to us and others in Whitehouse and in making us aware of who is and isn't working for the betterment of our community.

Keep up the great work, Brad, and again - thanks.

We are with you 100 percent in acquiring an adequate water supply from Tyler for this fast growing area.
Mac and Ginny Norman
Whitehouse

Editor,

I was saddened to read of the death of little Ethan Powell. I'm no stranger to cancer -- I lost friends and relatives to it even before my own diagnosis of acute myelogenous leukmia -- but I find that while it's tragic for children to have to deal with the disease, they do so with the most grace.

I applaud the idea of a memorial blood drive (especially as the recipient of over 30 blood transfusions over the last nine months), but your article actually provides a clue to another great need: for more people to register as potential bone marrow donors. As you say, there was no match for Ethan in the bone marrow registry; what you didn't say (and many people don't know) is that parents rarely provide the kind of match their children need for a less-risky transplant. I urge everyone who wants to help kids like Ethan to get more information from the National Marrow Donor Program or my own site .

Texas has 11 donor centers across the state, and many of them hold regular donor drives where people can register themselves as potential donors. Registration requires filling out a consent and health assessment form and a cheek swab, but those few minutes can make all the difference in the world to someone.
Emru Townsend
Quebec, Canada