Editor, Commonwealth:
While reading Thursday’s Commonwealth, two things came to mind. First, Tate Reeves’ and his fellow ostriches’ refusal to accept the federal government’s offer of huge sums of money for Medicaid is a classic, living example of someone’s cutting off their nose to spite their face. Blinded by their pride and selfish ambition, Tater Tot and his cronies hypocritically and completely misguidedly espouse that by doing so, somehow or another, they’re saving the taxpayers of Mississippi money.
Really? Have your federal income taxes decreased lately (if ever)? Has anything related to federal spending decreased — ever? And does anyone honestly believe that if Mississippi (especially including Greenwood Leflore Hospital) doesn’t get the badly needed money for Medicaid, somehow or another that money will get back into the taxpayers’ pockets? Reeves and his buds are dolts who are all but throwbacks to Ross Barnett; but most of the paper’s readers are too young to remember what a piece of work Ole Ross was.
Clint Guenther
Next, it’s good that the Gritney neighborhood of Greenwood is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Hopefully, Reeves won’t be able to interfere with any funds that may be available to restore that historic area of town. But while we’re on that subject, what, if anything, has Greenwood, Leflore County and/or our tourism and convention bureau done to advocate, restore and promote Fort Pemberton?
The site of the only Civil War battle fought in the Delta, which lasted a couple of days and was of considerable moment at the time, has all but been abandoned by the city and county, both of which are constantly clamoring for more money. Then why not use what we’ve got? A historical site right on our doorstep. Surely if people from all over the globe come here to visit an old bluesman’s grave (which a lot of folks believe is actually not far outside of my hometown, Morgan City, memorialized by an obelisk marking the site), just as many people interested in our state’s, country’s and the South’s history would come here to see a battlefield site, if it were properly reconstructed and advertised to the public.
And what say you, Senator Jordan? How about you, Representative Thompson? Think you might be able to help out a town that needs all the help it can get by getting some funds for a Civil War park? Because if not, and if the hospital closes, Fort Pemberton just might be put to another but more ignoble use: a place for a lot of folks to live — in vans down by the river.
Clint Guenther
Greenwood
