Protect city green space

To residents of Tyler, Whitehouse, and Bullard:

Through a project by the Texas Department of Transportation, Paluxy Drive/FM 756 will be expanded to a four-lane highway with a two-way left turn lane for 7 miles from Jeff Davis to FM 344. An overpass with ramps will be constructed at the FM 346/ FM 756 intersection.

This will affect commuters, business owners and homeowners in Whitehouse, Tyler and Bullard.

Also affected would be the miles of fully-grown trees, woods and wildlife that inhabit those spaces. Would you be willing to carpool, take alternative transportation, or simply drive less if it meant we could protect our city’s green spaces?

What is at stake: Cooler temperatures, wildlife habitat, natural carbon sinks, reduced traffic noise, fresher air, and natural protection from weather extremes…or the opposite of the above if the project goes forward.

Please make your voice heard by signing my petition “Preserve Our City’s Green Spaces,” by looking me up on Facebook.com. Petition created by the website “Change.org.”

Amy Özkan

Whitehouse

Affirmative action

For those who believe cancelling affirmative action is a sin, have you ever experienced it? Back in the 1970s, companies were really pushing it. I was working for a telecommunications company in California and was at the top pay grade for non-management and eligible and qualified to be promoted.

The VP in charge of our division told me that no matter how qualified I was, I would never be promoted because I was a white male. A supervisor in accounting was bragging how he got rid of his worst employee — a minority female that bragged she couldn’t be fired because of her color and he recommended to human resources she be considered for their management trainee program and his biggest headache became someone else’s.

I’m running out of my word limit, or I could cite a few dozen more that I witnessed.

Affirmative action got multitudes of unqualified individuals hired and promoted.

Michael Miller

Troup