Your Viewpoint
Letters to the Editor

Vandalism should

not be ignored

By JAMES CASHMAN Jasper

On Thursday (July 5) and early Friday (July 6) at least 30 residents of this city were robbed of $70-$400 apiece.

This was done by a few individuals armed with a very sharp knife. They did it by slashing the tires on vehicles parked for the night in front of private homes. The police received many calls from irate citizens, most of whom are likely subscribers

of The Jasper Newsboy.

Therefore, I was very surprised and shocked that in the July 11 edition of your paper you used only 14 words to report all these crimes. I finally found it in the small print in the Thorns section.

I think that this series of crimes should have been given lots of publicity. There are people out there who know who did it, or who saw something suspicious that night. Remember, they will do it again and you might be the next victim.

It also gives the city a bad name when our newspaper treats crimes like this as "business as usual and no big deal."

EDITOR'S NOTE: Attempts to gain the

full information on the incident were

made from the Jasper Police Department.

A check of the police reports on Monday,

July 9 found no updated police reports.

Later that day, we received information of

the incident and contacted police officials.

Until a full report was received, it was

hard to formulate a story on the incident.

An update on the case and its investigation

is provided in this edition.

No sainthood for McClurg just yet

By WINCY WALKER Jasper

Through my tears, I finished reading Stephan Myers' letter praising his hero, Tom McClurg. Not since reading former City Manager David Douglas' comp-time records and former City Attorney Gary Gatlin's legal opinions have I laughed 'til I cried.

Myers paints poor Tom as a victim of "an extremely vocal minority of malicious mal-contents." HA! Then, ".the Jasper area most likely won't witness someone of Tom's caliber again..." Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow!

It's not what Myers knows that makes his bellowing so laughable; it's what he knows that just ain't so!

Truth does not serve Myers' agenda so the more false info he spews, the more people he hopes to convince.

For example, he wrote that St. Tom, "Despite the chronic slander and vicious rumors spread by those who fear community advancement... could have done better than working for the Jasper area...many have wondered why...he would have wanted to work in such a hostile place, but he did and that ... is one of the earmarks of a truly devoted and courageous man."

Sob! Sob!

One wonders if a good salary, plus $700 per month car allowance, good benefits, all expenses paid trips, and unlimited credit card had something to do with Tom's sacrifice of toiling in misery. McClurg should have been gone when he and his job became more important to a small group of supporters than JEDCO and Jasper's economic development!

I've seen JEDCO bank statements, their ignored contracts and empty files and am aware of how incompetent and less than honest McClurg has been. ("Platinum Silk made a shipment") Exposure of McClurg's wrong-doing is what Myers resents; slander and malicious rumors are his weapons.

Myers' attack on certain city council people started last year when they removed the McClurg enablers from the JEDCO board.

The current board has been more lenient with McClurg than he deserved and that he was with his HUDCO assisstant in Marshall!

Why have Myers and his wife, Janet Edwards, been overly concerned about City Hall's business when they don't live in Jasper?

It's all about McClurg. Myers opened a website to attack certain council members.

Edwards asked for public information from Jasper City Hall - was she being fed info from Jenny Page, Douglas' secretary here and now in Dayton- for receipts submitted by Mayor Barber after Rita. (was reimbursed $303 for gas; paid zero for his time/use of his truck.)

She asked for "proof of competitive bids" for purchases from Gold.Etc.- "competitive bids" for watches? Dumb! She inquired about Gayle Meigs' garbage cans!

They made a big issue if Mike Lout reimbursed the city $60 for gasoline provided to KJAS- Jasper's first responder- to stay on air after Rita.

They put Edwards' requests on Myers' website- with her name blacked out! But they totally ignored that McClurg gave two additional $50,000 checks to a man who ignored JEDCO's contract with the first $50,000.

Myers gushed to McClurg: "You possess the qualities that we all aspire for." IMO, Myers has already reached that less than lofty aspiration.

Letters to editor

criteria outlined

The Jasper Newsboy would like to publish your thoughts and concerns about issues that are important to you.

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Deadline for letters is 10 a.m. Monday to be published in the following Wednesday's publication.

Mail letters to: The Jasper Newsboy P.O. Box 1419 Jasper, Texas 75951-1419 or e-mail to: jgalvan@jaspernewsboy.com