[Peace] No local mandate for Guard assignment - by Jan Kruse

[Brian Dolinar]

Nice letter Jan.  BD

[image: The News-Gazette.com] No local mandate for Guard assignment Saturday
October 4, 2008

A Sept. 29 editorial implied that Danielle Chynoweth, former Urbana City
Council member, took too much money for travel at taxpayers' expense. All
trips were approved, and she used the knowledge gained effectively to
improve our city as she sought ways to encourage grass-roots initiatives.

However, the real story was missed on the front page the same day. Here the
story of the deployment of Urbana National Guard was not given the same
depth of concern.

These soldiers may be volunteers, and many may well want to go to
Afghanistan. However, The News-Gazette should assess this local cost for the
Urbana taxpayers as well as the local impact on the families asked to get
along without loved ones.

The New-Gazette missed the story that will impact Urbana the most in income
losses, tax dollars wasted in war and the grass-roots effect on families and
soldiers who will one day return seeking care for injuries – both physical
and physiological – and learn how difficult and expensive it will be to
obtain.

Once again a cheap shot is taken at someone working for social justice and
no depth of coverage as to why our local Guard is also traveling at taxpayer
expense and without a viable global or local mandate. The News-Gazette
wonders why its circulation has fallen. Here's a clue: investigate the real
stories that affect our local families and expand the editors to include
other perspectives so the obviously petty coverage subsides and more
grass-roots coverage of our community is included.

JAN KRUSE

Urbana


-- 
Brian Dolinar, Ph.D.
303 W. Locust St.
Urbana, IL 61801
briandolinar at gmail.com
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