PECOS ENTERPRISE

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OPINION

Sept. 3, 1996

SQUARELY
PEGGED
By Peggy McCracken

Youthful passions

prelude to true love

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If you missed my column the last couple of weeks, thanks for noticing.
Maybe you enjoyed Jerry Hulsey's country humor so much you didn't even
realize I had fallen down on the job. I hope that's the case.

Where was I? Right here, plugging away, for the most part. But with my
cook and weather observer in the hospital, I had more than I could say
grace over.

Leon had surgery Thursday to remove the little piggy that cried "wee,
wee, wee" all the way home; a victim of gangrene due to diabetes. He's
fine now and, I hope, back at work by the time you read this.

But the three weeks leading up to the surgery were rough on both of us.
He went into Reeves County Hospital Aug. 14 and was transferred to
Odessa Medical Center Aug. 17 for surgery. They decided to try treating
the infection first, then various things happened to delay the surgery.
Apparently the delay was good for the foot, because he lost much less
flesh than we thought he might.

If you have diabetes, please take care of yourself. Watch your blood
sugar, exercise and keep those limbs free of cuts and bruises. It's hard
on the patient who has to endure treatment, but it's also hard on the
family.

Leon and I have been together since I was 14. He has the answer to just
about any question I ask, and I depend on him in so many ways.

Of course, I miss him at meal times because I have to rustle up my own
grub. I especially miss the pot of vegetable soup he makes on Saturday
for my weekend meals. I miss smelling that wonderful soup aroma when I
come in from church on Sunday. I miss finishing the Sunday crossword
puzzle he has left a few blank squares in.

I miss him when I get up in the morning and have to feed and water the
dogs, read the high and low temperatures and rainfall, and report to the
National Weather Service.

I miss him when my computer acts up and I don't know how to fix it.

I miss him when I lock myself out of the house and have to use my
ingenuity to get in.

I miss him when the poodles follow me all over the house instead of
sitting outside his bathroom door whining.

I miss him at bedtime, when I lock myself in the bedroom to keep
boogers away.

You youngsters who are so passionately in love that you can't keep your
hands off your mate don't know yet what real love is. If you stay
together another 50 years, you will begin to understand.

"Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away..." Song of
Songs 8:7

EDITOR'S NOTE: Peggy McCracken is an Enterprise writer and editor whose
column appears each Tuesday.

YOUR VIEWS

Jim Ed Miller trial

was bigoted farce

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Dear Editor:

Bigotry, racism, Stickels. These three won on Aug. 20, 1996 in Reeves
County District Court.
Justice, honesty, integrity, citizenship and Jim Ed Miller lost.
What we have witnessed, my fellow citizens, is 0.J. in reverse. 0.J., a
vicious killer, was turned loose on society even though overwhelming
evidence proved he was guilty of two horrible murders. Jim Ed Miller, a
man of honesty, integrity, character, a man who has spent his life
contributing to his community, not taking from it, has been convicted of
witness tampering, a felony, with virtually no evidence to prove his
guilt.
I heard all of the evidence. There was not one shred of evidence that
indicated that Jim Ed Miller wanted to hurt Ed Armstrong financially,
personally, or in any manner. Not one witness testified that Jim Ed
Miller personally stated to them that he wanted to hurt Ed Armstrong
financially, personally, or in any manner. Not one.
To be guilty of witness tampering you must coerce or attempt to coerce
(compel someone to do something or stop doing something by the use of
power, intimidation, threats, or the use of force.) No witness testified
that Jim Ed Miller told the witness if you don't stop using Ed
Armstrong, I will use my power to make you stop. No witness testified
that Jim Ed Miller tried to intimidate Ed Armstrong to make him stop
what he was doing, not even Ed. As far as I know, Jim Ed was always
courteous to Ed Armstrong and treated Ed with respect. No witness
testified that Jim Ed Miller threatened Ed Armstrong in any way. No
witness testified that Jim Ed Miller would use force against Ed
Armstrong if he didn't quit what he was doing.
The truth is, Jim Ed Miller didn't do anything that even hinted of
witness tampering. The only way tampering was brought up was by
conjecture (guesswork) by the district attorney Stickels.
As far as Red Bluff Water Power Control District is concerned, it
doesn't take a rocket scientist to know why Stickels didn't want the
results of the special audit brought out in the trial. My guess is, the
audit report indicated that their record keeping and adherence to the
law was exemplary. I would be happy for someone to show me the audit and
prove me wrong. It won't happen.
I wonder what the witness had to tell that would be incriminating when
you have had an audit that is exemplary?
This whole thing has been a farce. Stickels couldn't have said it
better. He described what has happened here as sordid. He got that
right. However, sordidness didn't come from Jim Ed Miller, it came from
the district attorney. One of the dictionary descriptions of sordid is
meanly selfish. In my opinion, this describes Stickels perfectly. He was
more interested in convicting a prominent citizen, just to toot his own
horn, than finding justice. To me, that is mean and selfish. He used
innuendo and irrelevant testimony to convince the jury Jim Ed Miller was
guilty. I just finished reading the letter in the Pecos Enterprise
concerning Stickels'case record. I agree with the letter one hundred
percent. Our police and sheriff's departments are doing a great job, the
district attorney's office is a joke.

Keep your head up Jim Ed. Look everyone straight in the eye. You are a
much better man than those who are persecuting you.
-- Clyde Daughhetee
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