Letter of the month: July

Letters

About the writer

James A. Brenock, whose letter appeared July 12, has been selected as last month’s Golden Pen Award winner. In the judgment of the editors, he had the most effective letter to the editor during July.
Brenock, 72, is retired from General Electric, where he worked as a facilities manger. He currently serves on the board of directors for Midwest American Credit Union. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, biking on the trails and kayaking on the rivers.
He wrote his letter in support of the ban on fireworks because of the severe drought.
“The whole fireworks thing fires me up – no pun intended. It does disturb a lot of people,” Brenock said. “I like fireworks as much as the next person, but one day is enough.”
Brenock received a gold-plated inscribed pen for his efforts. The Golden Pen Award was established to express our appreciation for the contributions our letter writers make to the editorial page.

Don’t expect Hoosiers to use fireworks sensibly

I usually am not in agreement with many of the editorials in The Journal Gazette, but I have to admit that the editorial, “Lack of rain, lack of sympathy” (July 4), was right on target.

Steven L. Graves, the executive director of the Indiana Fireworks Dealers Association stated, “I think Hoosiers are intelligent enough to make decisions on their own.”

Are you kidding me? In my opinion, Graves wouldn’t have a job, and his organization wouldn’t exist, if our lawmakers had the guts to limit fireworks to July 4 only. As it is, the law permits fireworks to be set off nearly a full two weeks every year.

As far as intelligent Hoosiers go, Graves needs to spend some time in my neighborhood. Every year, a few clowns start blowing up stuff well before the June 29 start date and conclude whenever they run out of ammo. Sometimes this is well after July 9. They don’t pay any attention to the time, either.

I have no sympathy for Graves and his organization because they have no sympathy for me and my right to peace and quiet in my own home.