Hot Button Editorial Blog

Hot Button Feedback: Partners in Safety

The following Hot Button Feedback is part of an ongoing series of commentaries from KPLC viewers.  It does not necessarily represent the views of the staff or management of KPLC and is presented as a public service.

Hi, I'm Russell Benoit, assistant police chief of the Village of Fenton.

You may have seen me already.  Perhaps I should say I may have seen you, from my patrol car behind a radar gun between I-10 and Kinder.  Hopefully you were driving the speed limit.  If not, you and I may have already met in person.

Running radar is just part of my job.  Another is to be the first responder when a crash occurs.  That happens more often than I'd like.  Just recently, I responded to a tragic accident that claimed the life of a young man.

Please understand that I do the first part of my job hoping that it will help prevent me from having to do the second part.

But I need your help.  Don't wait for a police car or radar unit to remind you to slow down and drive safely.  Our roads are only as safe as we make them together.

Please be my partner in road safety.  Don't drink and drive.  Buckle up.  Put down your cell phone, makeup or whatever, and watch the road including pedestrians and other traffic.

Because if you don't, you could cause a serious accident.  Or, at the very least, you might get a personal greeting from me.

Thank you.

Dear KPLC viewers,

Do you have a reply to this Hot Button Feedback or a new Hot Button topic you'd like KPLC to consider?  Please @mail it to hotbutton@kplctv.com or "like" our Hot Button Editorial Facebook page.  We may post it here, use it in a future Hot Button, or ask you to record your own "Hot Button Feedback" to be seen on KPLC and kplctv.com.

Thanks,

Jim Serra, chairman, KPLC Editorial Board

Gridiron 40

The show must go on.  

With less than 24 hours before their actual performance, the cast and crew of Gridiron 40 were doing their dress rehearsal in front of an audience at the Lake Charles Civic Center.

That's when the lampooners who have created so many storms of their own over the years found themselves on the receiving end of Friday night's storm.  A gust of wind blew part of the set down, slightly injuring two people.  The audience rushed to their aid, holding the set up and closing the Civic Center's door.

I saw my first Gridiron in 1975, a time of turmoil in Lake Charles and the rest of Louisiana so significant it was documented in several national publications.  Gridiron back then provided a unique and critically needed platform not just for comedy but for civic reforms.

Times have changed for the better here but the need to exercise our First Amendment freedoms, sometimes with tongue firmly in cheek, remains.

We congratulate the Ad and Press Club of Southwest Louisiana for four decades of good-natured grilling and wish them many more years of Gridirons.  If Mother Nature can't slow them down, nobody can.

Do you have a comment or reply to this Hot Button Editorial?  Please post it on KPLC's Hot Button Editorial Facebook page or send it to hotbutton@kplctv.com. 

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Crayons and Jail

Did you know that Louisiana does not require children to attend Kindergarten?  If that surprises you, join the club.  I was surprised to learn that only students between the ages of 7 and 18 are required to attend classes.

Why does this matter?  Because educators tell us that all too many children are entering the first grade with absolutely no grounding in the most basic skills.  Some have never even held a crayon.

And here's something else you might not know.  By third grade, reading test results are a shockingly accurate indicator of how many jail cells will be needed by the time those kids reach early adulthood.  The link between poor academic performance in the early grades and criminal activity a decade or more later is that strong.

The law must be changed.  In 2012 and beyond it is essential that all Louisiana children enter kindergarten by at least the age of 6.  When children don't first learn basic academic and socialization skills in Kindergarten, we push the resulting problems through upper grade levels.

For want of a nail the shoe was lost...then the horse, rider, message, battle and kingdom.  For want of mandatory attendance in Kindergarten, we are losing too many Louisiana children to attendance in a jail cell later in life.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Click here if you would like to call for mandatory Kindergarten classes in Louisiana:   http://unitedwayswla.org/Forms/Forms.asp?p1=143

 

Do you have a comment or reply to this Hot Button Editorial?  Please post it on KPLC's Hot Button Editorial Facebook page or send it to hotbutton@kplctv.com. 

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In Harm's Way

KPLC is very active on social media, and it's a great way to keep in touch with you our viewers.  Sometimes I read something that is so profound I feel moved to share it with you.

Facebook friend and KPLC viewer Cathi Oler lives here in Lake Charles.  Her son Ryan is stationed in Afghanistan. He just got the Medal of Valor for taking fire on himself to save his unit. In the words of his loving mom, "I am very proud, but I pray no more jumping in front of bullets."

Here's what she posted on her Facebook page:

"As I write this my son Ryan's base has been attacked three times and they laid another soldier to rest. Today I got an email from him he called his 'new phase' and I just had to share.

'We don't want medals, we don't want money. We don't want fame, we don't want the world on a platter. We just want 2 things; to know the nightmares we have are so that others can sleep soundly and that they remember us. Simple wishes from men and women. Please do not forget us.'"

I'm asking you not to forget Ryan and all the military personnel from Southwest Louisiana and across our nation who remain in harm's way.  And that means not forgetting them when they come home too.  As Ryan reminds us, they suffer the nightmares of war so that we can sleep soundly. 

 

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Mixed Messages

Pity the poor politicians.

Yes, that's what I said.

They're accused of talking out of both sides of their mouths, and sometimes that's true.  But usually they are good, honest public servants just trying to do the right thing under the circumstances.

And oftentimes the circumstances mean getting wildly mixed messages from their constituency.

So when House Speaker Chuck Kleckley caught some heat for requesting a million dollar synthetic grass football field for Barbe High School that his own constituents urged him to fight for, we can't blame him for being a little frustrated.  He then did the right thing by withdrawing his support of the publicly-funded project.

We're not sure that the pushback against the Barbe turf project wasn't as much a function of inter-school rivalry as much as it was a public outcry for fiscal responsibility in the face of state education budget cuts.  But the outcome was the same.

Frankly we've always found it odd that a region which advocates fiscal responsibility in Washington always seems to love it when local or state lawmakers cough up money for pet projects back here at home.

So maybe this will serve as a call to stop sending them mixed messages.  Let's stop demanding fiscal responsibility in one breath if we're going to ask them for pet capital projects in the next. 

It's tough enough being an elected official without having to turn on a dime when we're running out of dollars.

 

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Calcasieu Eagle App

I've got the new Calcasieu Eagle App loaded on my phone and hope you do too.  With it we can quickly report problems to parish government and help them help us.

The Eagle App and the parish's excellent website are the digital tips of a very encouraging iceberg, if you will.  If you haven't been paying attention you might not have noticed the huge cultural changes that have recently taken place in Calcasieu's parish government.

Wes Crain's appointment as Director of Planning is noteworthy.  A veteran of both the public and private sectors, Wes came to his new job knowing what it was like dealing with parish government from inside and outside.  He's retooling the planning office to be far more user-friendly and is getting high marks from those doing business with the parish or trying to locate or expand businesses in Calcasieu.  A big improvement.

Bryan Beam has quietly redefined the parish administrator's post into what it should be.  He is enabling his department managers and the police jurors themselves, positioning himself more as a resource to than a manipulator of the wheels of government.  By doing so, elected police jurors are freed to vote their conscience and seek needed changes.  Vote blocks are no longer the norm, and that's good.  Jurors such as newcomer Nic Hunter are more vocal about calling for needed improvements such as consolidation of departments and services.

We encourage the parish and municipal governments of Calcasieu to continue their efforts toward transparency, streamlining and efficiency.  No subject should be off limits and nothing protected except the best interests of the citizens of Calcasieu Parish.  We tip our hats to those public officials who are increasingly making that happen.

Do you have a comment or reply to this Hot Button Editorial?  Please post it on KPLC's Hot Button Editorial Facebook page or send it to hotbutton@kplctv.com. 

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A reminder from Florida

As thousands in Florida continue to clean up the damage caused by flooding from Tropical Storm Debby, it serves as a strong reminder for those of us here in Louisiana. July has arrived, which means primetime hurricane season for those of us on the upper gulf coast.  Time to check your storm plans and your insurance policies.

Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon is telling anyone who will listen that Louisiana residents should consider purchasing flood insurance even if they don't live in high-risk areas. That's probably good advice, and Hurricane Ike was a reminder for us here in Southwest Louisiana that history doesn't necessarily predict the future when it comes to flooding. Since it typically takes 30 days for a policy to become effective, now's the time to consider whether adding a flood insurance policy makes sense for you.

Homeowners in low risk areas can purchase flood insurance for as little as $200 a year.  That's a bargain considering more than 20 percent of claims filed with the National Flood Insurance Program come from property owners outside of high risk areas.  Yet only 30 percent of Louisiana residents have flood insurance.

Forecasters are predicting a relatively mild hurricane season this year and we certainly hope they are right. But, as Donelon reminds us, "all it takes is one."

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Independence Day

We live in a beautiful country blessed with bountiful resources.

Let's cherish who we are: free people in a democratic society who value self-reliance, hard work, taking risks and helping others.

We celebrate our nation's independence this week by realizing American citizenship is a privilege.  We can disagree constructively over politics, religion, and other issues without accusing others of being evil or ignorant.  We realize that united we stand and divided we fall.

Let's guard against moves to curtail our freedom of speech and do whatever we need to do to protect both our shores and those who stand in the line of defense of our nation.

Especially in this political year when the discourse runs as hot as the temperatures, let's have constructive dialogues that build consensus rather than causing division and polarization.

Let's address our vulnerabilities.  We have one of worst high school dropout rates in the industrialized world.  Our nation's health is declining.  Our infrastructure is crumbling.  Let's apply our best minds to solve these very solvable problems rather than wallow in divisive partisan politics.

Wishing you a happy Independence Day.  As you celebrate with family and friends, please watch out for children and pets, especially in this hot weather.  Too often they are left in cars or are injured with fireworks.  More pets are lost on the 4th of July than any other day of the year.

May the United States of America continue to be a beacon of hope to the world.  Let freedom ring.

 

Do you have a comment or reply to this Hot Button Editorial?  Please post it on KPLC's Hot Button Editorial Facebook page or send it to hotbutton@kplctv.com.

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