> SOUTHERN INDIANA — JEERS

... to those who say dance teams and cheerleader squads aren’t participating in a sport, whether they’re serious or just stirring the pot.

These young women and men have more athletic prowess in their toes than I have in all of my being. If they can go off to a national tournament, come away with a top spot in one or two competitions and hang it on their wall, I’d certainly say that’s a sport.

— Jerod Clapp, News and Tribune Education reporter



JEER CORRECTION!

Editor’s note: This following Jeer was incorrectly attributed last week:

READER JEERS

I echo Jamey Aebersold’s concern about the condition of the East Spring Street Silver Creek bridge.

I have witnessed many near collisions as drivers traveling toward Louisville cross over to the left lane to avoid the pot holes in the right lane.

An additional safety concern is the lack of visible lane markers in the middle and on the sides of the road. This is especially hazardous when visibility is poor in darkness or rain.

With no lines to guide them, many drivers veer out of their lanes once they realize they are close to making contact with the concrete walls. I did see one accident happen as a result of this.

— Julie Naville, New Albany



READER CHEERS

...  to city administrators in Jeff and Louisville for finally completing the Big Four Pedestrian Bridge. Drove to Louisville Thursday for the event. What a beautiful day, and a lovely design. Cheers also to the Jeff city fathers for NOT permitting dogs and their handlers from the Indiana side. There were too many canine fecal deposits made by well meaning pooches.

— William Longest, New Albany



READER JEERS

..to last weekend’s Jeer from a member of the News & Tribune editorial staff, against a county website with the phrase “formally known as.” First, it’s very ironic (and somewhat hypocritical) for this newspaper to be pointing out errors by others in grammar, word choice, or spelling. Mainly, though, I wonder whether this staff member bothered to try contacting the county about the error first, if it is so bothersome, rather than simply poking fun at it in a public forum.

— Sam Johnson, New Albany 



READER JEERS

... To Darlene Hilsenback for her column in last Saturday’s paper telling people to shop the big chain stores instead of their local florist on Valentine’s Day. Study after study shows money spent with small locally owned and operated shops benefits the local economy. With all the work groups and businesses do to try to get this out when someone encourages people to bypass the local florists and shop the chain stores for a better deal, we tend to get very upset. If you as consumers will take the time to shop your local florists I think you might be pleasantly surprised. Most of your local shops will compete not only in price, but also in service. It was stated in her column that the chain stores have less overhead, but in reality the small shops do not have the buying power that the big chain stores have. We can’t lose money on our flowers only to make it up on other products while you are in the stores, and still we try to stay competitive on our prices and services. I encourage everyone to BUY LOCAL, shop your local florists this year for Valentine’s Day, you and the person you are buying for will not be disappointed.

— Dan Christensen, co-owner, Affairs of the Heart Florist in Jeffersonville 

A locally owned and operated florist since 1991