Confederate park names in Memphis

Greg Cravens

About Toby Sells’ story, “Confederate Heritage Groups Vow to Fight Park Name Changes” …

Health Sciences Park, Mississippi River Park, and Memphis Park. Good Lord, how about just Tree Park, Grass Park, and Wino Park (let’s be real). Or since the Confederates surrendered Memphis after 15 minutes of battle, how about Slam Bam Thank You Ma’am Park.

CL_Mullins

About Les Smith’s At Large column, “Hot Water” …

Les Smith incorrectly stated that Roland McElrath, MLGW controller, was the man behind the prepared rate hike. Then he continued by criticizing Mr. McElrath’s previous record as a public servant. Smith complained of being blindsided with a rate hike. Smith’s article deserves a response to set the record straight.

Up until mid-September, we at MLGW were confident that we would not need to ask for a rate increase for next year in the electric, gas, and water divisions. Then on September 16th, Cargill announced it would close its plant on President’s Island on January 1, 2015.

Water utility costs reflect 84 percent fixed costs and only 16 percent variable or consumption costs. Since Cargill is by far our largest potable water customer, I knew as soon as Cargill made the closure announcement that MLGW could not sustain the $2 million per year loss of revenues to pay for fixed expenses. Absorbing the loss of Cargill revenues was not an option. I knew a small rate increase would be needed. How small? Thirty-five cents (35 cents) per month for the average residential customer. This represents a 2.3 percent increase.

Despite this increase, MLGW’s water rates will still be the second-lowest of any major city in this country. In fact, MLGW’s combined electric, gas, and water rates will remain the lowest of any major city.

The announcement for the need for this small rate increase was appropriately made during our budget presentation to the MLGW Board on October 9th. Despite our breathtakingly low combined utility rates, MLGW is in excellent financial shape. MLGW has relatively little debt, excellent bond ratings, and a properly funded pension plan.

Our governing principle at MLGW is to always do that which is in the best interest of our customers as a whole. Although this includes keeping our rates low, it sometimes also includes a rate increase. It’s called fiscal responsibility.

Jerry Collins Jr., President & CEO

Memphis Light, Gas & Water

Les Smith incorrectly stated that I was the man behind the proposed rate hike. Then he continued by criticizing my previous record as a public servant by using inaccurate and faulty information to make his point. As the former finance director for the city of Memphis, I am compelled to address the inaccuracies in his article.

According to the city’s June 30, 2012 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), the city ended its fiscal year 2012 with a $5 million general fund operating surplus, not a $17 million deficit. This surplus was generated even after paying the employee bonuses referred to in Smith’s commentary.

There’s also another factual error.

MLGW’s estimated revenue loss from the closure of the Cargill facility is $2.2 million, not $4 million.

As evidenced by our breathtakingly low combined utility rates, MLGW is committed to providing high quality, reliable service to our customers in the most cost efficient manner possible while also maintaining the financial integrity of the organization.

Roland McElrath, CPA, CMFO

About Jackson Baker’s Politics column, “Alexander, Bell in Heated Senate Race” …

Senator Lamar Alexander is at is again. He would have us forget he was the first secretary of education to suggest common core type standards. He backs the right to work law. He wants to kill Obamacare, but doesn’t say what would happen to the thousands of citizens who would lose their insurance, the ones with pre-existing conditions or the workers whose employers who do not offer health insurance.

Alexander has never voted against a pay raise for himself, but abhors the right of working people to organize. His “unselfish service” to the people of Tennessee has allowed him to become a multi-millionaire. Since entering government, he and his family have never been without a paycheck, vacation time, or health care, yet he is opposed to all those benefits for the poor and middle-class.

Jack Bishop

New Park Names

Chris Herrington’s article about Helena, Arkansas (“Looking South,” March 14th issue), gave me some ideas about the renaming of the three parks in Memphis.

Forrest Park could be renamed Emancipation Park. The general’s statue and grave could remain to remind us of the facets of ourselves from which we as a nation and as individuals strive to emancipate ourselves. If Forrest really had a change of heart in his later years toward a certain segment of the citizenry, as some historians claim, he would be quite honored by the sentiment. The SCV boys in their play-soldier uniforms can still march around him and bang their drums on their holy days. What the hell, they’re basically harmless old fellows.

Confederate Park could be renamed Battleview Park. The replica cannons can remain, because it is, after all, a legitimate Civil War site. Perhaps a more fitting tribute would be an interpretive center detailing the brief river battle that ended Memphis’ existence as a Confederate town, but that is not worth the argument now.

As for Jefferson Davis Park, let’s face it. Other than a brief stopover, the man has no legitimate Memphis ties. Ship his plaque to Biloxi or to his birthplace in Kentucky. Rename the park for Ida B. Wells. Give her one all to herself. She deserves it, and who better to surrender his place in line than old Jeff? Surely, he’d be gentleman enough to agree.

Donald Adams

Memphis

Journey

I was a little disappointed and surprised that a smart, cool writer like Chris Herrington would write that someone spoke “Filipino” (“Undeniable Journey,” March 14th issue). That is not a language, and it made me cringe a little reading it. Just so you know, Filipinos don’t speak Filipino, as was mentioned in the otherwise interesting article about the Journey front man.

Donna Boyd

Memphis

[Please see sections 6–9 of Article XIV, 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines. — Ed.]

The New Pope

I was delighted to learn that the newly elected pope chose for himself name of St. Francis of Assisi, generally known as patron saint of animals. Indeed, Catholic and Anglican churches hold ceremonies blessing animals on his feast day of October 4th.

On one of his nature walks, Francis reportedly preached to the birds and is often portrayed with a bird in his hand. On another occasion, Francis concluded a pact with a ferocious wolf that was terrorizing local townsfolk, whereby the wolf would quit preying on the town’s sheep in exchange for being fed regularly. He even persuaded local dogs to stop harassing the wolf. He freed a rabbit from a trap, returned caught fish to their stream, and fed half-frozen bees in wintertime.

I hope that Pope Francis will inspire Catholics and all persons of goodwill to show nonhuman animals the respect and compassion they so richly deserve, particularly when it comes to subsidizing their abuse and slaughter for food at the checkout counter.

Morris Furman

Memphis

The GOP Budget

I just read the latest Republican budget proposal. It’s the usual “protect our endangered billionaires” policy and the same anti-middle-class, anti-poor tactics Republicans are known for.

They want to abolish the Affordable Care Act, stripping 60 million Americans of health insurance. They want to give seniors a couple of hundred dollars to pay toward $10,000-a-year private insurance policies and abolish Medicare. They want to extend the age for receiving Social Security until after you are dead. They want to be sure your surgeon can amputate the wrong leg and then simply say “Oops! Sorry!” and cruise off to their lake house in their Bentley without so much as a slap on the wrist for their incompetence.

But they’re not totally heartless. They want to keep all those tax breaks for the struggling oil companies that make a paltry few billion in profits every quarter. They want to make sure that all our sorely oppressed millionaires and billionaires continue to pay a lower tax rate than their maids. They want to deprive prospective college students of education funding so that the elite will have an ample source of maids, pool cleaners, and butlers.

Jim Brasfield

Memphis