Today's Opinions

By Gene Policinski

Let them march in Charlottesville. Let them speak.

Hate-propagating neo-Nazis and bottom-dwelling white supremacists — the dregs of our open society — have and should have First Amendment rights to speak and march in public.

We need to see them for what they are: a disappointing collection of the disaffected; some parading around in silly costumes, often ignorant of the real meaning and history of the symbols they display, carrying torches meant as much to intimidate as to illuminate.

By MARK BANKER

Residents of Roane County in 2017 who face the challenge of funding a public-school system for our posterity without bankrupting ourselves should be mindful of an old proverb: “The nearer the past, the more uncertain its lessons.”

While we have a long past to learn from, many of us personally experienced the history most relevant to our current school debate. I, for example, attended public schools in Kingston from 1957-69.

After hearing that Russell Johnson, District Attorney General, is disturbed by some of the things he’s heard about the health concerns from workers at the ash spill, here are some of my concerns about the effect of breathing cat urine for the last 20 years.

Cat urine produces ammonia which, when inhaled in large amounts, leads to cellular destruction by disrupting lipids in the cell membrane. Levels greater than 25 parts per million cause nausea, headaches and lightheadedness.