LTE Forum Branch Office: Winston-Salem Journal LTE SA 02/16/13

A great judge

Forsyth County lost a great judge and a great man with the passing of Judge Roland Hayes (“Farewell to a trailblazer,” Feb. 11). I met Judge Hayes when I was working in Child Protective Services and he was an attorney who volunteered his time to be a guardian ad litem and represent children who were the subject of abuse and neglect petitions in juvenile court.

I worked with him on his first case, where he did a great job for his clients, the kids. We had contact over the years when he was on the bench and once I even had to awaken him in the middle of one icy December night to get his signature on a court order. He was kind enough to never even mention his forsythia hedge, which was severely damaged by our sliding down, and off, his very slick driveway that night. The only thing he ever said about that night was that I was the only woman who had ever seen him in a bathrobe other than his wife, Barbara.

He is also the only person for whom I ever worked a polling place all day on a cold, rainy November in 1998. He was a genuine person, a family man, a man who never had a mean word or act for anyone, and those who thought he was malicious or hurtful to others were either mistaken or just plain wrong. He will be sorely missed by the citizens of Forsyth County.

JANE M. OLMSTED

Winston-Salem

A sweet sound

After 100 years, Republicans have been chosen by the voters of North Carolina to run our state government, and the liberal town criers in the Feb. 10 Journal have lost their minds. For columnist Chris Fitzsimon, perhaps it’s just his short-term memory. He worries about the “gerrymandered map drawer” Art Pope being appointed deputy state budget director (“McCrory’s rough time”). Thanks for the concern, but N.C. District 12 and the term “hypocrite” should prevent any N.C. Democrat with a conscience from even saying the word “gerrymander.”

The state gets serious about paying off $3 billion in unemployment debt to the federal government while building a rainy day fund, and Journal reporter Richard Craver suggests Ebenezer Scrooge has been put in charge of our state budget (“N.C. alone in plan to reject $650M from feds”). The NAACP and 140 other groups rally at the legislative building to assert that Republicans are unleashing a “cruel and unusual” attack on progressive constituents in The Associated Press article “Groups rally over GOP control.” I'm sure Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas would be aghast.

Liberals coming unglued … oh, what a sweet sound!

SHAUN MARTIN

Advance

Stand firm

As I read the outcries from homosexuals and others concerning the policy of the Boy Scouts of America, I am increasingly amazed by their arrogance. I am not an ignorant bigot because I disagree with them. And neither is the writer of the Feb. 5 letter, “Potential consequences,” that has attracted so much of their attention.

There are certain truths that do not change over time or with the whims of society. The Boy Scout oath states “On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God ...” God is mentioned first for a good reason. We cannot know what is our duty to God apart from hearing and reading his word — the Bible. It reveals truth about him and also about us.

We are sinners by nature who can only be justified through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is clear in the Bible that sexual relations between anyone other than husband and wife (one man and one woman) is one of many sins common to man, for which we are all accountable to our creator-sustainer. I have my own sins for which I am accountable to him. I do not ask or demand that others accept, condone, excuse or promote those sins.

What homosexuals do in private is between them and God and others they affect. It is wrong to attempt to force their lifestyle on the rest of us. The Boy Scouts of America should stand firm!

CHARLES H. KING JR.

Clemmons

Two stipulations

As a legal immigrant to this country — and now a proud citizen of the United States — I have strong reservations against the amnesty that our president desires for 11 million undocumented people.

During my long and costly naturalization process it was made very clear that the slightest infraction on the immigration laws would void my chances for obtaining citizenship. To me, the many legal immigrants still waiting and those who failed the process and left the U.S., amnesty is easily perceived as a general pardon for political expedience. I also believe that the vast majority of undocumented cases can be solved with temporary farming visas that allow people to travel freely; this would benefit, for example, the Mexican economy more.

I do have two stipulations: If we persist in putting 11 million people on a path to citizenship, then prohibit dual citizenship and make English the official language. Citizenship is not a practical convenience but a commitment to this nation and its language, history and culture.

The presence in the U.S. of millions of new, voting citizens with a strong allegiance to a foreign nation will lead to a fractured society.

PIETER OTTEN

King

Finish the Thought

Briefly complete the sentence below and send it to us atletters@wsjournal.com. We’ll print some of the results in a few days. Only signed entries, please -- no anonymous ones.

“The president’s use of executive power …”

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens,