Some people quoted in the article argued that gifted children should not be in special education programs because they achieve in the classroom. This false and dangerous thinking strips gifted children of their basic rights and needs. All children need an appropriate education. How does a teacher provide for gifted children when she has 20 others of all levels in the classroom?

Gifted children whose needs are not provided for will create trouble in most creative ways. The statistics for gifted children prove that we must not ignore their needs, because they run a higher risk of dropping out of school and of depression. These children could be our future doctors and lawyers, or dropouts and unabombers, depending on what we do to take care of them.

Lawmakers, please do not strip gifted children of their rights to an appropriate education.

Joyce P. Lansky

Germantown

Intellectually gifted children are indeed special. To remove them from the special education designation eliminates the assurance that these students will be adequately served by a funded program that effectively meets their unique needs.

Any state legislation that proposes to replace the current gifted education program with an unspecified, unequal alternative is absurd. For our Tennessee legislators and educators to consider such a proposal is negligence.

Laura Crase

Bartlett

Some people have suggested that in the competition for funding, some children with special needs are a higher priority than others. But surely no one would deny any child, no matter how gifted, an appropriate education. Surely an appropriate education for every child is more important than spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a "land bridge" downtown or on a second basketball arena. Surely it is more important than paying part-time members of the City Council and County Commission thousands of dollars more than some full-time teachers make.

Educators have long known that teaching children at their level of development and interest is essential. That's why we have differing tracks and courses in high school. It's why children are divided into grade levels. Just as no serious educator would recommend returning to a one-room school, no one should deny every child an appropriate education, regardless of their type of need.

Classes for gifted students are an essential part of an adequate educational system. Tennessee voters recognize the importance of education and will hold politicians at every level accountable for funding it generously. Educators should not be forced to choose to neglect the appropriate education of any child.

Tony Jenkins

Memphis

Why does a straight-A student who scores in the 99th percentile need a more challenging curriculum? For the same reason a weight lifter lifts heavy weights: to get stronger. Children who are not challenged at school get bored, tune out, and don't reach their full potential. A few occupy their bright minds and creative energies with negative or destructive pursuits.

All Tennessee children deserve the opportunity to excel, and these days, Tennessee needs all the excellence it can get.

Sharon Bailey

Memphis

Binghamton Park better, but still needs work

As a mother of two small children who live within sight of Binghamton Park, I was overjoyed to see the condition of the park is finally getting some attention.

I had called several agencies over the past two months about poor conditions at the park, including the parks division, the mayor's office and the City Council, and was assured the problem would be addressed. It was not addressed until a neighbor's son was injured when he fell on broken glass and his family decided to call the media and police and finally got some results. I've never seen the parks division work so hard on that park.

I have watched the parks division drive by the park after some trash cans had been overturned, turning the children's park into a trash dump, and drive off without doing anything about it.

After the recent cleanup I was at the park with my kids and I still picked up pieces of glass and trash. It just shows how much cleaning up there still is to do.

We need to make sure children have a safe and beautiful place to play. We need to make sure the parks division is doing its job.

Kim Hooss

Memphis

Let police officers do their jobs

As a Memphis police officer, I found it a welcome relief to see police officers from Gilmore, Ark., being able to act as police officers without the threat of discipline that Memphis police officers face when apprehending suspects (Jan. 15 article, "50-mile chase ends in Raleigh, arrest of Ark. man").

If a chase of this nature had been initiated by Memphis police, the officers would have been ordered to terminate the pursuit as it entered Arkansas. It would have been left to Arkansas officials to deal with it as they saw fit.

It was also a relief to see that the Gilmore police chief has not forgotten his law enforcement responsibility and was actually the officer who made the apprehension. In Memphis the chiefs would have been reviewing tapes and acting as Monday morning quarterbacks while attempting to find what policies our officers might have violated and what discipline the officers should receive.

The Gilmore police chief realizes it is impossible for police officers to pursue felons with their hands tied behind their backs.

Thomas W. Turner

Vice President

Memphis Police Association

Call for repeal of insurance law missed the point

The writer of a Jan. 15 letter to the editor said the new Tennessee law requiring drivers to carry proof of insurance "is ridiculous and should be repealed." How's this for ridiculous: As an insurance holder, I have to pay extra for uninsured motorist coverage for people with her mindset. This means I have to pay more because some people around Memphis choose to spend their money on things other than insurance.

Lots of people I know have gotten into accidents with uninsured people and have ended up paying hundreds of dollars out of their own pocket because the at-fault party had no insurance. Why do you think there are so many hit-and-run accidents in Memphis? Most likely because the runners don't have insurance.

If you drive a car you should have the responsibility to buy liability insurance. If you cause an accident or property damage and have no liability insurance, you will be sued and then you'll wish you had bought insurance.

Scott Vaughan

Memphis

If you cannot afford insurance, you cannot afford to drive a car. I am tired of having to pick up the tab for uninsured motorists in this town.

Kirsten Dorsey

Memphis

This letter was the best possible argument for retaining this law: "With child care expenses, rent, utilities, food and car payments, I can see why a lot of people do not have the money to afford insurance." It should be obvious that if a driver "can't afford insurance," the best an injured party could hope for after an accident is "scuse me," hardly an acceptable response.

Jim Carter

Memphis

New park fees are double whammy for hunters

The $3 fee to enter Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park is unfair to hunters in the park. The waterfowl area is a small area that provides minimal hunting activity. Hunters now get a double whammy, after having paid $26 for a park permit, which expires on Feb. 28.

My vehicle was tagged with a yellow envelope indicating payment had to be made at the visitors' center office after the hunt. The pay tubes were not operational when I entered the park at 5 a.m.

We are now paying again for what we already paid for with our taxes. This trivial amount of money will not enhance our parks to any great extent. This is just another rip-off from our not-so-wise state officials. Admission fees often curtail attendance. This is a lose-lose situation. Tourists will be turned off, too.

Norman L. Smith

Memphis

January 19, 2002

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