Times Record News from Wichita Falls, Texas • 18

gjmm mmmrni smanMm 18A Saturday December 11 2010 times record news Opinions: Everyone has ora )A Go to the TRN Website for blogs from some of the staffers of the Times Record News Or check out comments from readers on our stories columns and editorials at TimesRecordNewsxom Editorial The views expressed below are not necessarily that of the Times Record News The contents have not been modified except for grammar and punctuation Ml LETTERS Charles Moeller Wichita Falls Another cell phone related accident Here we go again a selfish irresponsible driver crashes because she was fumbling for her cell phone We should all take this personally because she could have killed anyone of us or our famUy Fishing for the phone meant more to this individual than any of our lives This goes for any distracted driver Whether you are talking on the phone playing around or texting you put us all at risk I have seen people get on the phone as they back out of their driveway I have seen an individual on Kemp talking on the phone and eating a hamburger I was almost ran off the highway buy a guy talking on the phone while he was looking at passenger I could see him in rearview laughing after he figured out what he had done Well folks it has come to the WFISD A TV blurb about our international baccalaureate program at a local elementary school outlined a curriculum similar to the one in that letter Teaching topics such as a to tor social change for the betterment of Sounds as if it is part of agenda to build an of indoctrinated to empower them to help bring abojut the socializing of America (Does this sound like the of bygone days?) One-hundred million dollars of taxpayer money originally intended for education is being wasted to train Alinksy-style organizers rather than being used to actually improve our education system and right here at home Where is the watchful eye of our school board (or are they on board?) to prevent the counterproductive program? Is it all in the name of the federal dollar? Someone should look into this When is enough enough? I felt safer in a war zone in Central America than I do going to the store It has gotten to the point that I go places only when necessary There is no end in sight to the selfishness displayed on our roads There should be no alternative but to imprison people who kill or destroy lives (murder) in exchange for a greedy conversation on the phone and this goes for people who crash looking for their phone If you are the individual who pays attention because you care A BIG THANK YOU If you are a killer hope you can live with yourself after explaining to a family why you murdered someone they love Warren Moeller Wichita Falls School program counterproductive On May 10 1 had a letter in the' TRN headlined: our Our Opinion Shoplifting hit spawns crime prevention group Sometimes the most product i ve hing can come out of the most upsetting For Harvest Drug Gift owner Janet Beard the upsetting was being the victim of a shoplifting hit that wiped out a chunk of popular inventory on the busiest shopping day of the year The shoplifters accused of taking nearly $8000 in merchandise may have stolen from her place of business but Beard told women gathered in her store for a Christmas breakfast that the incident felt like someone had broken into her home and stolen her most treasured family heirlooms Beard sees Harvest as a home for generations of women who have shopped with her for decades dating back to when she was fresh out of pharmacy school in Grandfield Okla On the Saturday night after Thanksgiving Beard said she and friend Jackie Hoegger also with Harvest sat in front of the security tape and watched for how suspects could have taken the items right before their eyes Oh my goodness they thought through their frus- tration we need to let our friends in retail know just how this is done The signs the techniques the likely suspects Out of their sense of violation was borne an idea to create a sort of neighborhood crime prevention group made up of area moms-and-pops to keep everyone up to date on current trends in retail crime Beard and Hoegger quickly decided to compose letters to area businesses asking them to join their cause to stop criminals from stealing their businesses the best gift is the gift of knowledge and we want Harvest Drug Gift to be on the front line when it comes to fighting this Hoegger said during a conference call with the Times Record News The businesses receiving the letters we have no doubt are those that devote their time energy and investment in our little community chosen Wichita Falls for the home of some of their most prized possessions their life's work That is perhaps what stings the most when you think about retail crime among friends here and they stole from business leaders who would and have given the proverbial shirt off their backs when a nonprofit calls for donations or auction items This is their home And with this newly created support group they're all saying to would-be shoplifters in my CITY COUNCIL' VJHAT? NOW TWERPS A WEBSITE THAT IS THETSA BODY-SCAN MAGS? Rick Hatcher District 3 P0 Box 1431 Wichita Falls TX 76307 Phone: (940) 322-5461 rickhatcher wichitafallstxgov PRICKLY CITY glennbarhamd wichitafallstxgov Tim Ingle District 4 P0 Box 1431 Wichita Falls TX 76307 Phone: (940)691-6564 I Linda Ammons Councilor At-Large P0 Box 1431 Wichita Falls TX 76307 Phone: (940) 781-4401 linda Mary Ward Districts P0 Box 1431 Wichita Falls TX 76307 Phone: (940)855-4996 marywardc Michael Smith District 1 P0 Box 1431 Wichita Falls TX 76307 Phone: (940)692-5288 wichitafallstxov wichitafallstxgov Soap operas are out social media is in for advertiser Procter Gamble Dorothy Roberts-Bums District 2 P0 Box 1431 Wichita Falls TX 76307 Phone: (940) 767-0789 dorothy roberts-bumsJ) wichitafallstxgov Times Record News EDITORIAL BOARD DWAYNE BIVON A PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER DEANNA WATSON EDITOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS This story came out without a great deal of notice over the past week Procter Gamble is getting out of the soap opera business What is significant is that this heralds a major shift in the way big companies try to sell us things Procter Gamble makes and sells everything from Tide detergent to Pampers diapers and invented the soap opera as a medium for peddling its wares The first soap opera was Guiding It started as a live daily drama on radio in 1937 and was a vehicle for commercials TThe Guiding moved to television in the early 1950s and joined a host of other serialized dramas as a staple of daytime television Most of them a total of 20 were created by or for It was brilliant marketing The soap operas targeted and hooked the most desirable demographic in television view- hone application for Always feminine products that allows women to track menstrual cycles and ask experts questions Why spend huge amounts of money on expensive TV ads that use a shotgun approach to reaching potential product buyers when you can reach them one-on-one at a lower price? If a mega-advertiser like Procter Gamble is making such a major shift in strategy others are sure to follow That could dramatically change the landscape of not only advertising but the program content it supports I have no idea what that change will ultimately be but sure it will be a far cry from the era when my grandma sat on the couch an wept at Edge of Lynn Walker whose column appears here on Saturdays may be reacnea at cordnewsxom or 940-763-7528 to buy The popularity of cable channels and Oprah-style talk shows also cut in the ratings of soaps When the World Turns" ended a 54-year-run this past September it marked the end of the programs the company that gave the shows their moniker all interesting history but the truly intriguing thing is where plans to put the money it devote to soaps Certainly still going to see commercials on TV but the company will now target social media Youlhbe Facebook et al has already had success in that arena Its Like a Man ads featuring a hunky exfootball player became a phenom on YouTube drawing tens of millions of viewers and breathing new sales life into the venerable product Old Spice aftershave An iP ing the Great American Housewife the person who went to the supermarket and bought all those products The soaps had a long and glorious run but by the 1990s producers began to see the audiences declining Why? Several factors One of the most important was the decline in the number of women available to stay at home and watch I find this a little ironic because a growing number of women were leaving the house to find work in order to afford all the things television ads persuaded them they had Larry Petrash Mark Levy Roberta i Sund JOIN THE DEBATE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL LAWMAKERS Our readers reflect many diverse opinions and viewpoints Therefore we present columns cartoons and other commentary on these pages that also represent widely diverse opinions and viewpoints We reserve our own comments for editorials We welcome letters to the editor in the general public interest Letters must be less than 350 words free of abusive language and personal attacks They must be signed Including the name address and phone number Letters sent anonymously will not be opened All letters are subject to editing for length style grammar and spelling Sand lattarstoc Editor ROlBok120 Wichita Falls TX 76307 Letters can be e-maited to Lettersftimesreoordnewsxom I State Sen Craig Estes R-Wichita Falls District 30 P0 Box 12068 Austin Texas 78711 pteae (512) 463-0130 lax: (512) 463-8874 Or 2716 Commerce St Suite 101 Wichita Falls Texas 76301 Pham: (940) 689-0191 fax: (940) 689-0194 E-malt State Rep David Farabee D-Wichita state Rep Rick Hardcastle R-Vemon Falls District 69 P0 box 2910 Austin District 68 P0 Box 2910 Austin Texas Texas 78768-2910 phaae (512) 463-0534 78768-2910 plmM (512) 463-0526 fax: (512) 463-8161 Or PO Box 1533 tax: (512) 463-6003 Or 1904 Fannin Ver- Wichita Falls Texas 76307 pfcww: (940) non Texas 76384 322-4122 tax: (940) 322-4117 pfcaar (940) 553-3825 tax: (940) 553-3861 E-malfcdavidfarabee9h5usestatetx4S E-maR: ricthardcastie9tiousestatetxus I 1.