Letter to the Editor

Valuation shocking

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Dear Editor,

I have 278.3 aces of dryland and pasture.

I was shocked when I got my property valuation; so were my neighbors when they got their valuations.

By law, the county assessor has to raise the valuation.

If we do not want this to continue, we must get our legislature and governor to change the law, and bring property values within reason.

My property valuation was increased $96,099, making my land value $302,881.

There is no way a young person can start farming or ranching.

A family could not even make a living on my few acres, yet Nebraska has over $700 million sitting in cash reserves.

So if you want change, write your candidates. We are District 44.

For example, I have .67 acres, was valued at $468 and now the valuation has increased to $835.

Bonnie Bayliss,

Indianola, Nebraska

Voter IDs

Dear Editor,

During the past several years, numerous states, including Kansas, have passed legislation requiring photo identification for an individual to vote.

In fact, 34 of our 50 (Not 57) states have passed this requirement. Many of our political leaders, fronted by our Department of Justice, have flooded our court system alleging that this requirement is an attempt to disenfranchise the elderly, the poor and our minorities -- nothing could be further from actuality.

A review of election results in numerous precincts during the 2012 election cycle details accounts of multiple individual votes and precincts with greater than 100 percent of votes cast by registered voters.

In addition to the claims of the intent to disenfranchise voters, they claim that many of these individuals could not afford the cost of a photo identification card.

In fact, many states have made free identification available to all eligible voters.

When this requirement is implemented to ensure the eligibility of those individuals participating in one of our more precious rights, voting, their claims fail to ring true in comparison to the requirements for photo identification in the day to day activities of the majority of the American Public.

These requirements include, but certainly are not all inclusive.

Photo identification is required to:

-Board an airplane

-Rent a car

-Rent a hotel/motel room using a credit card

-Open a bank account -Complete SAT Examinations for college entrance

-Ensure medical care at a VA Facility

-Enter the United States for citizens and legal immigrants'

-Obtain a tourist boarding pass to visit Alcatraz

When these generally less than critical requirements are compared to the requirement to ensure the validity of votes cast, the arguments of the liberals are demonstrability less convincing and become more so when considered with our current and increasing population of illegal immigrants.

It should also be noted, that in many instances of Federal intervention and challenge to those State laws requiring photo identification, the Department of Justice has chosen to challenge the validity of these requirements in those states with the largest number of electoral votes.

J.T. Plummer

Logan, Ks

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