While some may consider underage drinking a rite of passage — it’s one that comes with a heartbreaking toll.

The Globe honored 10 area mothers last week with gifts after selecting the top essays describing why those moms were so deserving.

From time to time, a story touches our online viewers so much that it becomes hard to keep up with posting the story comments that are submitted.

Proposals, both on the federal and state level, would give motorists a gas-tax holiday for the summer if they came up for consideration.

The Globe’s support of extending the City of Refuge’s closing date by being flexible was the decent thing to do.

Have you noticed the crafty way most politicians talk? I almost used the word “sly,” but changed my mind.

1. The first time your eyes meet, seconds after birth. Hers wide, angry, surprised; yours, filled with an awed love you’ve never known.

That was my father’s statement to me when I was a young teenager in the early 1960s.
I’ve repeated it to others through the years as evidence of his unconditional love for me, and it was.

The extent of damage and the death toll in Myanmar from the massive storm that hit on May 3 may never be known.

Emma France is California-bound — finally. On Wednesday, Jasper County Circuit Court Judge David Mouton set aside orders that had made the 95-year-old Carthage woman a ward of Jasper County Public Administrator Rita Hunter.

Concerning the controversy about Aquila’s Cass County power plant: Power plants are a necessary evil and previously utility companies have been allowed to build facilities they needed to provide customers with needed services.

It is the opinion of myself and many others that Kelly Freeman Rohrbaugh and Planned Parenthood are the ones who do not focus on the real problem.

Don’t the people of Carthage have anything better to do other than complain all the time?

It has long been known that through a mass news media with everything to sell and nothing to tell, there would be a steady dumbing down of America.

Why are so many people against the homeless folks at City of Refuge?

The Sunshine Law is supposed to be a tool Missourians can use to inspect the work of their public officials. Gov. Matt Blunt’s office appears to be using the Sunshine Law as a weapon for badgering political opponents.

It is gratifying to see the attention, at many levels, now being given those affected by autism spectrum difficulties.

This is a story of a 13-year-old boy, Thomas White of Joplin. He is now 15.

Another letter (Globe, May 4) has distorted the Constitution for the United States of America: The word “church” is not in the Constitution.

This letter is in response to the many donations Roaring River Parks Alliance has received. We appreciate the concerned residents who also consider “clean water” a high priority.

OK, Hillary and some of her top advisers are claiming Democrats must present a nominee who can win against John McCain, come November.

There are no easy answers to the problems facing Joplin’s homeless community. We believe the members of the Joplin City Council who voted to allow the City of Refuge to operate a shelter for an additional 90 days in its current location are to be commended.

In reading the Globe (May 4), I am surprised at the difference of opinions concerning the City of Refuge Ministries.

It is critical for the citizens of Joplin to understand why there is opposition to the City of Refuge’s proposed move to the First Baptist Church building. I fully support helping the homeless.

I read the story about the Joplin Humane Society finding a new location on North Main on the lot next to the old Dent and Ding Appliance location.

I can’t believe the controversy surrounding the City of Refuge. Why is this such an issue for so many people that they are actually signing a petition?

How ironic, the Globe now knows what the Missouri Southern International Piano Competition should do for all walks of life.

The title of the article (Globe, April 30) was business as usual concerning our community when there is a supposed problem: “Opponents speak out.”
My reason for speaking out is that there was no “news” about those much less fortunate than ourselves until someone complained about zoning.

Upon reading the letters from Rita Crowell, it seems that she is filled with hatred toward homosexuals and their lifestyle. I have no idea what could have happened during her life that made her this way.
Make no mistake. I, too, believe that homosexuality is a grave sin as stated in the Bible. But, so is hatred toward another human (Leviticus 19:17-18).

Earning a championship is hard. Winning it again is even harder.
Winning it six of the past seven years is incredibly impressive.
That’s what the Academic Bowl team at Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School has done. The team competed Friday at the Missouri State High School Activities Association state championship in Columbia and won the first-place trophy in Class 1.

I never agree 100 percent with anything Ron Hutchison writes. But on April 26, I did indeed. I read his “Life trumps everything” article. Of course it does because all life is sacred.
Since Roe vs. Wade (1973), America has killed, by abortion, more Homo sapiens than Adolf Hitler put to death in the ’30s and ’40s. This country can not go scot-free for that and also being responsible for 100,000 innocent Iraqi civilian deaths since 2003.

For more than 30 years since reinstating the death penalty the U.S. Supreme Court has found ways to limit capital punishment, and now the most heinous crime, raping a child, is before the court. A ruling should come down soon.
Patrick Kennedy, 43, is a Louisiana death-row inmate convicted of raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter in 1998 in an assault so brutal that the girl required surgery.

John Thomas, 76, and his wife, Marjorie, 75, emerged from their cellar only to find that their home in Lawrence County was gone. Everything they had worked for — gone.

That a new location for the City of Refuge shelter for the homeless would be an issue is astonishing.

I’d like to thank the state House for passing the Abortion Restriction Bill. It’s nice to know that my legislators are ready to rush to my aid when my measly, pea-sized lady brain becomes saturated with estrogen and unladylike ideas, rendering me incapable of making sound decisions.

Two Saudis casually walk across the Mexican border right in front of Homeland Security, the CIA, the FBI and half a dozen other “alphabet” agencies.

Shawn Sparlin (Globe, April 18) seemed to be upset by some comments made to an atheist speaking to the Illinois Legislature.

I have a few rebuttal points regarding Chris Cline’s letter (Globe, April 30).

Did you know that the number of suicides among returning veterans is many times higher than the number of battlefield deaths?

Nancy Morton makes no bones about it. She does not want a shelter for the homeless in her neighborhood.

It took all of Don Beiswanger’s strength to walk down the hall that led to the chemotherapy room.
But he made that walk every week.

Today, as I was refueling my automobile, I was thinking of several things that the candidates seeking the office of president state they will accomplish once in office.

Former Joplin resident, Betty Rutherford, turns 110 years old on Sunday, making her a member of the world’s “supercentarians” club — those who are 110 or older.

A bill by U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt authorizing the National Park Service to study the Newtonia Civil War battlefields to determine their worthiness for protection recently cleared the House and Senate.

The editorial “Broaden its scale” (Globe, April 27) would have made me laugh if it hadn’t been so sadly true of our “Harrison Bergeron” times.

I am responding to Shawn Sparlin’s “Family values,” (Globe, April 18). Shawn, I believe you had better read your Bible a little closer before you start criticizing Rita Crowell.

Aside from the comics and the downsized news events in the first section of the Globe, I like to check the Voices section for the latest letters sent in by the concerned public.

I have lived in Joplin for about nine years, longer than any other location in my adult life. I am occasionally asked by old acquaintances, “Why Joplin?”

Playing politics when people’s health is at stake is reprehensible. Yet, it’s happening in the Missouri Legislature, where House Speaker Rod Jetton is killing any chances that Insure Missouri will live.

It is obvious the lack of empathy for the homeless in Joplin and the lack of housing available leads to less than a “Christian” approach to the problem.

I have never written a letter of opinion before. But after reading the article on the front page of The Joplin Globe (Saturday, April 26), I feel I must respond. The article in question is “Church member opposes shelter.”

Recently, I read an article about the intent of the City of Refuge to set up shop in the old Baptist church on Seventh Street. Personally I think this would be a great idea.

Country/Christian music at Boomtown — once again! Does it ever occur to the organizers there are many people out there with other tastes?

Imagine that you’ve hired a contractor to build a new house for you. The contractor pours the foundation, puts up the framework and then heads for the hills, sticking you with the bill and an unfinished house.

A big thank you to Stacie Mitchell for her letter (Globe, April 22). Ozark Center, Ozark Center, Ozark Center, all we hear about is Ozark Center for Autism.

Members of the First Baptist Church of Joplin have, for years, ministered to those in need at their location at 633 S. Pearl Ave.

In response to Dave Woods’ column (Globe, April 20) concerning labor unions: After working for 60 years in both the non-union and union shops, I feel qualified to judge the merits and shortcomings of both.
I am wondering if the online contributors who were quoted in Dave’s column with such derogatory statements against labor unions had themselves ever worked in a union business or shop. I would guess not.

It was a fare-thee-well weekend for volunteers and organizers of Joplin’s first Renaissance festival.
Thousands attended the event, held Saturday and Sunday, in Landreth Park
Bruce Morgan, owner of deSign Concepts of Joplin and the organizer of the Joplin Renaissance Festival, said the economic implications for the event could be far-reaching.
Vendors from Washington, California, Colorado and Wisconsin, and entertainers from Utah, Texas, Oklahoma and northern Missouri attended.

Last Sunday had to be a tough day for 71-year-old Alice Elsie Hays.

In reference to the letter “Common values” by Daniel Boyer (Globe, April 18): In defense of Rita Crowell, the Boyer article completely disregarded the holy Bible.

Who pulled Jimmy Carter’s chain? How presumptuous of this peanut farmer to take it upon himself to make foreign-policy initiatives.

One of the hallmarks of any community is the level of culture that it offers to its citizens.
Since 1987, the Missouri Southern International Piano Competition has served as a world-class showcase of some of the finest young pianists the from around the globe — an event that has brought international attention to both the university and Joplin itself.

From time to time, all of us need a fresh start. Mired in poor decisions we’ve made or unfortunate situations we find ourselves in, it’s often difficult to right our own ship, to restore a sense of normalcy to our lives.

Ron Lankford, in 1986, walked through the gate Emerson spoke of and it led him to an opportunity that is still with us today.

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution includes the provision that “No person shall ... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ...”

Congratulations to our new mayor and Joplin’s “first lady,” Gary and Kathy Shaw.

I realize that the paper represents freedom of speech and that the “Voices” section of the paper is based on individuals’ opinions, and fact is supported by their research as proof.

I tried to write a letter about how I felt about illegal aliens. Moses said it much better in Deuteronomy, Chapter 24, verses 19-22.

There are two words in the English language guaranteed to make my husband’s heart race. No, they are not: “Tonight, baby!” They are: Longaberger basket.

A persistent problem across the nation is affordable health care. Years ago, while visiting with Sen. John Danforth, he told us the answers would not come from D.C.; the answers would come from us, Main Street.

One might think a 67-year-old man had seen the last of his intellectual development. Not so. Indeed, sometimes growing old can be, well, a growing experience.

I am compelled to reply to Shawn Sparlin’s “Family values” (Globe, April 18). Mr. Sparlin is falling for the ploy of taking things out of context and using them as scriptural truths.

On Monday, the Missouri House of Representatives passed this year’s abortion legislation (House Bill 1831). Missouri already has some of the nation’s strictest laws requiring informed consent and a waiting period for abortion.

Sexually connotative advertising polluting our airwaves should be banned. I have never written a letter to the editor until now.

The Globe’s poll question is in regards to the U.S. Supreme Court reauthorizing the death penalty.

Members of the Joplin city staff are being directed by the City Council to go to bat for Missouri American Water Co. customers in hopes of throttling a 32 percent rate increase.

Giving up on a 28-year-old festival is sad business for the folks in Webb City. Declining participation in the annual Webb City Mining Days has caused committee members to call for its retirement.

I was recently in The Joplin Globe concerning the proposed increase in rates for Empire District Electric Co (Globe, March 26).

I have mailed in my taxes and my checks, and I am sitting down to pay bills. I read with interest (Globe, April 11) that Sarah Steelman, a Republican running for governor, has pledged that if elected she will not raise taxes.

Jo Manhart, I appreciate your cheerleader approach to concentrated animal feeding operations in Missouri (Globe, April 13). But since you work for the companies that need CAFOs and are paid by them, you really should register yourself as a lobbyist.

Rep. Monique Davis, D-Chicago, said to an atheist testifying before the Legislature: “What you have to spew and spread is extremely dangerous. ... It’s dangerous for our children to even know that your philosophy exists.

“Well,” Reagan would have said, “there you go again.” The evening newscasts spoke of eye-popping, or shocking, increases in petroleum and gasoline prices.

If Gary Shaw, Joplin’s new mayor, is seeking an inspiration for his term of office, he need look no further than his mother.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case, we think a few words will do the job:
Congratulations to the staff and volunteers at the George A. Spiva Center for the Arts, 222 W. Third St., Joplin, and the photographers who entered PhotoSpiva 2008. They have made the longest continuously running photo contest in America a success.

Stung by charges that he was an eloquent speaker, Barack Obama decided to strike back by sticking his foot in his mouth.
Newsmen who castigated Obama for his careless use of the word bitter have probably never attended an aesthetic millenarian church.

Prior to the primary election in Massachusetts, both Sens. Ted Kennedy and John Kerry saw fit to declare their preference. That was for Sen. Barack Obama.
Then, as voters do, their state decidedly voted for Sen. Hillary Clinton, ignoring the two senators as if they were pesky flies.
Not having faith in their voters’ selection, along with Gov. Bill Richardson, the three decided that they would strong-arm the lady into submitting to their desires.

As gasoline gets closer and closer to $4 a gallon, I am reminded of every State of the Union address by George Bush calling for the nation’s intellectuals and schools to work on alternate energy. It is a gallant movement on his part, but reality clouds the issue.

Bill Aldridge’s letter (Globe 4/9) takes me to task by insisting that President Bush lied about Iraq and claims that 12 million left-winger Internet “hits” somehow represents truth. He then goes on to list “his best proof source” as http://www.bushlies.net/.
Well Mr. Aldridge, I went to this Web site and researched this supposed documentation. It will come as no surprise to many as to what I found.

If you’re planning on traveling by air anytime soon, brace yourself.
You could be in for a bumpy trip. ...
The Airline Quality Rating showed a decrease in on-time arrivals and increases in customer complaints, baggage problems and the number of passengers bumped from overbooked flights.
In fact, the industry slumped last year in every area examined as part of the rating. Worse yet, one of the study’s co-authors said it didn’t appear the situation had bottomed out. ...

A heated exchange this month in the Missouri House chamber, and hundreds of thousands in donations, show exactly why a bill eliminating contribution limits should be dropped like a bad habit.

“Once I had a secret love that lived within the heart of me.” — Doris Day
It’s a secret I’ve kept for 55 years. I was in love with Floyd E. Leonard.

Lately, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, contenders for the Democratic nomination for president, have engaged in spirited debates about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

It wasn’t a story I thought many people would get excited over, but was I ever wrong.

When Jeff Lehr, the Globe’s crime and courts reporter, told me he was heading out to cover an awards ceremony where several children were being honored, I assumed they had returned a found wallet or perhaps reported a neighbor’s house on fire.

I’m sure that with every letter Rita Crowell submits to the Globe, reasonable people distance themselves from her extremist views and edge closer to supporting full equality for gay Americans.

An Associated Press article “Digital transition could cost cable customers” (Globe, April 13) is misleading and has raised some false concerns for our customers.

Everyone makes grammatical mistakes. We know. Our readers are quick to point them out.

There will be hope and trials after this election is over. Some people might need to take a break from politics, because I believe there are going to be some very swift changes.

Ouija boards? Evil? Really? Evil resides in mankind, not in inanimate objects or even other critters for that matter.

I delivered the Joplin News Herald in 1946. I remember the paper announcing the death of Babe Ruth.

I didn’t vote in the Joplin R-8 School Board election for a couple reasons.

Regarding “Council to conduct installation, elect mayor” (Globe, April 13) — sounds like a coronation, rather than an installation to dumb old me.

Thank you to Joplin and the surrounding communities for the wonderful support during our recent spaghetti-red event.

I would like to respond to Rita Crowell’s letter, “Propaganda” (Globe, April 14).

I was 8 years old. I remember the Depression quite well. There were 13 to 15 million out of work. There was no such thing as drawing unemployment benefits, no help at all.

Ozarks Public Television has a lot to be proud of these days. Not only does KOZJ-TV, Joplin’s Public Broadcasting Service affiliate, continue to serve the public’s need for safe-to-watch children’s shows, it also provides smart, interesting and locally focused entertainment and educational programming for adults as well.

I’m sitting here after reading a letter to the editor in The Joplin Globe from some poor misguided soul who has been a Republican so long that he believes anything one of them says. Even Allen Shirley.

I was born in Joplin and lived there until I left for college. I have family living there still. I visit periodically during the year, but usually go directly to relatives’ homes except for my most recent visit last week.

La Russell Stream Team No. 2945 would like to thank all of the volunteers and corporate sponsors who helped make the cleanup of the Lawrence County illegal dump on Spring River such a success on April 5.

The first time I met Bill Fleischaker, about 20 years ago, I was impressed with the compassion he displayed in his dealings with a student of mine who had gotten himself in a bit of trouble, and over the years I couldn’t help but admire the intense energy that he has expended on behalf of his clients.

Carthage city officials made a good decision when they tabbed Greg Dagnan as their community’s top cop.

The Joplin Globe, on Friday, April 11, gave us a glimpse into another “what is going wrong in America?” story that requires us to think deeply.

Back lifts, tail lifts, 360 double tailwhips, 720s ...
If you’re a fan of the BMX stunts performed by riders at events such as the X Games and Dew Tour, you were probably among the more than 750 spectators who gathered last weekend for JoMoPro 2008.

No Missouri patient awaiting a biopsy result or a possible cancer diagnosis should have to worry about being exploited by his own doctor.
Yet, this unethical practice can still be found in our state.
Proposed laws to end deplorable cost markups have failed in our state the past two years, even though Kansas legislators last year unanimously passed a law to end them in their state.

I have traveled many times in the past year, and it has been my experience that flying out of Joplin is by far the most convenient and comfortable way to travel. The Joplin Regional Airport meets my needs very well, and I will continue to use their services whenever possible.
I have been troubled, however, by the recent rate increase by Mesa Air. It seems that the rate for a round trip Kansas City trip has almost doubled. As a result, I have not been able to find tickets out of Joplin even remotely competitive, even when considering the benefit of free parking and lack of gas expense.

Larry Cebula’s letter to the editor (Globe, March 27) very succinctly addressed the issue about what the Citizens For A Decent Environment are not concerned about. Why does it not surprise me that the group is not concerned about the air, the water, illegal dumping, confined animal feeding operations, etc.?

Some Tulsa store clerk was fined $1,500 for gasoline price gouging during the last ice storm — monkey see, monkey do. I can’t believe we could let the oil barons start a war in our name and at our expense just to steal another country’s natural resources. Then get mad at a convenience-store clerk for taking advantage of us in a bad situation? You know, by jacking up the price of gas.

Hopefully, with the spotlight on the North American Free Trade Agreement, Sen. Hillary Clinton will get the airtime she deserves on the issue. I remember hearing about the Barack Obama camp contacting Canada, but I never heard anything later about Canada saying essentially “No, it was not Obama, it was Clinton.”

As one can see, the American people are constantly being persuaded by a barrage of the militant deviant homosexual propaganda machine via the liberal media to either tolerate, condone or even go so far as to embrace their perverse lifestyle.
This propaganda was clearly visible in The Joplin Globe’s recent “For Better or For Worse” comic strip on March 31. This anti-God, anti-family, anti-nature comic strip was an affront to the Christians and to God, our creator.

House Speaker Chris Benge’s apology for Oklahoma House Committee Chair Guy Liedmann’s refusal to allow Chad Smith, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, to speak at a recent committee meeting was the right thing to do.
Liedmann’s actions are a sad commentary on how committees are run these days in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

We can do better. In Jasper and Newton counties Tuesday, a little more than one in 10 voters went to the polls to decide tax questions and who will be in leadership positions in our cities and school districts.

I make no pretense at being an experienced traveler, but even I could see last week, as I flew the unfriendly skies, that there is something wrong with the airline system.

I suspect Roy Winans knew he was opening a volatile can of worms when he submitted his last letter to the editor.

Your piece “Bill gives boot to CAFOs” sure hurts my feelings. That acronym seems to have become a free-standing, four-letter word bearing no relationship to the thing it originally represented.

Seventy-five years ago, Joplin made national news when five members of the Bonnie and Clyde gang and five local police officers dramatically traded bullets in a shootout during the afternoon of April 13, 1933.

With anticipation we look forward to the week of April 21–26, 2008 — the 12th Missouri Southern International Piano Competition.

Twenty-five years ago John McCain voted against the Martin Luther King holiday; today he says that vote was wrong.

Well, we should have known this was coming, with two ice storms in two years. Empire is kind of like the oil companies, it can’t get enough of the profits. So let’s pass it on to the customer.

David Shipp’s letter (Globe April 4, “It boils down to peace”) demonstrates a complete misunderstanding about several current issues. First, it is obvious he does not support our efforts in the terrorist’s war on America.

Teachers, administrators and others interested in education, debate the true value of the No Child Left Behind Act.

My father always said, “If a man’s word is no good, then the man is no good.” I assume this applies to the fairer sex, also.

Let’s set the record straight: Disability services in Joplin are not as bad as Betty Brown says in her April 3 letter.

Let me begin by saying thank you to all of those who supported my candidacy for City Council and to those who voted for me on Tuesday, April 8.

People complain about the profit of the petroleum companies. Well, if everyone (or just you) would ride a bike to any destination of five miles or less, we would cut gas consumption drastically and force the price down.

First, there is no comparison between Barack Obama and President Lincoln. This is comparing apples to oranges, as they are from two completely different time periods, and each has, or had, its own unique problems.

How ignorant and uninformed does Sen. Clinton think we, the people, are?

Several business places throughout the Four-State Area are selling the Ouija board. I am sure the sellers do not know that it is from the realm of darkness. It is not a toy but a tool of Satan.

This is concerning Susan Golis’ outlook on what she calls an early spring. She was giving nature the credit for the timing. Does she not know that God is the one who controls nature?

Sen. Clinton has collected $169 million as of the last of February to spend on campaigning. Sen. Obama has collected $193 million.

We hesitate to commend anyone for simply following instructions and doing what is required of him ... but here goes.

I just read the letter by Charles Gackstetter (Globe, March 31), and I am incensed by it. He calls Jeremiah Wright a preacher and prophet. I seriously doubt he is even a Christian.

The summit set for later this month in Joplin is encouraging. I’m sure agencies dealing with the homeless will accept any help they can get. What concerns me is what are people living this nightmare now supposed to do until then?

The past couple of weeks I have been watching with interest both the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments. I have sat in wonderment at the skills that both have displayed. All of this by mere college kids.

Mr. Gackstetter, please, did your letter miss its intended publication date by one day? April 1 was on Tuesday. On Monday, March 31, you made the statement that the Reverend Jeremiah Wright was somehow prophetic.