Letter to the Editor 10-22-21

Dear editor,
I encourage folks to vote “yes” on the proposed school bond issue November 2. The plan calls for a sensible blend of new and remodeled structures. The community has had multiple opportunities for input. The resulting proposal mirrors the values of patrons, taxpayers and educators in Cloud County. The proposal addresses the many requirements for schools in the 21st century, as our nation follows up on the Americans with Disabilities Act signed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990.
It's easier to plead for a “no” vote on a proposal for public expenditure than it is to explain the need to vote “yes.” Let me share some history.
Early in 2015 we Concordia Presbyterians observed the centennial of the construction of our church building at the corner of Seventh and State streets. I volunteered to go through the contents of an old safe in the basement. It contained account books, architectural drawings and miscellaneous records. Among the items, a hand-written note caught my attention; it said:
Dear Members of the Session:
As you plan your church please make it possible for my son Billy to worship there.
Sincerely,
(the mother's name
I am grateful that someone in the congregation of 1914-15 saved this mother's plea for a church that her son could enter despite his physical condition. It pains me that the Session — the main decision-making board of the church — of that day ignored her request.
Christians in this community ought to read Luke 5: 18-26, as friends of a paralyzed man make a hole in the roof of a crowded house in order to lower the man down to where Jesus could heal him. The story is probably the reason why churches in town, including the First Presbyterian Church, have worked so hard to make their places of worship accessible with lifts and ramps.
Where our kids go to school should be as accessible.
Sincerely,
Joe Detrixhe