Letters to the Editor: Thunder Ridge traffic, politicians, the innocent and the accused

Citizens deserve to know if Bolivar politician broke the law

I would like to express my opinion that the citizens of Polk County deserve an expedited hearing in the three criminal cases of City of Bolivar v. Barbara J Davolt. Ms. Davolt is the Polk County Administrator and has been charged with multiple counts of theft from Walmart. It is my understanding that all of the accusations have been recorded by store security cameras.

Ms. Davolt is an elected official who is responsible to care for and make decisions on behalf of those in public guardianship. This position, requiring HIGH public trust, should NOT be filled by someone with such a criminal history. This criminal case has been pending in court for almost a year and has seen numerous unnecessary delays.

We, the citizens of Polk County, deserve a speedy resolution! If a criminal is holding office, we deserve to know the truth! It is unacceptable to have such numerous delays!

Coby Cullins, Brighton

Support Quade, beware of Trump

As a member of the Greene County Democratic Central Committee, of course I support all the Democrats running for elected office in the state of Missouri. My one exception is in the governor's race. I support Missouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade over Sam Hamra in the Democratic primary. She has shown time after time that she supports those acts that improve the lives of all Missourians, not those acts supported by MAGA officials who support their party and Trump and not Missouri and the country.

With President Biden dropping out of the race for President of the United States, I will support whomever the National Democratic Party decides will be our ticket.

In Nazi Germany, pre-World War II, Adolph Hitler blamed all of Germany's problems on the Jews. In 2024, pre-presidential election, former president Donald J. Trump blames all of the problems of the United States on illegal aliens. Almost all of the Republican candidates running for state office in Missouri echo Trump's complaints. We all know what happened in Nazi Germany. What is going to happen in this country if Trump is elected along with all of the anti-immigrant candidates running for office in Missouri? Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it!

Len Eagleburger, Springfield

Rock-and-rolling into a nightmare

Johnny Morris is the quintessential American dream who built his literal empire from scratch and like so many Springfieldians we love supporting him and all he has brought to the Ozarks, including the Thunder Ridge amphitheater. It’s amazing how Mr. Morris and his team have brought so many big names to perform out in the middle of nowhere, including one of the biggest acts of all time, The Rolling Stones! So of course I had to go! How could one not go even if the tickets were extremely high for lawn seats — it’s still The Rolling Stones and for many like me, a once in a lifetime chance.

The drive to Ridgedale was of course beautiful because it’s the Ozarks and after a few wrong turns because of lack of signs and employees that were uninformed of where to direct us to our parking lot, we eventually made it. The amphitheater is perfectly situated in the hills, providing the perfect backdrop to an insanely great performance by the Stones. Even if the water stations provided us with murky, yellow-green well water we could have cared less at that moment because we were all so happy and excited!

Unfortunately our emotional high after the concert soon came crashing down. We spent three hours at a complete standstill in our parking lot unable to move because of gridlock. The only four traffic workers I saw stood helpless as we all sat there with tempers running high in every car around us, desperately trying to get home. People became so impatient after three hours of waiting (understandably) they started to dangerously shove their way into lines or try to make even more lines in hopes of getting out fastest — and who could blame them when all the guidance we had in a poorly-lit parking lot were ill-placed traffic cones.

The concert ended at 11:45pm and I didn’t walk through my front door till 4 a.m. and I only live on the west side of Springfield. Thank goodness there were no emergency situations needing medical attention because it was so out of control, no EMS could have made it through the jam-packed exits and the three cops on the property were all off standing on a side road by themselves, also providing no help.

I do not blame the Thunder Ridge employees or the police because this goes above them. It’s so disappointing after Bass Pro knew the troubles with traffic after the Garth Brooks fiasco and did nothing to fix it! Johnny Morris should be ashamed that he put his own neighbors and community members in a potentially dangerous situation. Until safe and more organized exit plans are made they need to halt all shows and we all know that company has the money to provide a safer environment.

Lindsey Glenn, Springfield

Christians can't have it both ways

You can not support Trump and be a Christian. Trump is an adulterer. Trump has been convicted in civil court of sexual assault. Trump is a pathological liar. Trump is a racist. Trumps tweets and speeches expound hate, revenge and violence. Trump is everything Christ preached against.

The choice is yours. Christian or hypocrite.

James Danzer, Springfield

Let MoDOT know roundabout at Reeds Spring Junction a bad idea

If you drive Highway 13 on your way to the lake, Branson or Silver Dollar City, you should be aware that MoDOT is planning to make changes to the intersection of 248/160/13, Reeds Spring Junction. They have announced their plan to build a roundabout at this intersection. Earlier this year there was an information meeting and the plan was met with quite a bit of opposition.

I feel that when the current intersection was built, it should have been placed farther to the north. It is a dangerous intersection due to the elevation of the road to the north, the curve to the south, unaware drivers and the speed of the cars on 13. There needs to be improvements but I feel a stoplight would be a much better option than a roundabout.

There is another information meeting on Monday, July 29 between 4:30 and 6 p.m. The meeting will take place at Reeds Spring high school. For information and to leave comments you can also go to www.modot.org/southwest .

Alicia Rohrer, Reeds Spring

AG Bailey should answer for holding innocents in jail

Sandra Hemme and Christopher Dunn are being held in Missouri prisons so that our attorney general, Andrew Bailey, can stay in office.

A court has ordered Hemme, who has spent 43 years in prison, to be released because she is innocent. Dunn also has a court order for his release because DNA absolved him of his murder conviction, for which he has been imprisoned for 33 years. Both of these innocent people remain in jail because Andrew Bailey doesn’t like the optics of releasing these folks so close to an election, in my opinion. He SAYS he wants to appeal the findings of innocence, these appeals having little to no chance of success (if you can call keeping an innocent person in prison “success”).

This kind of behavior is beneath the dignity of the office of attorney general, an office once held by the likes of honorable public servants like Jack Danforth and Jay Nixon. It promotes distrust in our judges and legal system, and indicts our very system of government.

If Bailey wants to play the thug long enough to keep the MAGA crowd happy, let him come to court personally and answer for this pathetic behavior. Let him run the risk every attorney faces for his disrespect for the court, which is a contempt finding and possible imprisonment.

I’m guessing a little shock time will enlighten Mr. Bailey and free these innocent victims. Let the wardens who house these prisoners at Bailey’s request come to court as well.

Justice is long overdue. Darren Morrison, Greenfield

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Letters to the Editor: Thunder Ridge traffic, politicians, the innocent and the accused