Dear Editor,

I came to Columbiana from Birmingham with two babies. I was scared to death of living in a small town, so I built my house in the suburbs.

I soon found Columbiana to be a nice, friendly town, where I could purchase most everything needed for my five baby-boomers. It never occurred to me that the Republican Party could take over Shelby County.

Our Republicans have used religion, while turning our country into a suburban sprawl. All we hear from them is patriotism, Jesus Christ, and thou shalt not gamble, while they have destroyed much of our beautiful forests, building highways and polluting the air we breath, which can only help out the oil lords.

Columbiana has no major highways to bring in Wal-Marts, filling stations or Winn Dixies, and this sprawl has wounded Columbiana as well as Birmingham.

I would like to ask the person who lives in Birmingham, who wrote the editorial, &8220;Monster Walk Disappointing,&8221; how many Wal-Marts they passed along the way to Columbiana? Why didn’t they play trick or treat along these busy highways? Was it because Wal-Mart didn’t give out any treats?

Christine Chambliss

Columbiana

Dear Editor,

It’s Veterans Day, a Day we celebrate our people in the armed forces, a day that most of us remember because these wonderful people are fighting for us. Not only for our freedom, but for our right to openly express our personal views. Here goes:

The Monster Walk. We worked hard to have an event that our children can enjoy at Halloween and be safe. That is what it is all about. We don’t have a Monster Walk to make people shop in our stores or businesses, we have a Monster Walk because we love our children. Most of the adults that participate have worked an 8-10 hour day already and, quite frankly, could be doing a million other things. But they take time out of their busy schedules and money &045; and anyone that has purchased candy knows it is not cheap, especially when you are buying for 2000 people &045; to make this event special for our children.

The adults enjoy dressing up almost as much as the children. For me this event is especially close to my heart. My son always participated in this event with me, he always went the extra mile to dress up and to give out candy. Every Monster Walk I see his face in all the children’s faces and I think how lucky they are to have their children with them. Enjoy them. It is such a special time.

This is our sixth year for the Monster Walk and I think it was the best. The lines were long but we stayed until the last child received their candy. I, for one, want to thank all the merchants and professionals that participated and took time out of their busy day to make this event special and magical for our children. They will never forget it.

Susan Conn

Columbiana

Monster Walk Coordinator

Dear Editor,

As an SCHS parent, I would like to congratulate the coaches and the football players for their display of extreme sportsmanlike conduct during Chelsea game. They truly demonstrated the values and principals their coaches impart in them. Of course as parents, we demand even more from our sons and daughters, and they completely rose to the challenge.

I saw a game reminiscent of &8220;Remember the Titans,&8221; referees not calling the complete game, and only being able to see half of the infractions, the SCHS half. We lost more yards in that one game than almost all of our games combined.

Our quarterback spent the night in a hospital bed because of a late hit that was not called. Yes, we had a player ejected, however, the question should be, was it truly justified? The ejected player was telling another teammate to &8220;chill out.&8221; The other teammate was upset because he had received a late hit, which was not called. Again, was the ejection justified?

I saw off-sides penalties not called. Late hits, not called. And I am just a mom who does not have a complete understanding of all the game rules and regulations. There is great truth to the old adage. Perception is everything.

To the SCHS players and coaches, well done. You won in spite of all the adversity. Well done, you mighty men of valor. Well done, gentlemen.

Carol Lacey

Columbiana

Dear Editor,

After reading the comments in last week’s paper written by Mr. Shahid Syed, I felt I had no alternative but to write a letter in support of the businesses and citizens of Columbiana.

Mr. Syed was disappointed that children were treated badly at the Halloween Monster Walk sponsored by the business owners of Columbiana. Mr. Syed obviously does not know the businesses owners or citizens of this community very well.

The business owners (including myself and my staff) and citizens donate their time, effort and funds to this event and other events in our city not to bring ourselves business and profits, but rather to support our community and the people who live and work here. These events give our community the opportunity to socialize in an environment rarely seen in our day and time. The Monster Walk and other events held by other local organizations on Halloween night allow us to keep our children in a safe and fun environment.

I purchased my dental practice more than two years ago and moved to Columbiana specifically because of the great citizens and business owners of this community. These citizens and business owners are badly misrepresented by Mr. Syed’s comments.

Please allow me to say thank you to all of the business owners and citizens who participate in the Monster Walk and other events throughout the year. Columbiana is a wonderful city to live and work in and I am proud to live and raise by children here among the caring and giving people of our community.

Tim Nettles

Columbiana

Dear Editor,

In response to a letter in the Nov. 9 issue of the Shelby County Reporter from Shahid Syed, perhaps your readers would like to know more about the Columbiana Merchants and Professionals Association.

Were organized in 2000 as a non-profit organization to improve the business community of Columbiana. In doing so we have a service to all the citizens of our city. We sponsored the Community Events Sign at the new county parking lot. We are an annual sponsor of Columbiana’s Liberty Day Celebration and take an active part in that event. We are supporters of the Jeanette Niven House Foundation, which provides the offices to the South Shelby Chamber of Commerce and meeting space for our city’s civic organizations. We sponsor an annual college scholarship to a senior student from Shelby County High School. We organized and sponsored the summer Friday-night music programs in downtown Columbiana. We bring Santa Claus to town in November and December each year. We support our local schools and churches.

Our Monster Walk on Halloween afternoon was started as a way for our children to safely trick-or-treat in their costumes. Columbiana officials and police work with us every year to keep this event safe for all who participate and we gave treats to approximately 2000 people this year.

Monster Walk is a fun time and we hope to see it continue to grow. We appreciate the support we receive from our customers, clients and community.

Georgiann Farrington

Columbiana

President, Columbiana Merchants & Professionals Associatio