District attorney race

The raging national debate appears to center on smaller government. But shouldn’t the issue of smaller government be the same on the county level?

I recently read Republican Abel Reyna’s position as he attempts to run for district attorney in McLennan County. It appears that he charges our DA, Democrat John Segrest, of not prosecuting more cases.

Segrest and his staff run a pretty cost-effective operation. Cost is a huge factor, and sometimes cases do not have enough evidence to prosecute. It takes a very skilled group of professionals to make sure that each case is decided on merit and evidence.

If disgruntled police officers feel their arrests are not being prosecuted, it might be a good idea for them to look at their own performance. Did they work the case properly and provide the district attorney with a solid case?

Reyna vows to prosecute more cases. However, the people of McLennan County need to be reminded that all criminal cases that are appealed go to the appeals court, and Reyna’s father is on the 10th Circuit of Appeals. So if Reyna is successful in his bid for district attorney and proceeds to prosecute every single case that comes across his desk, he could create a very expensive venture for the county. His father will have to recuse himself on those cases sent to his court. That means the county will have to bring in visiting judges at extra cost.

Segrest has more than 25 years of experience. He runs a tight ship and saves the county money. Reyna’s pledge will result in a hefty cost to McLennan County because his father sits on the 10th Circuit.

Big government applies to all levels. We want the bad guy behind bars, but we also want justice and a cost-effective district attorney’s office. We need Segrest’s proven experience in these tough financial times.

Kathy Schroeder

Fredericksburg

Recycling groups

It’s a shame that only one online recycling group has been noticed by the Trib in recent stories and editorials. There are several recycling groups in Central Texas.

Freecycle certainly is a great group. It’s well-known nationwide, but it is by no means the only one. The more groups that are known, the better the job we can do reducing reusable items in our landfills.

I recognize that Yahoo Groups’ search feature isn’t outstanding, but that’s even more reason for the Trib to at least mention the existence of other groups, like Sharing Is Giving, so people will know we’re out there.

Sharing Is Giving can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SharingIsGiving-Waco_TX/.

We’ve also restarted the group for the Killeen area located at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SharingIsGiving-Killeen-TX/.

Donna Hurst

Waco

Health care reading

A big thank you to John Pisciotta for his fine Jan. 5 letter and expert evaluation of the awful health care legislation about to be passed in Washington. I wish copies of his letters and opinions would be required reading there.

Also, thanks to George Harvey for his letter that same day on health care.

Dr. Howard L. Smith

Marlin