Gross misstatement

I'd like to correct one misstatement in Ralph Gross' "The (Educated) Reader" from your Sept. 22 issue. Gross states that The Des Moines Register was once "a destination paper" but now it's a stepping-stone paper. Well, I won't comment on what the paper used to be, but it's certainly no stepping stone, but rather a final resting place for those who aren't going to go anywhere else.

R.T. Dickens
West Des Moines

Gaskell right on target

I don't usually agree with the point of view expressed in Jon Gaskell's columns (the Register-bashing columns excepted, of course). But his latest column about the Des Moines Public School system ("Marketing 101," Oct. 6) was right on target. One of the primary reasons I choose to live in Des Moines is the DMPS. My son - a 10th-grader at Roosevelt who attends some classes at the Central Academy - receives a quality education that elsewhere would cost me a small fortune in private tuition. And he does so in a diverse cultural environment that, I believe, more closely matches the society in which he will have to put that education to work. Kudos for a job well done.

Phil Stoffregen
Des Moines

Partially right

Jon Gaskell's recent phone hug with the Des Moines School Board president Phil Roeder ("Marketing 101," Oct. 6) resulted in a column urging the board to communicate better with the public, especially about what is right in our schools. I agree, in part, with Gaskell's premise.

Like many, my wife and I choose to live here mostly because of our children's school. It is a truly remarkable place, as are the middle and high schools they will attend. Central Campus is a national model and one we should fight to protect. Tell these success stories, folks. Our school system is worth defending and it makes sense to promote it.

But, Roeder and his colleagues (and Gaskell) need to recognize that cheerleading is the easy part of the job. The hard part is honestly communicating our problems and openly exploring solutions with the public. Sitting on high at the board table and telling people that everything is under control and assuring them you have made wise decisions is not enough. You need to discuss the failures and successes equally and engage the community to work together to fix what is broken.

Spend a single day at any Des Moines school and you will walk away awed by what goes on there. You will also be concerned about what is lacking and the challenges that lie unmet. Go ahead and cheer, but don't try to fool us, or yourselves, into thinking that the job stops there. Cheering and self-congratulation may make us feel good in the short run and actually is necessary, if it bucks us up to tackle the tasks that lie ahead.

Graham Gillette
Des Moines

Kearney on everything

To paraphrase the American Revolutionary War hero John Paul Jones, "Surrender, hell, you red-coated, slimy, limey bastards. I've just begun to fight." Murillo should realize his letter ("Letters," Oct. 6) would have made the shitter and not even the shredder at the Register. He should also try writing for free and go on the wagon. So what if Dave Murillo lost his Cityview gig? Ain't nobody stole his pen and paper, or broke his writing hand. And, if Cityview pays its columnists the chump change I suspect they do, Murillo is forced to buy his own case of beer and chewing tobacco or snuff each week. He keeps his mansion in Norwalk, his cushy job at the Des Moines Police Department, and the doughnuts and coffee are still free at every Quik Trip in town. (Holy hell, Dave, you want tears from a poor man's eyes for your woes. Try, to quote Chris Farley, "living in a van down by the river.")

Even if Jon Gaskell is addicted to ass kissing, Cityview has been getting better. Recent cases in point: "An Educated Reader" (Sept. 22) and "Blood in the Water" (Sept. 29). The former described how a (once) world-class newspaper turned to complete bullshit when the giant Gannett chain bought it. The latter explains how "car title and payday loan" businesses destroy the mental health, self-respect and the economic lives of their customers (suckers).

Cityview's investigative reporter and features writer (sweet and foxy ladies both, I'm sure) have also displayed their writing talents to good effect. But, with our hometown paper a cruel joke, Cityview can and must do better. Your readers need more exposes, more human-interest stories and (damn straight) more political stories. Cityview also needs an expanded letters section. This will show you respect your readers' opinions and make us read you come hell or high water. Oh, and tell Gaskell the next meeting of Ass-Kissers Anonymous is Nov. 1. After this letter, I might go with him.

Tom Kearney
Des Moines

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