Setting the bar

On June 6-8, Vietnam Veterans of Amer­ica Inc., Chapter 920, hosted the Texas State Council (TSC) at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites, 1434 Centre Place Drive. There were 32 of 35 chapters, as well as TSC and regional officers in attendance.  Our event set the bar for other chapters.

This speaks volumes to Denton and its businesses. Everyone complimented the venue, Holiday Inn, for its cleanliness and hospitality, especially the attentive staff that were always smiling and doing their best to make the stay pleasant. They were also impressed by the support shown by our local businesses. 

VVA 920 thanks: Bill Bending of our Social Security office, for the office items supplied, North Star Bank, Point Bank, Hooters, Lewisville Estates, United Fi­nancial Services, Charlie Browns Travel and Rambling Oaks Assisted Living Res­idence for the other items contributed to the goodie bags for the attendees.

We also thank the Hampton Inn for accommodating the overflow of those people who made last-minute reservations for the conference.

VVA 920 is proud to serve Denton with: an honor guard for parades, funerals and ceremonies; community service (We recently distributed more than 2,100 cases, or 25,000 boxes, of baby wipes to more than 150 nonprofits in and around Denton County); and displaying a positive and patriotic presence for our aging veterans and our younger generation.

Thank you, Denton. See you at the 4th of July parade.

Virgil Aldag, Corinth, president, Vietnam Veterans of America Inc., Chapter 920

No surrogate deity

As one of Denton’s bigoted atheists, I want to respond to Dr. W. J. Morris, Ph.D., CPA, who, in today’s newspaper [Letters, June 26] suggests that atheists “believe” in evolution as a replacement for God.

My “belief” in the theory of evolution in biology, or the laws of thermodynamics, or tectonic plate theory in geology, or any other scientific theory, is not based on the belief this knowledge is immutable.

All scientific knowledge is based on what we know of what has been observed so far. All that knowledge is, in one sense, temporary; it is always subject to being disproved — by a better theory or a new means of observing nature.

It is these kinds of things that one hopes are taught in science classes.

God, one assumes, is true and forever, not a matter of observation or testing. This is very different from scientific knowledge. I fail to see how one could think anyone has replaced any god (be she Isis or Astarte or be he Odin or Zeus or Jesus Christ or simply “the Force”) with “evolution.”

I think the mistake is in thinking (believing) that a person must have some sort of supernatural explanation in his or her life. Some of us just know that we do not know and don’t spend a lot of time worrying about it. It is possible to live without “belief” in the sense that Mr. Morris means and not find it necessary to latch on to whatever the going god thing is at the moment.

Elinor Johansen, Ph.D.,

Denton

Guiding hand

As the parent of one of the young boys who studied at the “foot” of Iseed, I loved and appreciated the article Sunday. 

He has continued to be a friend, and our little soccer boy is 45. He has truly loved Denton, and there are many grown boys and their parents from Denton who love him.

But an article about the early start of soccer in Denton should also include the name of Dr. Richard Lowe. He and Iseed worked together teaching the boys in the early years.

My love to Iseed for the soccer program in Denton.

Ethel Carter,