Oran issues having negative impact

To the editor:

I have lived in and around Oran almost my entire life, and I never knew how crime-ridden it was until a few months ago. Actually, I haven't seen a serious car accident in town for several years. As for felonies such as armed robberies or kidnappings -- they've never happened. A lot of people in Oran walk or jog day and night without fear. If you call not completely stopping at a stop sign or going 22 mph in the 15-mph zone a big crime wave, that's different.

Yes, Oran had three grocery stores at one time. We've also had a blacksmith shop, a train depot, a slaughterhouse, a shoe store and a theater. Times change. But when we lose our only bar and grill, our only grocery store, our only hardware store and our only convenience store/gas station, what happens then? Sales in Oran are down -- and not from the economy. There have been worse years for the economy than 2005. There was a $157,000 sales decrease from 2005 to 2004 in a four-month period.

I was under the impression that Oran was receiving a grant for the new law enforcement personnel. Salaries for police are partly being paid from gasoline-tax revenue. This revenue is supposed to be for street repairs and improvements.

Also, in the last two months Oran has spent $9,000 more than it brought in. It's not too late to save Oran.

SHARON BRASHEAR, Oran, Mo.