Gloria Hearn seeks 5th District Congress seat

By James Ronald Skains
Journal Correspondent

The first question posed to Mrs. Hearn was: "When you see a log truck passing through Alexandria, Pineville or other parts of central and north Louisiana, what are your first thoughts?"

"My many years as an educator influence my thinking. When I see a log truck anywhere, I first think of the children that the load of logs is helping to educate," Mrs. Hearn replied. "Not only is that load of logs helping pay for the education of the loggers' children, but also for the children of the people working at the mills. For many individual timberland owners, that load of logs represents a source of investment income for them."

"The timber industry has changed so much during my lifetime in education," Mrs. Hearn said. "The industry in Central and North Louisiana and the Kisatchie National Forest once provided a tax base for our school systems. But national politics have almost destroyed the timber industry not only in Louisiana but through out the nation. There have been so many mills shut down in North and Central Louisiana," Mrs. Hearn added. "It is a shame what has happened in Urania."

The second question posed by the Journal to candidate Hearn was:
"In your opinion, what are the key factors in recent years that have contributed to the decline of the timber industry in Louisiana?"
"One of the major factors was when the current administration allowed the Canadian Softwood Agreement to expire in 2001 to placate the Canadians on other political matters," Mrs. Hearn answered. "After that, we were flooded not only by Canadian lumber but by lumber from Europe, South America and Mexico."

"The recent settlement between the U.S. and Canada is something that I don't understand. How could the administration allow that to happen to the people who try to make a living in the timber industry? As I understand the situation, the administration gave back to the Canadian timber industry $4 billion that had been collected in tariffs when the Canadians began to dump their government-subsidized lumber into the U.S."

"Not only did the current administration give back some $4 billion to the Canadians that was supposed to go to the U.S. timber industry that had already been hurt by the dumping of cheap Canadian lumber, but they basically gave the Canadians a green light to send as much lumber into the States as they want to. Supposedly, once the percentage of Canadian lumber coming into the U.S. passes 30%, a tariff will be charged based on the price of lumber. That sounds ridiculous to me. It sounds like a complete sellout of the U.S. forest industry by the current administration."\par }{\plain Another factor is the cost of diesel fuel. How can the loggers keep logging and hauling to the mills when they have to pay $2.75 a gallon for diesel. How could the mills give the loggers more money without raising the price of their products? It's getting to be a vicious circle with everybody, except the professional politicians, losing!"

On a list of topics asked, Mrs. Hearn said:
Poor economy in the District: "That is a situation that I find ludicrous. With all the assets and advantages in the 5th district, it should not even be the poorest congressional district in the State! The 5th Congressional District borders the Mississippi river on its eastern boundary. In addition, there are two other navigable rivers that cut through the district, the Red River and the Ouachita. The 5th District has three Interstate highways the east/west I-20 and I-10 and I-49 north and south. What more do we need to have a vibrant economy in our district but leadership on the Congressional level? I really want to focus on the tourist industry."

Education: "Education is the basis for all the good things that can happen to the people in an area. By education, I don't mean just focus on kids getting a high school diploma and going to college. I'm talking about that and much more such as vo-tech schools and workforce training. At the elementary school and secondary levels, we have to continue to upgrade our pre-service and ongoing professional development and support for teachers and administrators. We also have to work diligently to help strengthen the network and relationship between educators and the local communities to support their educational efforts.

Health care: "Health care is a major problem that is changing the way we live. As a senior citizen, I personally know many people who have terrible problems getting adequate health care due to the high cost of prescription drugs and medical fees. I will work hard to make an impact on reducing the pain we all have with medical care and cost."

Iraq war; terrorism: "I can certainly empathize with the parents who are losing young sons and daughters in the war as I lost a son at age 28 to cancer. We should have never let bin Laden and his terrorist network survive our initial efforts in Afghanistan. I think we went in the wrong direction by trying to 'nation build' in the oil rich middle-east without first eliminating the Al Queda terrorist network."

Social Security: "Who knows the answer to the Social Security issue? About the only thing that we know for sure is that Social Security will not be around much longer for those who have paid in all these years unless some drastic changes are made by new leadership in Washington."

The final question asked by the Journal concerned a statement on Her qualifications: "In my many years in education on the local, state and national levels, I've worked with numerous real leaders in their chosen professions. I've been to the White House and to Congress for meetings so I will not be seduced by all the glitz and glitter of Washington and rubbing elbows with the grand politicians of our day. But more important are basic roles that I've adhered to over the years as a educator, an active member of the Baptist Church at all levels including Louisiana College and as a pastor's wife for 40 years. I've also been a political activist over the years for what I believed was right and good. I'm not in the habit of shutting up, sitting down, being politically correct and going along to get along."

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