Letters to the editor

No public input

The president says give 1.7 million illegal immigrants legal status. Charleston County Council says no to I-526 being placed on the ballot. Folly Beach City Council says alcohol is banned from the surfside.

What do these things have in common? The people were not given a say.

I’m wondering when a handful of people hijacked the government that was “of the people, by the people and for the people.”

Alfred F. Croucher III

Riverland Drive

Charleston

Faith or party?

Staunch Democrats who are Christians have a true dilemma this year. Do I vote political party or faith?

Sanctity of human life, freedom of religion and the God-defined concept of marriage — the Democratic Party is against all three. Do I take a stand for God or party?

Terry L. Watkins

Wildwood Landing

North Charleston

Lessons learned

The PGA Championship is gone. No more cars and buses behind Freshfields. Traffic is back to normal. What did we learn?

We learned that Kiawah can host a spectacular golf tournament. Already flush from its No. 1 ranking among cities, Charleston added another round of kudos with the PGA.

Traffic and parking logistics were handled as best as they could be, meaning fine if you arrived early and abysmal if you arrived later or got caught in the rain.

Was it a surprise? It shouldn’t have been.

The PGA gave us a taste of things to come when the next big hurricane hits.

The two-lane roads of Johns Island won’t be able to handle the traffic of a fleeing population.

Not that the issue hasn’t been debated until there’s nothing left to debate. Widening Bohicket or River Road. Building a cross island parkway down the rural center of Johns Island. Extending I-526.

Opponents of road improvements into and out of Johns Island argue that a four-lane road will change the rural nature of the island.

Show me where that’s happened on four-lane Betsy Kerrison Parkway, 21 years after it was built for the Ryder Cup.

Opponents argue that road building will irreparably damage the ecosystem of the land and water it touches.

Show me how the James Island Connector has irreparably damaged the Ashley River ecosystem.

When the next big one hits, will politicians accept their part of the blame? Or the Coastal Conservation League? Or the strident Johns Island land barons?

Seems as if we always have to learn the hard way. Or do we?

Paul Porwoll

Hope Plantation Drive

Johns Island

Supersized

Obesity in America is being blamed on fast-food places that supersize.

Have you shopped in a super market lately? Drinks, snacks and candy are advertised as being 20 percent larger, and people buy these things with cash or food stamps and consume them.

The blame belongs not on fast food, but on the individual who chooses to buy.

Martha Riley

Paradise Pond Lane

Harleyville

School referendum

Here are my thoughts regarding Mayor Carl Smith calling for a referendum on the proposed Sullivan’s Island School.

1) The county school district is absolutely correct to establish a minimum size standard for a school given all of the support and administration services required to operate a school. It is not cost-effective to operate a small school.

2) The county school district is dead wrong to propose building a school on the beachfront of a barrier island. The potential hurricane damage is obvious, but the perpetual maintenance due to wind and saltwater spray is indefensible, even though the site itself is free.

3) The vast majority of the students would be bused from the mainland, across the causeway and bridge to the school; it is far better to bus the smaller Sullivan’s Island group to the mainland.

4) A referendum has no validity in that the school will be paid for and owned by the people of the county at large, not the residents of Sullivan’s Island.

5) The school built to replace the old Sullivan’s Island school should be located on the mainland.

Fred Sales, Ed.D.

Member

Citizens Oversight

Committee Advisory Panel

Lawton Harbor Drive

Charleston

Out of order

The writer of an Aug. 14 letter titled “Unfair distinction” has his priorities out of order.

I did not serve over 21 years in the U.S. Air Force to be given free tickets to PGA golf events or any other commercial enterprise. Serving in the military was a great career opportunity for me.

Growing up as a sharecropper offered little advancement back in 1960. It took three weeks to join after graduation from high school, a decision I’ve never regretted. It was my duty to serve my country.

Fifty-two years later I’m still proudly working part-time for the Air Force. Special military discounts at Lowe’s, Home Depot and some other companies show far more respect than free golf tickets.

As a golfer I’ve attended the Masters in Augusta and the World Cup at Kiawah. In neither case did I get tickets based on being retired military.

Anyone joining the military should do so for the love of their country, not for freebies.

I’m proud to be an American who served his country’s military with honor and not concern about post-retirement commercial perks.

Chuck Strickland

Pineview Subdivision

Goose Creek