Rants & Raves: Readers react to the story, 'Beaufort-Jasper ACE bus fire raises concerns about bus safety'

Readers react to the story, "Beaufort-Jasper ACE bus fire raises concerns about bus safety":

My son's bus used to break down almost weekly. He would sometimes not reach his after-school program until almost 5:00. I've never, in more than six years ... received even one notification of bus problems. Mindy Winn

Lottery money is going to ???????????? Bobby Paszek

The buses around here are horrible! The backs are all smoking horrible black smoke and are constantly breaking down. I have only ever encountered one bus driver locally that was even friendly. She is superb with the kids but still drives like a bat out of ... Emily McIsaac

Wow ... at least one parent is concerned ... amazing ... Robbert Lamaker

Reason # 967 why my son will never take the bus to school here. Wendy Harkin

I've been taking my kids to school for 2 years and it's gonna stay that way. Gwendolyn Alston

On the story, "Town Council candidate: Get rid of Bluffton PD":

I don't think the Bluffton PD needs to be dissolved. I do, however, think that they need to tighten up. Sitting on the side of the road just hanging out and texting while people speed right past you isn't protecting or serving anyone. Christine Stewart

You can start ... in pushing for contiguous boundaries for Bluffton and not this piecemeal patchwork of what BPD covers and doesn't cover. You also need to look at why a town the size of Bluffton has such a large public safety budget that eats up such a large percentage of the overall budget. Chris Short

Really? See the Island Packet's other headline: "Hilton Head Island Beach Shop Robbed at Gunpoint." That's what is happening on the island where there is no police department! Those thugs know they can do anything they want at Coligny and never get caught! Bluffton says NO THANKS to that nonsense! KEEP OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT!! Vicki Shivers

I retired from a city police department about the size of the Bluffton PD. That city turned over the duties of their police department to the county thinking they would save money. Within two years the citizens realized it was a mistake to loose their PD. When they checked into starting their own department they found they could not afford to start one and now they are stuck with the county sheriff's department, which was already stretched thin. I hope that the citizens of Bluffton do not want less patrols and longer response times. Gerald Craig

And if he thinks the crime is not high enough to warrant a PD perhaps it's not high enough because there is a PD. This is crazy. Rockelle Henderson

Why do they need 40 percent of the budget? Maybe that should be the real story. Brian Scott Vosicky

I love the Bluffton PD. Any time I have ever needed them they were there, quick, efficient. Even got called a week later to see how things were after an incident. Alexis Walker

We need a lot less police force in Bluffton. I see enough Beaufort County Sheriff's Office (officers) to provide cover for all of Bluffton. There is no need for such a high budget to begin with. Lee Martindale

On the story: "Local fishermen want to close Beaufort County waters to crabbing":

Everyone I know catches just fine!! That's why they call it fishing, not catching!!! Keith Opozda

I'm sure with all the pots you see in the water and the shrimping boats that haul a lot in, it would seem there aren't many. Haven't been in years but I pray they continue to reproduce and believe they did speak of some sort of regulation on when to do crab pots in my area of Georgia. Mary Gregor

This story was originally published September 6, 2015 at 11:19 PM with the headline "Rants & Raves: Readers react to the story, 'Beaufort-Jasper ACE bus fire raises concerns about bus safety'."