Deer-culling decision wrong for Palmetto Dunes on Hilton Head | Letters
On Jan. 16, the Palmetto Dunes Property Owners Association board voted to cull the deer inside the gated community. This vote was taken without notice to residents. Residents’ opinions were not sought. All residents living in Palmetto Dunes pay yearly assessments.
The plan is to bait and shoot the deer. There has been extensive conversation on the app “Nextdoor.” People are upset, wanting to stop this atrocity that we were not questioned about.
For many, the wildlife is the reason they chose to move to PD. Visitors vacationing here stop to enjoy the deer and constantly remark on the serenity and beauty nature in Palmetto Dunes provides.
When questioning a board member, I was told no reason was given for the vote. They couldn’t even give an estimate as to how many deer are in PD. We can’t blame automobile collisions with deer because there have been only 11 in 10 years.
The real reason appears to be damage to people’s landscapes. What they forget is the deer, birds, alligators and all other creatures were here first. We as humans cause more destruction than these poor, harmless, helpless beautiful creatures.
What would our visitors think if they knew our board voted to kill what they find bothersome.
When Charles Fraser set out to develop this island, this was not his vision. What will we get rid of next?
Man up, Palmetto Dunes POA. We deserve the right to be involved in decisions that affect our community.
Doreen DeSa
Hilton Head Island
Housing plan unfair to the 30% on Hilton Head
It’s quite evident, dear Watson, that the Hilton Head Island town leaders’ planned solution for “affordable” workforce housing is to jam it all into only 30% of the island. That would be the non-gated portion of the island.
They plan to do this by excluding the remaining 70% of the island, the gated portion.
Their reasoning outlined at the recent Planning Commission meeting is that development covenants in those areas make it too difficult to have them host their fair share of the planned 2,000 additional rental-only units being planned.
What is that you say, dear Watson? “This doesn’t sound like a fair solution. Aren’t the 30% taxpayers also?”
I can only conclude their tax dollars aren’t as important. This is a difficult case, Watson. Perhaps more light will be shed on it at the next meeting planned for this Thursday and we can develop a fair solution. Elementary, I might say.
Frank Daley
Hilton Head Island
About speed in the left lane
This is in response to a recent letter, “Speeding out of control.” I just had to respond because of that one line saying, “I normally drive 5 mph over the posted speed limit so I’m not driving extremely slow in the left lane.”
According to the driver’s test everyone takes when they first get their license, there are two things people seem to have forgotten:
1. Blinkers.
All cars come fully equipped with blinkers (at no extra charge) and the driver is expected to use them at all times. I’ve basically given up on this one since I find 90% of drivers don’t bother using them.
2. Left lane.
I drive Interstate 95 from Exit 8 in Hardeeville to Exit 21 in Ridgeland and there is always someone staying in the left lane regardless of the speed they doing. According to Geico, “In 29 states, there are laws that any car moving slower than the surrounding traffic should be in the right lane, while other states are stricter and designate the left lane only for turning or passing. In Georgia, it’s actually a misdemeanor to move slower in the left lane than surrounding traffic.”
I also see people using the phones while driving in the left lane, leaving giant spots between them and the car in front because they’re not paying attention to driving.
Darrell Reinhardt
Ridgeland
Hilton Head, stop the rapid development, 24/7 alcohol
The ongoing construction in the Coligny Circle area of Hilton Head Island is the most atrocious misuse of public funds, second only to the long-standing contract with the private corporation cordially known as the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce.
If you want a giant, treeless park, I recommend the beach. It’s a few hundred yards east.
Do the town leaders think they’re going to recruit some washed up, second-rate musical theater to perform in this desolate wasteland and recoup their investment?
Maybe the mayor and all his cronies should fly to Italy again and figure out what our sister city would do.
Because, apparently, we have a lot in common with an ancient town ... you know, Hilton Head, barely 60 years into its design as a refuge for aging middle-class Midwestern golfers.
Side note: Stop selling beer and wine 24/7. That’s just contributing to the stigma of debauchery.
In conclusion, stop the rapid and largely unchecked development and make this a place truly worthy of tourism.
Sandon Preston
Hilton Head island
Socialism strikes again – and, again, it’s awful
Not that we needed another example of the misery and failure that socialism brings to a country, there have been so many over the years.
Unfortunately, another once-prosperous nation that was taken over by socialists a mere 20 years ago is facing disaster. I quote from the Wall Street Journal of Jan. 3: “Chile, Latin America’s freest, most stable and richest nation is in free fall. Public order has collapsed, violence is rampant, and populism is the new creed of the political class. There is recession, characterized by capital flight and rising unemployment.”
The free market didn’t fail Chile. The problem is that the large proportion of the elites who run key institutions, especially the media, the National Congress and the judiciary no longer believe in the principles that made the country successful. The result is a full-blown economic and political crisis.
Other nations should take note; this is what elite self-hatred can do for you.
It started when progressive ideologues in the universities spread the idea that there was nothing to feel proud about when it came to Chile’s social and economic record. The Chilean elites are also waging a war against law enforcement and the military. Both are afraid to act for fear of sensationalist media coverage and punishment by the courts.
If this doesn’t sound familiar to you, take some time to listen to Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, or New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. It will bring it right home to the United States.
Jim Dickson
St. Helena Island
Municipalities, Beaufort County should act to prevent oil industry here
Last year, I wrote to the Gazette and the Post and Courier in Charleston about how Beaufort County and the state could stop offshore drilling at the local levels without waiting for the federal government: Deny permits for anything related to drilling. Simple.
Now the state is beginning to act on bills to deny permits for any activity that would support drilling, like building pipelines, refineries, refueling docks, or other infrastructure needed to drill offshore and destroy our natural coastline.
It’s time for our city and county to step up beyond the rhetoric and pass local ordinances and laws to protect our water, marshes and beaches – our Lowcountry way of life.
Mr Mayor and County Council, the ball is in your court now.
Jerry Floyd
St. Helena Island
How to stop oil drilling
Seems I recall a decree some time ago coming down from the former Secretary of the Interior enabling oil drilling off the shores of all states situated on the ocean ... uh, with the exception of Florida. Apparently, drilling in that state would adversely affect the tourism industry as well as risk possible oil-spill damage.
Here is an easy way to make the issue go away: include Florida in the mix, start testing off the shore of West Palm Beach, and all states mentioned in the mandate line up behind ... Mar-a-Lago.
Bill Smith
Sun City Hilton Head
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