Give tickets with stiff fines for road debris | Letters
My wife was on her way to her weekly volunteering at Habitat for Humanity in Bluffton when she hit a large rock on U.S. 278. The impact immediately blew out her tire. She was able to control the car, driving from the center lane to the right shoulder. A second car hit the same rock (now in the left lane) and experienced a blowout. That driver made it to the median.
Fortunately, a policeman on normal patrol arrived and stopped traffic.
My wife called our roadside service and then called me. I drove to her location and she said, “There were a few things in the road, two were large, about the size of brick. I couldn’t avoid them.” The policeman told her he removed a piece of a brick from the road.
Why the letter? Weren’t many people lucky? Not just the two drivers, imagine the accident if either driver hadn’t been able to control the car.
I ask the police to be vigilant and give a ticket – not a warning – to any vehicle that generates debris on the highway.
Jon Peluso
Sun City
Trump violates the spirit of unwritten rule in meddling with Justice
Historically, presidents have been careful to avoid the appearance of meddling in Department of Justice affairs. While under the executive branch, the DOJ, and its components like the FBI, have maintained the appearance of independence, if not true independence. I believe this to be essential, and this has been widely accepted.
While I suppose meddling has occurred in the past, President Donald Trump at the very onset of his presidency violated it by telling then-FBI Director James Comey to lay off of Michael Flynn. Since then, Trump has violated the spirit of this logical and important, even if unwritten, rule. Recently, he blatantly violated it in the cases of Roger Stone, Andrew McCabe, Alexander Vindman, etc.
Now we are writing a new chapter. In typical Trump fashion, he is saying that he didn’t intervene on Stone’s behalf, but he could have if he had wanted to. If Trump wants to intervene, let him do so by pardon. Let’s not destroy the precedents that have served us well over the years.
Yet again, one can only imagine the din from the opposition if a Democratic president broke this sanctity. I recall such when Bill Clinton, as an ex-president, just happened to bop into then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s airplane, which was totally inappropriate.
The important point for all should be that ethics are not situational. Apparently, there are too many for which they are.
William Griffith
Beaufort
Barry Lowes set a standard
I read with sadness David Lauderdale’s column on Barry Lowes. He sounds like a lovely gentleman.
My sadness comes, not only from the loss of such an environmentally-conscious individual, but also because part of Hilton Head Island’s conscience is gone.
Who now holds the island accountable?
I am a transplanted Northerner who has enjoyed this beautiful place for only six years. For folks who call this place home, how does your heart keep from breaking over the changes that have occurred, not all for the better of the land?
It seems that “progress” is like a steamroller that obliterates everything. My hope is that Mr. Lowes’ legacy of love for the land will be taken up by others who knew him and who will stand as watchmen on the wall, calling out those who want to bring change without counting the cost.
Terri M. Reutter
Sun City
This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 7:18 AM.