Time to disband Bluffton Police due to bad behavior; use sheriff’s office | Letters
Mayor Lisa Sulka’s hollow platitudes are just not enough to convince anyone who is paying attention that Bluffton should have its own police force.
Clearly, the sheriff has done a much better job and now would be a good time to finally make an intelligent decision – before somebody else gets hurt.
When you read that a past Bluffton police chief “found himself at the center of several costly employee lawsuits — including an age-discrimination claim that resulted in a $236,000 settlement, and also stood accused of verbally bullying officers, physically assaulting an officer, retaliation, carrying on an extramarital affair, enlisting officers to help cover it up, allowing his alleged mistress to use empty jail cells to house stray dogs, and drinking and driving,” you can be sure that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
To combat “bad press” — and in violation of state law — Bluffton Police had even created policies to hold back reports from the public. One chief instituted a policy that required anyone requesting reports to submit to a background check to make sure they were “OK” to see the information.
What exactly were they hiding? It’s a safe bet that the citizens of Bluffton were never told the whole story. So, we never learned.
The time has come for a change. Bad behavior is no longer acceptable.
Bluffton should finally end the revolving door of come-and-go, poorly behaved police chiefs and do right by the taxpayers. It’s time to disband the Bluffton Police.
Jeff Urell
Bluffton
Police need more money, not less
The protests about the brutal killing of George Floyd bring warranted attention to the need for reform at all levels of law enforcement, from local and county and state police to private security personnel, federal police, border patrol and the FBI.
Many protesters are demanding a defunding of law enforcement.
What is needed is exactly the opposite, additional funding – a lot of extra funding for employee evaluation and psychological testing and more thorough vetting and background checks for new recruits, as well as protocol for stops and arrests.
There are always a few bad apples, but every branch of law enforcement must work to ferret them out. The bad cop in Minnesota had a rap sheet! In every profession, even the best professional might make a mistake. If it is a big one, and especially racial, you are out and face charges. Minor infractions in conduct might stem from the stress of the position, OK, strike one, but strike two and you are out without benefits, and possibly a fine.
Other additional law enforcement expenditures should go toward balancing the police forces racially. We need more good black, Hispanic and Asian cops. We need neighborhood programs where the police really get to know the problems, needs and gripes from those in the neighborhood and the folks need to know how they can help the police, and not remain silent when they know something the police should know.
All of this will cost a lot. Defunding is a recipe for disaster.
Michael McNally
Callawassie Island
Beaufort County school staffs shine for 2020 graduates
I am writing this letter as an expression of gratitude and thanks to the entire staff of all of Beaufort County School District’s six high schools, and all of our local private high schools, for doing more than due diligence in celebrating the class of 2020.
As a parent of a graduating senior at Hilton Head Island High School, I know firsthand the disappointment that comes from missing the milestone of a “real” graduation ceremony.
For most students, graduation is not about the diploma or the awards, but celebrating with friends and family their educational journey. This ceremony is something that students look forward to for many years, so not ever being able to have that experience is more than disappointing.
However, our teachers and staff created an atmosphere where everyone was celebrated. This came from signs in yards, multiple car parades, slide shows, video-taping of receiving diplomas and social media posts.
I heard from so many that the staff was just as enthusiastic to celebrate the valedictorian as they were with the student whose last name started with a Z. This enthusiasm was infectious and helped to buffer any disappointment that may have been felt.
Beaufort County School District’s high school and leadership teams truly made the Class of 2020 feel recognized, and thus, gave a wonderful set of memories that they will always treasure.
Sarah Owen
Principal
Hilton Head Island Elementary
Hilton Head Island
Trump getting slandered, but doing a good job, like Truman
President Donald Trump haters sometimes disguise themselves as lifelong Republicans. It’s just a more effective way to slander the president. It’s also a method of Monday morning quarterbacking.
Those who despise Trump have found a warm home with the Packet, but their complaints can be compared to process crimes.
The policies of the federal government had, before the coronavirus, put more people to work than ever before. This included all the people.
Wages were rising for the first time in about 20 years. Taxes were lowered for both the people and the job-creating businesses. China was called to account for its mercantile trade practices. Allies were expected to pay for their defense. Religious freedom and the Second Amendment were being defended. Borders became borders. One need not wonder why the president was not popular. Uncle Sap was going away.
Trump is guilty of process crimes. He tweets what’s on his mind. Sometimes he changes his mind. Sort of like the experts on the virus do.
He takes credit for all good things that happen. Duh? He is a politician.
He wants better relations with Russia. Who doesn’t?
Did I mention the pre-virus rise in the value of 401(k) retirement savings? Unlike government employees and lifelong Republicans with great pensions, the 401(k) is the pension system of today.
Trump is the 21st century version of Harry Truman. Mightily slandered but doing a good job.
Peter Zych
Hilton Head Island
Trump leaves America rudderless
We are completely rudderless. We have an elected president as our leader, but what we don’t have is leadership, the ability to manage crisis.
A leader is also to make sure we don’t get into crises, making the hard decisions – not for one’s personal benefit, but for the well-being of the citizenry.
Certainly President Donald Trump can’t be blamed for COVID-19, but he can be blamed for its insidious infestation turning into a crisis.
He acted, but too little, too late.
It was a known threat in early January before all hell broke loose in February, during the hoax tour. It was in the news, with the exception of the Trump network (Fox). True leadership would have used that time. Truly, Rome burned as Nero fiddled.
He repeatedly says that only he knows what’s best. After all, his uncle was a super genius who taught at MIT. If true, one thing is definite, he escaped that gene pool.
Trump is the worst of all combinations: a narcissistic con artist who lies.
His briefings morph into rallies.
Since he likes numerical ratings, it’s 100,000 dead and counting, more than any other country. We are No. 1.
To the contributor who quipped about President Barack Obama, the Ebola virus came into America in 2014 and resulted in two fatalities.
Our current “leader” couldn’t create a national policy, instead leaving states to fight for help. We are no longer the United States. We have become the Un-united States.
Jay Hubelbank
Sun City
The Hilton Head dream of Fraser is over
The most significant result of the recent killing of an alligator and use of it for “entertainment” is the realization that the dream begun in the early 1960s by Charlie Fraser and his cohorts of what Hilton Head Island would someday become no longer exists because it has become “Myrtle Beach South” instead.
Tom Mikell
Beaufort