Now is the time to act: Hilton Head must protect the public | Letters
The time is passed for compromise.
The coronavirus is surging and the facts cannot be denied.
It is time for an adult in the room, namely the governing bodies of Hilton Head Island, to take action and mandate masks, social distancing, and caution in the fight to contain the virus. If the role of government is to protect the citizenry, then the elected officials need to act decisively.
The economics of money must not determine the economics of our collective health. Those monies earned by the reopening of enterprises without safe and simple guidelines is far less than the medical costs in both the Hilton Head community and in the visitors home communities in the days to come.
To whom much is given, much is expected. With respect to the elected officials of Hilton Head, the citizenry entrusted the health and safety to governmental bodies – now is the time for those elected to act.
The adult in the room must now take action.
Bruce Schafer
Hilton Head Island
Beaufort County tipping point: Time to stop the development
Let me start with an emphatic “no” to developing Bay Point Island, in any guise whatsoever.
If locals living here don’t understand the reasoning why our barrier islands should not endure new development at this point in time, they never will.
Any person who can read and understand erosion, aquifers, sewage and stormwater runoff, knows any further development is a fool’s errand unless you possess a strong desire to face the problems that now confront, say, Miami Beach.
The elephant in the room, however, is what over-development is doing to all of Beaufort (and now Jasper) counties.
What truly concerns me is that leaders as well as a lot of our own population don’t seem to be concerned about what’s happening to our precious and delicate terra/eco systems here.
We are approaching a tipping point with our quality of life here in Beaufort.
Look around yourself at the cars, boats and trash. (Can you imagine what the river bottom surrounding the Board River bridge looks like?)
Do you honestly believe it is not time to start believing we need a moratorium timeline for development here, now?
Tim Wood
Beaufort
Beaufort County wrong on trash centers
First of all I would like to know how much it costs to have an outside consulting firm recommend to close half of Beaufort County’s convenience centers.
Secondly, it will cause more problems with trash along the roads than we have now. Our great County Council changed the hours and days of operation in the past, which did not solve the problem.
When you’re closed on Wednesdays and you have a holiday on Tuesday or Thursday sure you will have an influx of traffic.
What is the purpose of one decal per household? What if I am out of town and my wife has to take the trash to the dump, but she don’t have a decal? Are we supposed to wait until I get home?
In my opinion, this is nothing more than a raise for our council members because employees will lose their jobs.
Also, they had better give the sheriff more funds for litter control as it was already bad in the past.
Also, it is going to be an inconvenience to the majority of us residents as they want to change the hours again. Why don’t they get their heads out of the sand and support us residents instead of hurting the majority of us?
Robert E. Williams
Beaufort
Discuss race with respect
Any report on our country written in June 2020 would have to include the COVID-19 coronavirus, which started in January and infected so many and killed too many. And it continues!
On May 25, George Floyd was allegedly killed by a policeman who held a knee to his neck for almost 9 minutes. This act in the midst of a pandemic caused wide marches and protests – some of which turned violent and resulted in looting and fires and and caused other personal property losses.
Americans and surprisingly many other citizens from around the world said “enough is enough.”
Our unique discussion of racism in America has resulted in renaming streets and now quite possibly communities as well as military bases; destruction of and peaceful removal of historical statues to museums; the call by NASCAR to no longer permit the Confederate flag to be flown at its events; and the call by many professional athletes to “take a knee” during the playing of the National Anthem.
Some states have already passed laws to reform policing activities.
Black lives matter, but so too do lives, period. Let us remember the words written long ago by John Donne – “Any man’s death diminishes me because I am a part of mankind.” Let’s continue our badly needed discussion about race with respect for one another.
Dick Briggs
Fripp Island
Trump move hurts ecosystem
On June 5, President Donald Trump decided to repeal protections granted to the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Monument. This formerly protected area spans 4,913 square miles and is composed of nine different ecosystems.
Though the area is over 1,000 miles away from Hilton Head Island, some of our most precious wildlife migrates to and from there every year. Trump’s reopening of the Monument to commercial fishing threatens not just the fish around Cape Cod but many of Hilton Head’s sea turtles, as well as our seabirds that travel on the Atlantic Flyway. This action needs attention from all along the Eastern Seaboard, as we all share the same ocean.
The justification for opening this area to fishing was that the industry needed this lifeline in order to survive.
However, the industry problem lies not in the supply of fish, but in the demand: many restaurants shut down in the midst of the coronavirus are no longer purchasing seafood. Thus, the rollback of these protections simply threatens the ecosystem that this industry is dependent on, hurting the future with no gain for the present.
The only solution to this problem is to return the protections that had been granted to the Monument. Our oceans and their resources are precious to us; we cannot put these at risk for the sake of perceived economic improvement.
Catherine Powell
Hilton Head Island
How to bridge the ‘great divide’
It was very reassuring to read a recent full page of letters to the editor in the Packet/Gazette. Each of the 12 letters was thoughtful, and respectfully presented the writer’s point of view, thereby raising the value of their issues for everyone.
I strongly concur with one writer who found satisfaction in identifying as a political “independent” rather than a member of a particular party.
Remember, it is the modus operandi of both political parties to push voters in a certain direction – mainly to fund-raise. Extremism in both parties over the past decades has driven division, partisanship, and hostility deeper – when most American citizens agree on many of the same goals, if not the same candidates.
Because I subscribe to goals and aspirations in both parties, and eschew others, I feel I’m not adequately represented by one party and firmly represent myself as an “independent.”
Perhaps, this is one way of bridging “the great divide” and encouraging more moderation in our country’s politics.
Kate McClintic
Beaufort
How Medicare decisions make no sense
In hopes that I can help myself and others, I am trying to impact our country to be great.
I have been a quadriplegic since 1980. I use a power wheelchair to survive and live. I have been fortunate to receive a tremendous amount of assistance from family, friends, and social programs. I finished college, went to work , and am now retired.
Cuts to federal Medicare and state Medicaid have been devastating for people with severe disabilities. To save money, caps have been introduced, whereas, if one needs 75 hours of care a week, you can only get 49 max.
If one needs a wheelchair, very minimum features saves money. If we need supplies, the minimal cheap supplies are covered.
As a working disabled person most of my life, I realized immediately that I was only as good as my equipment and supplies. Productivity was the goal. I worked instead of collecting, and paid taxes. FICA tax withdrawals get us Medicare insurance.
Recently eligible for a power wheelchair, I picked the iBOT wheelchair. It’s amazing and would allow me to do life – visit neighbors and family, go through grass, just to name a few. Medicare will not cover it and refused to provide a number for doctors to prescribe. Many private insurance companies follow Medicare’s lead. Inventors will be discouraged.
Bart Brophy
Hardeeville
America’s racial learning curve
Racism is a learned behavior.
For seven years, every week day I drove past an elementary, a middle, and a high school in the inner city of Pittsburgh. All were within blocks of each other. I loved watching the elementary school students. They all played together. The groups were mixed of white and black.
When I passed the middle school, I noticed just a few mixed groups.
When I passed the high school, total segregation had occurred.
I grew up in a totally white neighborhood. In college there were a few Blacks but I didn’t know them. Not until I joined the Navy did I experience living with African Americans. I made a special effort to get to know them as they did with me.
After my four years of in the Navy, my wife and I moved to Atlanta. I became a Big Brother. I expected an inner city child. Instead, I got a blonde haired, blue eyed suburban child. Because of the surprise look on my face, my counselor asked me the question, “What would you have in common with a city kid?”
On Hilton Head Island, I am a mentor of a biracial student. Hurrah! We are both on a learning curve.
James Williams
Hilton Head Island
July 4 flyover: Don’t encourage crowds in pandemic
I was shocked to see a news release for “Salute From the Shore 11th Annual Event” for a “patriotic flyover” on July 4th. The invitation strongly encourages people to go the beach “and arrive early as crowds will grow.”
There is no mention of safety precautions – masks, social distancing, not cheering (singing and shouting both increase chances of COVID-19 infection).
This event is sponsored by several local businesses and individuals. What are they thinking? The wording in this invitation does nothing for the image of Hilton Head Island, a place so environmentally conscious that we don’t even like big signs. Where is that conservatism now?
Shelter Cove has canceled its July 4th fireworks because of the dangers of crowds in the coronavirus pandemic.
Please everyone, if you go wear masks and socially distance.
Catherine Malkin
Hilton Head Island
‘A Ride to Remember’: Something good in uneasy times
Alzheimer’s is a disease that has affected millions of people either directly or indirectly. It does not show favoritism to age, sex, or race. The fight continues to find a cure for it.
The Alzheimer’s Association sponsors “A Ride to Remember” each year. This is a fundraiser for Alzheimer’s research. Normally, this is a three-day, 252-mile ride from Simpsonville to Charleston.
Because of COVID-19, this year’s ride will be a virtual ride. All participants will have the entire month of July to ride. Also, you can set the mileage you want to ride. If you ride 252 miles, you will receive the ride’s T-shirt. Also, you can ride your trainer and have those miles count toward your total. There is no registration fee. Go to aridetoremember.org for more information.
I have participated in this ride twice. It is by far one of the most meaningful and gratifying things I do. Several family members, friends, and others I know have been affected by Alzheimer’s.
I bike because I love what it does for me. This ride provides me with the opportunity to do something I enjoy and bring pleasure to myself while at the same time helping others. My goal is to ride a minimum of 300 miles. Won’t you join me and the other riders – over 400 as of this writing – in fighting this disease?
Charlie Frost
Beaufort
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