Warnings for bicycling safety on Hilton Head | Letters
Having come close to two auto accidents for similar reasons, we thought this letter was warranted.
Hilton Head Island bicyclists are supposed to stop on bicycle paths and give motor vehicles on the road the right of way (“Five SC laws can help you stay safe while riding a bike on Hilton Head,” The Island Packet, 9/7/18). Especially in the summer with many visitors, this is not always the case. Two potentially dangerous situations can occur.
In the first instance, drivers stop unexpectedly to allow cyclists to cross. Some do so abruptly without warning. At a speed of 25 mph, it only takes a car following at two lengths without braking one second to hit a stopped vehicle in front. The equivalent of a glance.
Secondly, some cyclists expect cars to stop for them when they see the same happening for others. A couple on a bike path intended to cross immediately in front of us when we were traveling 25 mph. Braking instantly, we couldn’t stop in time. Fortunately, they did. Though we received looks that could melt stone.
It’s unlawful not to stop for someone in a marked crosswalk. And it seems courteous for drivers to stop for cyclists, especially when children are present. Often it makes us feel more noble when we cede the right of way, particularly in current times of stress.
Nonetheless, there are potential consequences. Both drivers and cyclists should adhere to predictable rules to keep everyone safe.
Gary C. Brown
Melissa M. Brown
Hilton Head Island
Joe Cunningham mailer wrong
I was floored this morning when I opened my mailbox to find a piece of campaign literature, sent by U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham, with big white letters on top saying that it was “prepared, published, and mailed at TAXPAYER expense!”
The mailer had absolutely no information that was helpful to me but seemed very helpful to Cunningham’s bid to win back his seat. It praised his ego with news headlines, and how many media appearances he has made during the pandemic. I live in the 1st District and can say that I was never invited to a telephone town hall and I never saw any virtual events not marketed as CAMPAIGN events.
I cannot believe the audacity of Cunningham to spend hard-earned taxpayer dollars, while so many are laid off of work, to send a campaign mailer poorly disguised as a public service. Shame!
Craig Norris
Beaufort
Stand against Bay Point Island development plan
This is in regard to the proposed development on Bay Point Island and its disastrous and negligent intentions.
This project, deemed “ecotourism,” is a far cry from anything that is remotely sustainable. Sustainability functions within three pillars of economic, environmental, and social sustainability. Ecotourism, as defined on Beaufort County’s special-use permit application, is the “[r]esponsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education.”
The proposed high-end, luxury resort represents no form of equitable opportunities – serving only the wealthiest and most privileged travelers. Social inconsideration for the Gullah community and the community at-large that has vehemently spoken out against this project is disheartening – steamrolling the uses and cultural impacts of the existing community, once again.
Environmental implications of the local ecology and wildlife cannot possibly be considered at the scope the developers have proposed. Insufficient calculations on the amounts of energy and waste this development will produce, and its siting on a barrier island as sea level rise and stronger storms continue to threaten our environment are detrimental.
Environmental education can and should be achieved at a much more intentional and equitable scale. Too often, as obvious from the credibility concerns raised against The International Ecotourism Society, luxury ecotourist developments are disgusting examples of greenwashing and environmental and cultural degradation.
We must stand up against the development of Bay Point and protect this community, both the people and the environment, from irreversible consequences down the road.
Corey Ferguson
Hilton Head Island
When politics trumps safety
I have been consumed by the pandemic, and I apparently missed the memo that allows people to destroy private property as well as government property with impunity.
It seems in cities like Portland, the mayor is on board with 50 days of rioting after anarchists and thugs hijacked the peaceful protests. He’s doing such a great job of keeping his citizens safe that he has refused federal help to quell the violence.
I’m curious as to how the business owners feel about his ambivalence. No doubt, he’ll have a change of heart when the city needs to be rebuilt and demand federal funding to make everything right again.
This pattern of gutless governing seems to have found its way to Chicago, Seattle, New York, Minneapolis, and St. Louis. Is there any possibility that the same people funding the anarchists are also funding these mayors and governors? Why else would an elected official stand by while his or her city is being ravaged by criminals?
The only people more cowardly than the anarchists are the mayors and governors who provide free rein and cover for this criminal behavior. With this crowd, politics trumps protecting and safeguarding the lives and property of their constituency. Recent riots will seem like a picnic once these incompetent officials defund their police.
It’s a shame that we don’t have an honest national media that would hold these mayors accountable for their abdication of responsibility. I guess anything goes when you want to win the next election.
Kevin Baruth
Bluffton
Federal officers violating their oath
As a former (now retired) federal officer, I am ashamed of the conduct I saw from federal officers on the Portland protesters.
A Navy vet was brutally attacked with a baton, suffered two broken bones, was sprayed in the face. Why? Are these thugs afraid of an overweight 53-year-old?
These officers have violated the oath they took to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. They should be held accountable; sued if necessary. At the very least they should be reprimanded severely.
I cannot be very proud of my country when this kind of wickedness goes on. They violated the Constitution. Dear reader, how would you feel if this had happened to you?
Michael Garvey
Hilton Head Island
The grizzly and the possum
This is the most awkward presidential campaign ever. We’re watching the dance of a grizzly and a possum. And we’re all looking at the shiny thing, masks. Stop looking at the shiny thing, people.
Trump is a juggernaut of a candidate. If you enter the ring with him, he’ll crush you. It won’t be pretty, it won’t be politically correct, but it will be entertaining. The event will sell out and tens of millions rabid Trumpsters will be begging for more. Trump is the grizzly the Democrats do not want to face. Teeth, claws, brawn and might. Every Democrat knows it.
To live in the face of certain death is to play possum. Lay down, cover your head, and don’t make a sound. Joe Biden is the perfect possum. Old, politically anemic and has no aspirations for 2024. Take one for the team, Joe.
If he loses, no harm, no foul. Joe’s strategy is to starve Trump by not fighting. There will be no policy debate. Joe won’t be putting up even a first round effort. Nope, Joe’s strategy is to crawl up in a ball, cover his head and do what he’s told by his handlers.
Starve Trump. Starve the base and lull them into a sense of complacency that there’s no way Trump could lose to dementia Joe.
The Grizzly is going hungry. The Grizzly’s base is going hungry. The Democrats are running a possum. And the republic is on the line. Stop watching the shiny thing, people.
Eric Bickmann
Lady’s Island
Have faith; we will survive
When the pandemic started, I was scared I’d die in a hospital alone without my family. Then I discovered I had faith to sustain me.
At a recent Farmers Market, a vendor had beautiful note cards, one which read “Faith Without Fear.” That’s me. Call me a Pollyanna but I do think we’ll eventually come out the other side of this crisis.
Yes, there will have been far too many deaths and my heart goes out to anyone who lost a relative or a friend (I did too). One TV ad has the phrase, “When the world stopped ...”; I’ve been saying 2020 will be the year that wasn’t.
I feel sorry for the individuals who are victims of domestic abuse during this time. I am very thankful for the front-line folks doing their jobs daily despite danger to themselves. I am appreciative of the people abiding by the mandatory mask ordinance. I am angry at those who don’t have enough respect for others to do everything they can to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
I am grateful that I like myself enough that I don’t mind the quarantines. I always seem to find plenty to occupy my day – cleaning out another drawer or closet, reading, doing genealogical research for others, finding another counted cross-stitch project to finish, calling or emailing others to see how they are doing.
Hang in there, everyone! We will survive!
Sunni Bond
Hilton Head Island
Trump wilts under the facts
It is time that the President Donald Trump enigma and the unrelenting support by his loyal base be examined.
Trump’s historical reputation has been judged through the eyes of the beholder – fact vs. myth. He has been seen as a flamboyant real estate developer, self-made millionaire, business tycoon, an unfathomable success.
Let’s look at some facts that challenge Trump’s business acumen and character:
▪ Trump’s father gave him $413 million to stake and often bail out Trump.
▪ Trump filed six bankruptcies covering failed assets.
▪ Trump owed $4 billion to seven banks in 1990.
▪ The Trump University fraud led to its closing and a $25 million settlement.
▪ Trump Foundation admitted to 20 years of financial mismanagement.
▪ Trump continues to fight a 1924 law granting Congress the right to see his tax returns.
▪ Trump awarded, “Liar of the Year” by PolitiFact, 2015, 2017, 2019.
▪ Trump promoted unsupported conspiracy theories including President Barack Obama and Ted Cruz’s father.
▪ Trump posed as a fictitious spokesman, “John Barron,” to secure a higher Forbes 400 rating.
▪ Wikipedia said, “the veracity of false and misleading statements by Trump during his presidency are unprecedented in American politics.”
▪ He is, “not a run of the mill liar in the White House, he is a pathological liar,” said Peter Wehner, who served three Republican Presidents.
A simple observation from these few examples, together with Trump’s character flaws and self-serving ideology, will arm future historians with the ammunition to separate enigma from myth.
Earle Everett
Moss Creek
Put out the fires of socialism
There are days when I feel like I am standing in this beautiful, lovingly constructed old building, and I see a fire raging in one corner. There are plenty of fire extinguishers around, the alarms are screaming loudly, but no one is making any attempt to put the fire out.
Most are standing around with a lost look on their faces, while some are happily throwing fuel on the fire. Many of the people who are supposed to be in charge of protecting the old building are doing nothing or, even worse, encouraging the people fanning the flames.
I hear things like “bad is good, wealth is evil, and history is corrupt, tear it all down!”
It’s like George Orwell’s novel “1984” moved forward to 2020. Can this really be the United States of America?
It’s hard to believe with all the horrible examples to the contrary, the United States, with the help of misguided politicians, some of the media, and a few well-funded zealots, is moving rapidly in the direction of socialism and its evil father, communism.
Anyone who loves freedom of choice, the right to succeed or fail, and the right to be anything you want in life, without the government regulating your every action, needs to wake up and begin to fight the flames.
The fire is going to consume freedom if we don’t. Fight the fire, work and vote for freedom, not socialism.
Jim Dickson
St. Helena Island