The 278 Bridge/Corridor project must reflect and meet the needs of native Islanders
The Vision for the Island’s future has laid out priorities for the next 20 years.
That process was born of input from hundreds of volunteers that participated in a multi-year rewrite of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan.
The Island is at a crossroads for many issues:
▪ Providing appropriate workforce housing opportunities.
▪ Solving our police funding spat with the county.
▪ Keeping our Island safely open for business.
▪ Improving stormwater management and long-term environmental sustainability.
All need immediate attention.
The work of the Gullah Geechee Task Force’s recommendations is in the final stages of implementation, which includes a Historic District that is fashioned to help keep native Island lands in the families of our cherished native Island community.
The 278 bridge/corridor project is one piece of a transportation solution for the future of Hilton Head Island which also needs to include enhanced public transportation and better traffic controls during peak hours.
Improvements to the 278 corridor need to be mindful of the native Islanders and used as an opportunity to showcase their unique culture.
The bridges do need replacement and expansion; however, the corridor from the bridge to the Cross Island can be resolved with smart and creative engineering with the help of an independent consultant.
The Town Council is tasked with making sure all of these projects are completed with the interests of the Island residents at the forefront.
Elected representatives with proven experience, leadership and determination will be vital to the success of our Island’s future.
Peter Kristian, Hilton Head Island
Kristian is a candidate for Hilton Head Island Town Council’s Ward 1 seat.
On Ashley Jacobs
There is a simple management philosophy: hire the best and brightest people to do a job and give them the resources they need to execute.
County Administrator Ashley Jacobs was hired as county administrator in spring 2019 after a unanimous vote by Beaufort County Council; she is the first woman to ever hold the top position within county leadership.
And I have been impressed by her command of complex and detailed issues, and her ability to communicate effectively.
Publicly Jacobs represents herself and Beaufort County as a competent and capable leader. She has been in her position for just under two years and has been faced with navigating an unprecedented crisis.
Let’s face the elephant in the room:
Recent reports from The Island Packet indicate there has been discussion about removing Jacobs from her position, and we have also seen reports about some members of council attempting to influence county staff in private.
How effective you would be at your job if someone directed your employees behind closed doors? How would it impact your authority as a leader, as well as your credibility and respect?
I can’t say for certain whether or not that has happened here, or if there is confidential information to indicate Jacobs has not performed some function of her job effectively.
But I can say for certain that women all over Beaufort County have seen this behavior before, and it looks a lot like sexism.
Hire qualified, competent people and let them do their jobs without interference.
Jodie Srutek, Bluffton
On Trump
I read a letter not long ago praising President Donald Trump for making America great again - and the letter also noted the “destruction” that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris would cause if they were elected.
But here are some of the ways that Trump has supposedly made “America great again” during the past three-plus years:
▪ He’s alienated France, Germany, Great Britain, Canada and other allies.
▪ He’s ordered inhumane treatment for asylum seekers.
▪ He’s worked to eliminate health insurance for 20 million people.
▪ He’s appealed to foreign nations — Russia, Ukraine, etc., — to provide him with help for political gain.
▪ He’s showed us how to hide our tax returns.
▪ He’s started a trade war with China.
▪ He’s promoted and inflamed racism.
▪ He’s sabotaged the United States Postal Service.
▪ He’s lacked a plan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
I guess you get the idea: Trump has not made America great — but he has made it weaker, sicker and poorer than most other nations.
The letter writer supporting Trump wrote that people vote with their wallets.
But I will vote with my intelligence.
Let’s show Trump we are intelligent and have good judgment by voting for Biden and Harris, both of whom respect and value our democracy.
Frank LeRose, Bluffton
On the election
I am a 78-year-old American, and I have never seen the bull that is taking place in this election. Why is former President Barack Obama getting involved in the presidential campaign?
If this election goes for the Democrats, they will destroy our country and we will have nothing left down the road. If President Donald Trump is re-elected, he will take care of us Americans
Robert Williams, Beaufort
On Graham
Experience, civility, leadership and a fun, often self-depreciating sense of humor is what America will lose should South Carolina not re-elect Sen. Lindsey Graham to the U.S. Senate.
His recent expert handling of Amy Coney Barrettʼs Supreme Court appointment hearings took years of training. It could have resulted in a contentious battle; instead Graham set a tone of collegiality that enabled America to witness ladies and gentlemen behaving like ladies and gentlemen.
Graham’s tone and relaxed time limits seemed to be contagious to all but a handful of senators; sadly, Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii appears to be simply unteachable in the world of etiquette and civility.
Sen. Graham applied what he gleaned from his experience during Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings. During those hearings Graham won a black belt while fighting to curb the lies and innuendo against a judge who had been accused falsely of being a serial rapist.
Graham knew that must never happen again.
But all of the experience and respect that Graham has accumulated will be cast by the wayside should South Carolinians succumb to the outside money that’s being poured into his opponent’s campaign.
Vote wisely!
Vote early!
America desperately needs Lindsey Graham!
Allyson Kirkpatrick and Faith Scholnick, Charleston
This story was originally published October 19, 2020 at 6:45 AM.