Sound Off highlights anonymous, brief takes on the news offered via telephone by Daily News readers.

 

This is in response to the Washington inspections department and the junk yards along U.S. Highway 17. How about the local neighborhoods in the Washington city limits where neighbors do not clean up their junk and they have a yard full of junk, and you call the city and they say there’s nothing that can be done about it. Also pools that are left unattended, and you try to call and there’s nothing that can be done about them. I don’t understand the difference between the junk yard on U.S. 17 and the residential neighborhoods in the city of Washington.

 

Will someone tell me what the huge tanker trucks are, at least eight or 10 per day, pumping into the fields on Chandler Road? This has been going on for about three weeks. That would be about 150 tankers, about 10,000 gallons each. Should we be worried about our well water? Help. We have been told that this is hog waste. Please someone advise.

 

I just read the Daily Reflector. How come it can have four pages of sports and cover all kinds of sports, but yet the Washington newspaper barely has a page? That’s pretty bad when you got to go to another town to find out sports that’s going on the world. You need to pick it up, keep the money here in Beaufort County, keep the newspaper going.

 

Trying to drive on Water Street past the Blue Door, the bakery and other places there is a hazard with the cars parked in front. It leaves room for only one car to drive down that street. It has become kind of a game of chicken.

 

In reference to Saturday’s editorial concerning the reduction in the number of police officers, I think that the City Council is gambling with my personal safety, which I do not appreciate. If crime in Washington goes up, the City Council will say the plan did not work and hire more officers. However the residents who will be affected by the increased crime rate will pay a very high price for the City Council’s incompetence. It appears that the plan to eliminate our police department could not be achieved through the front door so now the City Council will eliminate the police department one position at a time. Time for a new City Council.

 

I think the addition of a backup power supply for the Jack’s Creek pumps would be a great addition to the city’s capital improvement plan rather than maybe building a new ballpark.

 

Firemen and policemen are not overhead! Some of the world’s dumbest decisions for products and services have been made by politicians and executives listening to accountants. The overriding mission of the city government is to protect the community and its people within the umbrella of a sane fiscal environment. Cut the administrative overhead and fat first instead of last. Decisions to cut police and firefighters will come to haunt city government in the future.

 

We have 13 candidates for seats on the board of commissioners, four seats available. At election time, will we still be stuck with this ludicrous limited-voting scheme of voting for one candidate in which one candidate can get elected with 10 percent of the vote? When are the people of Beaufort County going to demand change and get this system changed. Even the initial, successful proponent of the system has declared it’s time to change, that it has served its purpose. Now, it assures continuous election of mediocre politicians.

 

This message is for the caller who feels we should stop educating children that are here illegally. Please take your extra time and research your government’s laws on a free and appropriate education for all. Then you can begin a campaign to get those laws changed and then perhaps your local school system — that needs financial help to continue preparing the Beaufort County students to be competitive with others — will be able to deny these children an education.

 

I just finished reading Walter Williams’ profiling column on the opinion page of the paper. This man is really smart. He hit the nail on the head. I have a black grandson-in-law. I feel sorry for him everyday because he is profiled along with other decent, black men because of crimes that are committed on blacks by blacks. It’s sad. The only way to change it is to change the young black men who believe that crime is an easier way to make money than working.

 

Is this the best the Republicans have? Is this our choice for president? It’s like choosing how you want to die on death row.

 

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