Failure to learn

chewing gum lessons

At approximately 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 28, I was watching S.C. ETV as it covered the House of Representatives’ debate on school choice.

One of our representatives was addressing the assembly. When she finished her speech, she took questions from other House members. The camera panned the House members asking the question and the lady holding the floor. It was very obvious that the lady presiding had a mouth full of chewing gum and continued to chew it during this entire time period. This was one of the first lessons we were taught in the first grade. You never preside over a meeting or stand in front of a group with a mouth full of chewing gum.

No wonder our education system is in trouble when we have elected officials that are displaying this type of behavior on camera.

My question to this House member: “Are you smarter than a first-grader?” We were taught to never address a group with gum in your mouth ... you always put your gum under the desk before you spoke. When this House member yielded the floor to a colleague, he introduced his wife and two sons who were sitting in the balcony. The two children are in public school and his wife is a teacher at another public school. I wonder if this teacher would have had the House member report to the sergeant-at-arms for this behavior?

– Jerry V. Lewis, Orangeburg

Getting a lot of bull

about criminal activity

Within the past year, new illegal drug houses have opened up throughout the Santee area and have caused nothing but serious problems ever since their arrival.

So far we have had at least a dozen violent incidents, including one involving property damage and a near head-on collision involving a person with no license or insurance with an innocent family. Only one incident so far has been investigated by law enforcement.

The people of Orangeburg County, especially in our smaller, more decent areas, deserve better than this and need to literally flood our elected officials with letters and phone calls asking them when or if the laws in relation to illegal drug dealing have covertly been changed or dropped without the public being notified.

We are sick and tired of having the windows literally shaking in their panes at 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. because of some drug-dealing idiot wanting to let his people know that he is in the area with the merchandise, so have their money ready.

Drug people have many simple, effective but extremely annoying ways of communicating and the one just mentioned violates everyone’s constitutional rights to privacy and must be stopped.

One suggestion is for the entire county to establish strict noise-enforcement laws and enforce them to the maximum.

The hours from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. should be our quiet time and off limits to all boom boxes or other loud noisemakers, including vehicles with no mufflers that can also rattle you wide awake at all hours of the night.

The right to privacy is the most valuable right granted to us by law and these offenders should be fined at least $10,000 for the first offense and double that amount plus two years in jail for the second offense.

So far, all the letters and phone calls to the sheriff’s office have apparently fallen upon deaf ears, because the drug problems in our local areas have steadily been getting worse and very soon something will have to be done.

The decent people of Orangeburg County, in relation to criminal activities, are being treated like mushrooms, kept in the dark and fed a lot of bull!

It is past time to speak up and take actions to stop these illegal activities. If the present sheriff’s office cannot handle the situations we are constantly faced with, then let’s vote in an entire new crew on the next election day.

– Samuel E. Dantzler, Santee

Council hoodwinks

county taxpayers

The newest member of county council, Willie B. Owens, campaigned on a platform to “keep taxes as low as possible.” At his first opportunity, Mr. Owens supported a law-evading bookkeeping scheme to allow a higher, not lower, property tax increase. Were the voters of District 7 hoodwinked?

Only one member of council, it appears, has the integrity to stand up for ethical accounting and the fixed-income taxpayers of Orangeburg County. A “thank you” for Clyde Livingston is well deserved!

– James L. Townsend Jr., Orangeburg

’My hat is off’

to Michael Moore

I worked, set up and designed technological instruments in the medical field for years. The money was good. The company’s corporate profits were astronomical. That still wasn’t enough. They asked me one day to incorporate a credit card swipe machine to various medical machines. No swipe – no service.

I avoided setting up such a system and continued with other tasks in the company. I recently received a cease and desist from the company. This all happened within the last year.

As far as Michael Moore ... my hat is off to you with the utmost respect. Anything I can do ... You say when and where and I’ll be there.

– Donald Harris Jr., Orangeburg

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