The recent bridge collapse tragedy in Minneapolis was indeed a tragic event. As we have discovered, officials there had been aware of structural problems on that bridge since 1990. This has brought the spotlight down on bridges nationwide, including Orangeburg County. A February AAA Carolinas study revealed about 46, or 16 percent, of Orangeburg County’s 279 bridges were deemed substandard.

This once again highlights the issue of misplaced priorities by the SCDOT and the Lower Savannah Council of Governments. The recent Statewide Transportation Improvement Program outlines the priorities for the coming year. At the top of the list is the I-95/U.S. 301 improvements and U.S. 301 “extension.” The intent of this project is to create a cloverleaf interchange and “extend” U.S. 301 from I-95 to dead-end onto S.C. 6, east of Santee. The purpose is to serve the highly controversial inland port being attempted by CaroLinks. The cost of this project is estimated at $60 million, of which $3 million has been set aside for rights of way and preliminary engineering. According to the draft DOT study, the current bridge, judged to be in very good condition, would be completely replaced if a full cloverleaf is built.

Furthermore, the “extension” of US 301 is a misnomer – it would be “extended” to S.C. 6, where IT WOULD DEAD END – effectively providing an access road to the proposed privately-owned port. The “real” U.S. 301 continues north on I-95 across Lake Marion to the state line.

With 16 percent of Orangeburg County’s bridges deemed substandard, one would think that this project should not be at the top of the SCDOT and LSCOG priorities. Do our officials also need a tragedy to motivate them to care for the current infrastructure first? And let’s not even begin to talk about the Clyburn “Bridge to Nowhere”.

– Donald J. Antal

Friends of Santee Cooper Lakes

Santee

n Donated deer meat

of questionable safety

A recent article on hunters donating deer carcasses to help feed hungry people in the community failed to mention the questionable safety of the donated meat. To bolster a sagging public image, hunters concocted a scheme to make it appear that “sportsmen” keep people from starving by donating their surplus “game” to the “poor and needy.”ˇ The stumbling block in this scheme is that the USDA does not inspect “wild” meat. According to the USDA Web site, “Wild game species, that can be legally hunted under Federal or State regulatory authority, cannot be sold, but can be harvested for personal consumption.” As such, donations to food banks seem to fall outside the guidelines set by the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the USDA.

With unknowns such as parasites, bacteria, disease, pollution, varying temperatures and unsanitary handling, the safety of the meat coming from hunted animals is always suspect. How many of us would buy food from our local market if we knew it was not inspected and found safe for consumption?

Understanding the risks involved with consuming uninspected meat, the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets wrote, “The poor and homeless are entitled to receive the same level of health protections from government as those more fortunate. We do not take issue with hunters who choose to consume game meat which they have killed since they do so at their own risk. However, the general public should not be exposed unwittingly to the potential food safety risks of consuming wild game...”

On behalf of our members and supporters, we question the value of programs that encourage senseless violence against nature while simultaneously risking the health of the community. To learn what you can do to help expose the dangerous practices of hunting organizations, visit the Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting at www.cashwildwatch.org.

– Joe Miele

Vice President

Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting

Box 562

New Paltz, NY 12561

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