On Tuesday, Sept. 25, at around 3:30 p.m., my daughter and I left the highway department after renewing her permit. I think she needs more practice before being allowed to drive on her own.

We went to the SPCA to get paperwork so we could volunteer at the shelter, and as we were leaving, she asked if she could drive. Earlier in the day we had discussed the article in Monday's T&D about dangerous intersections and since we had to drive through three of them on our way to the mall, I told her no. Thank God I did!

After I turned off St. Matthews Road onto Chestnut, a small burgandy car got behind me. I drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee (that I've only made two payments on) and this young girl rode my bumper all the way down Chestnut. All I could see in the rear-view mirrow was her wi-ield and her face. I was upset that she was so close and traffic was heavy, but what really upset me was her total disregard for safety. When I noticed that she kept looking down, glancing back up, looking back down, getting closer and closer to my rear end. I was scared to brake for the traffic in front of me for fear she would run into me. My 16-year-old daughter said, "Mom, she's texting." I was shocked! It's unsafe enough to talk on a cell phone while driving, how do you text while driving? She came within inches of hitting a car in the mall parking lot, still messing with her phone!

I agree that it's nice to be able to keep track of your kids with cell phones, but don't parents have a responsibility to talk to their kids about safety and cell phones before they give them the keys to a car. This child could have killed someone, because she certainly wasn't paying attention to the road. On the positive side, my daughter learned a valuable lesson on what NOT to do once she's given the privilege of driving. She doesn't have a cell phone yet, but she at least knows that you don't drive and talk, and you surely don't text while driving in 5 p.m. traffic.

Thanks for letting me get this off my chest, and if even one parent has a heart-to-heart talk with their teens about car safety and cell phones, then this letter was worth the time it took me to write it.

-- Kathie Smith, Orangeburg

Bowman police chief deserves credit

Bowman has a drug problem and it is growing.

Because of budget constraints, Bowman's Law enforcement is understaffed, underfunded and underpaid.

The town of Bowman was fortunate to get a police chief who is concerned and did something about the roaming street gangs after he arrived.

For example, Police Chief Allen Kinsey and the town council imposed a curfew that stopped teenagers from hanging out on the corners and parading up and down the streets making noise and doing drugs into the wee hours of the morning.

Police Chief Kinsey also increased cruiser patrols in all areas of the community, making himself and his deputies visible and available to all in the community. He encouraged everyone to come forth with information that would help his department enforce the law.

He also held awareness meetings to educate parents on how to recognize signs of possible drug use and gang-member attire. The chief stated that the awareness meeting will continue with the hope that many concerned town members will attend in the future.

Chief Kinsey is to be commended for what he has accomplished, but he cannot continue to do the job alone. What the chief needs is continued help from the community.

Thank you, chief, and keep up the good work.

-- Sy King, Bowman

Hunters urged to help feed the hungry

First of all, on behalf of our new Santee Chapter of Farmers & Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH), I'd like to thank T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski for the excellent article on July 28. The article was a tremendous help in getting the word out, and our new chapter is up and running.

FHFH is a ministry that provides nutritious venison to the hungry through food banks and local feeding programs. Successful hunters donate deer to partnering processors that are licensed and inspected by health departments or the USDA. Local food banks and other charities pick up the frozen packaged meat from the processors, and FHFH raises money to cover the processing costs so hunters can donate their deer free of charge. FHFH began in 1997 in one Maryland County, and since then has provided millions of meals to food banks and other agencies that serve the poor across the country.

There are three ways to help FHFH feed the hungry.

1. Donate some meat from a deer you are paying to have processed yourself.

2. Donate an entire deer to the program and have FHFH cover the cost.

3. Make a tax-deductible contribution to help cover the processing cost by visiting www.fhfh.org or calling 1-800-GET-FHFH. Contributions to the Santee Chapter to be used locally can be mailed to FHFH, P.O. Box 335, Holly Hill, SC 29059. All donations are greatly appreciated.

Since the article came out, we have a new processor cooperating with FHFH. They are 601 Deer and Hog Processors of 89 Hanes Mill Road in Ft. Motte, owned and operated by Bobby McDonald and his family. They are located about 5 miles northeast of St. Matthews, just off Highway 601. Their phone number is 803-874-4014. They have a very clean, state-inspected facility and very friendly staff.

Thanks again for your support of our new Santee chapter of FHFH.

-- James M. Simons, Santee Chapter FHFH

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