•Fair and balanced? •Construction safety •Thanks, but no thanks •A victim of war •Charter the course Fair and balanced? Perhaps Alfred Laureta (“Majority rules,” Letters, Oct. 26) will explain in this column why it is not okay for the only
•Fair and balanced?
•Construction safety
•Thanks, but no thanks
•A victim of war
•Charter the course
Fair and balanced?
Perhaps Alfred Laureta (“Majority rules,” Letters, Oct. 26) will explain in this column why it is not okay for the only female member of the Kaua‘i County Council to criticize her colleagues “for denying both the resolution and her request,” to defer the matter; but, it is laudable for a “new and very junior” male member to accuse fellow members of “petty” “grandstanding” that in his view “doesn’t foster any kind of working relationship.”
Would Mr. Laureta have us believe that accusing someone of petty grandstanding is not a criticism but is simply a way to bring dignity and respect to council meetings?
I welcome the open confrontation among councilmembers and encourage more, not less, deliberation and discourse of issues on the council floor. I wonder, will a majority of the council be willing to consider the rule changes Jay Furfaro says he intends to introduce?
Phyllis Stoessel, Kapa’a
Construction safety
Does Keiwit Construction care at all about the safety of the people on Kaua‘i? They don’t appear to be apologetic or interested in letting the public know what’s going on.
How can the state Department of Transportation allow them to push traffic over and around numerous obstacles the way they are? Last month, if you wanted to enter Lihu‘e Industrial Park from Nawiliwili, it required making a U-turn (impossible unless you drive a Yugo).
I heard they might be starting some more roadwork by KCC and Kukui Grove soon. I hope the state doesn’t have to furlough the people in charge of watching that project.
Doug Fir, Lihu‘e
Thanks, but no thanks
My dog was “rescued” the other day. He was out while a worker was at the house. I don’t keep a collar on him at home. When I got off work at 3:30, I immediately noticed he was gone.
I called the worker to see if the dog was in his truck. He wasn’t, so I started combing the neighborhood looking and calling — he’s never gone more than six or so houses away.
Back to the house to see if he was there. No dog. Off to my second job, which takes about one and a half hours, then driving around looking and calling. Took a break for dinner, then out driving again, looking and calling.
No luck, so called the Kaua‘i Humane Society and left an inquiry on voicemail. Woke up around midnight and walked around the neighborhood listening to see if he’d been injured and was trying to make it back to the house. No luck.
Humane folks called in the morning and they thought they had my “lost” dog. They did, and I was very happy he was OK. I was also very upset over what they had put me through. He wasn’t “lost” until they “rescued” him.
I believe the leash law is intended to recover abused, nuisance, or lost pets. My dog is 8 years old, clean, well fed, and friendly — Watch out! Don’t get too close to the wagging tail.
What they put me through by “rescuing” my not “lost” dog was simply horrible. I’ll never donate to them again!
Nick Nicholson, Kilauea
A victim of war
I recently received a disturbing phone call from the mainland. It was from a former girlfriend and she was very sad. Her brother had passed away. He was married, had three children and was an elected official in a small New York town. He was a victim of war.
No, not a victim of the Afghan war. And not a victim of the Iraq war. He was a victim of the Vietnam war. Over 40 years ago he fought in that war, was a part of some of the really horrible crimes of that war and now he was the victim. Last week he shot himself.
On the exterior, he led a normal life but those close to him knew otherwise. Forty years of V.A. visits, counseling, medication plus a good family and job could not help him overcome the nightmares and torment he was feeling.
A victim of war, an uncounted victim of a war 40 years ago. How many uncounted victims of that war have there been?
I wish I could write more eloquently about the seriousness and futility of war and how there are no winners, only losers but there are others who do that better. I just know that there are victims and not many good reasons for war.
And now we are in two wars and sending unmanned drones on bombing missions into a third country. How many more victims?
Dr. Robert A. Zelkovsky, Wailua Homesteads
Charter the course
Let’s see. The Department of Education has a budget of $2.4 billion. It employs 34,000 people of which 11,000 are teachers.
Charter schools educate their children for $5,000 per child per year with no furlough days. DOE schools educate their children for $11,000 per child per year with 17 furlough days. You do the math.
It is patently obvious we need to convert all our schools to charter schools!
JoAnne Georgi, ‘Ele‘ele
