Letters to the Editor

You go and get your stolen dog back
[Jan. 14, 2007] Liza Terll explains that the anonymous board members of Best Buddies Companion Rescue & Adoption have stolen her dog and I concur with her. It is about time that some of these well meaning but high-handed and mostly, misguided animal rescue people were given a good kick in the pants for breaking the law and also taking advantage of pet owners. By Caroline Youmans, Animal Rescue
Also: Chatham Animal Rescue & Education Inc.

Community teaches a heart lesson
[Dec. 28, 2006] A month ago the calls started coming in from families that needed help over the holidays. Help for food, heat, electric, a safe place to be, shoes for the baby, formula, coats, a bed, a toy for my baby and the one that broke my heart was a little boy who visited our offices with his mother. I asked him what he wanted his reply was, "a toothbrush", not a toy, not a movie, not candy, but the child wanted his own toothbrush. By Melody Troncale

An open letter to our commissioners - old and new
[Dec. 5, 2006] We, your constituents, turned out in full force Monday night to witness your first performance together on the public stage, and to let you know what's on our minds and hearts. We learned a fair amount about each of you individually, and how you will function as players on the same team. You, as well, learned a good deal about us from those few who spoke to you during the public input session. By Gary Simpson

Glory on the field... Disappointment in the stands
[Nov. 19, 2006] Friday night... A chill in the air... high school football... An exciting, historic playoff victory for the Northwood Chargers and most of you missed it. That's sad. While support for athletics may not be important to many of you, support of the school our children attend should be. Like it or not, athletes are often the most visible representatives of the school, and the community, from which they come. By H. A. Harrington

More unfounded slander?
[Oct. 17, 2006] The scurrilous ad in the October 12, 2006 edition of THE CHATHAM NEWS paid for by Mary Nettles, former Chairperson of the Democratic Party is reminiscent of the perverted, classless and downright stupid transparent attacks on the Chatham Coalition made by those pathetic frantic developers, the Gaines, during the May primary. By Del Turner

Thank you and goodbye from Ronny's Quik Shop
[Oct. 12, 2006] As many of you may have heard by now, Ronny is retiring and has sold the store. The end of November would have been 20 years that he has been there. We've seen a lot of our regular customers and their children "grow up" through the years, and have been blessed to have had such a loyal local customer base. By Ron King

A big thank you to someone
[Sep. 19, 2006] I am not sure what is going on with me lately, but twice in the past month I have lost my wallet. Once, I drove off with my wallet on top of my car and today, left my purse and cell phone in the buggy after taking all my bags of groceries home. By Crystal Will

Bicyclists follow rules of the road
[Jun. 28, 2006] While I'm not a cyclists I'm not sure what violations of the law cyclists keep transgressing? Samantha Reichle doesn't give one example of any transgressions, after all driving slowly on our county roads is perfectly legal, as is driving two abreast (although not the best of manners). And wearing that "nauseating array of neon hues", I'm sure is done for a very good reason, especially with drivers on the road who are as clueless about the rules as Ms. Reichle. By John McGinn

Chatham's Project Graduation 2006 is a success
[Jun. 25, 2006] My heartfelt thanks to the 75 volunteers and 186 businesses, houses of worship and clubs and organizations that worked to make the 17th annual Project Graduation 2006 a huge success. The community collectively sent a clear message that we care about our young people and want them to be safe. By George Greger-Holt

Demonstrations address plight of illegal residents
[May 14, 2006] Most or all of the comparisons and questions I posed about recent and past newcomers can be answered and elaborated by a little research. Perhaps the more difficult question to quantify is how many present newcomers from other countries are illegal, but contrary to Pete's assumption that I have "no idea" I do have an idea based on some experience. We have no reason to assume the proportion in Chatham's unskilled workers is different than in other areas. By Wallace Kaufman

Monday, May 1st - Buy, Buy, Buy!
[Apr. 30, 2006] Monday, May 1 is being called “A Day Without Immigrants,” but let’s be truthful here. Americans don’t have a problem with immigrants. We have a problem with illegal immigrants. By Nathan Tabor

Horizon Cellars needs local community help
[Apr. 15, 2006] My wife and I have planned and constructed Horizon Cellars winery and vineyard in Chatham County. Recently, we have has been thrown into a battle for its very existence. It has recently come to our attention that an out-of-state company wishes to create an extremely large, heavy industrial, open-pit, 24 hour/7 day-a-week gravel mining operation right behind our small farm winery. By Guy Loeffler
Also: Horizon Cellars Winery

Are DREs a waste of Chatham taxpayer money?
[Apr. 4, 2006] The county has many needs, and I'm sure we all agree that taxpayer money should be carefully managed. I question the oversight the Board of Commissioners has over the budgets and spending of county offices. I have reviewed the cost analyses of the Board of Elections and have found them to be in error and biased towards the purchase of DRES (touch-screen computers), resulting in a waste of taxpayer money. By Bonnie Bechard

Fair judgement
[Apr. 3, 2006] I had to mention a little about one of our candidates for Judge. Allen Baddour was my ex wife's attorney several years ago. With that in mind consider what I'm going to tell you. By Mark Stinson