Print |
E-mail to a friend
OPINIONS
Voice of the people
Coal isn't answer to energy problems
The reality of coal is 31/2 million pounds of explosives blasting our homes and mountains daily and the billion gallons of toxic coal sludge dams looming over our homes and schools. Nothing but a toxic wasteland will be left. We're tired of being polluted and blasted. Stop poisoning our children with mercury and coal waste. This is a reasonable environmental regulation.
The reason we need stricter mining regulations is because the industry is not obeying the current regulations and is poisoning and polluting our air and water. Industry also criticized black-lung regulations and roof bolts for miners' safety. This paper is promoting a coal CEO who is notorious for mining fatalities and environmental violations.
Coal will soon be gone, and we had better find another way to produce energy now. Coal-fired electricity has already risen and will continue to rise as coal is depleted and as necessary carbon taxes are applied and passed on to consumers -- us.
Clean air and water is a life necessity. Water is more important than coal. The solution to our energy problems rises every morning. The real problem is coal barons can't make millions from it and we citizens can get it free.
Julia Bonds
Rock Creek, W.Va.
Send Ferguson a message at polls
As I entered the Cabell County clerk's office last Wednesday to vote early, I was getting more and more steamed about Judge Alfred Ferguson's move to legally scam the taxpayers of West Virginia and draw both his retirement and salary for judge in the upcoming year.
When I got to his name on the ballot, I could not vote for him due to his character issues, and I could not vote against him, as he is running unopposed. As I believe a no vote is a vote for him, I saw only one choice -- write-in. I entered my name.
On Nov. 5, it will be interesting to see how many other voters will strike out against Judge Ferguson by writing in my name (or any other name) to show their displeasure with his behavior.
Randall Clifford
Milton
Wolfe can be the leader city needs
As presidents of FOP Gold Star Lodge 65 and IAFF Local 289, we are often asked, "Why do the police and firefighters endorse Kim Wolfe for mayor of the city of Huntington?"
We believe David Felinton does in fact mean well for Huntington. However, he clearly lacks ability. We have all seen what the last eight years of mismanagement and inexperience have produced. Our aged infrastructure is dysfunctional at best. Businesses and good-paying jobs are leaving our fair city. Crime is apparent everywhere. When was the last time you felt safe in your own home? When was the last time you felt confident in your city government?
What Huntington needs isn't just a change in leadership, but leadership period! Huntington needs a mayor with a goal for the future of Huntington. Someone with leadership ability, the guts and the integrity to realize that goal. The FOP and IAFF support Wolfe because we believe he is that person. As sheriff, Wolfe was responsible for tax collection, producing record-setting delinquent taxes collection. It isn't hard to imagine what increased revenue for government programs without increasing taxes could mean for our city.
To paraphrase a popular political slogan, "It's time for a change... in Huntington!"
Charles Kingery
president
FOP Gold Star Lodge 65
John Angle
president
IAFF Local 289
Huntington
Eastham will fight housing problems
I would like to express my sincere disappointment in a current member of our legislative delegation. In the last legislative session, Carol Miller, a delegate in the 15th District, voted against House Bill 4156, which would have made it easier to demolish dilapidated housing and then recoup the expenses from the delinquent owners.
This is an important issue of safety and money in a city trying to put on its best face for out-of-town guests. We need a safe and clean city in order to attract new businesses and residents.
Now, I know Carol Miller, and she is a kind and gracious lady. She is friendly when we speak, and I genuinely like her. However, in the Legislature, you need to vote the interests of your constituents, not your contributors. I call on Carol to explain her vote or better yet, change it. She should join my good friend Carl Eastham, a candidate for the Legislature in supporting safe housing for city residents and not just rich homeowners out in the county. With Carl Eastham in the Legislature, our houses and homes will be safe.
Alec Plymale
Huntington
Herrenkohl would be asset as delegate
I met Amy Herrenkohl as a client. I have come to know her as a person and a candidate for House of Delegates. As a mother of three boys, she has significant interest in our youth. Amy is a graduate of both Marshall University and the West Virginia University College of Law, and she supports strong local educational opportunities.
As a small business owner, she understands the struggles of the economy and the need for more business opportunities. As an attorney who has represented all walks of life, she understands the need for strong, not more, government. She supports legislation that establishes lending practices that permit quality of life without the need for bankruptcy.
The Herald-Dispatch editorial board stated that the delegates we have in office are doing a good job, therefore, change is not needed. West Virginia still ranks near the bottom in education and income.
Amy could only be an asset to the House of Delegates. I know Amy is true to her word, and if she says she supports middle class values, I know she will work hard to make life in West Virginia better through job creation, educational opportunities and overall quality of life. Amy has my vote.
Kelly Chirpas
Barboursville
McComas is best candidate for sheriff
The citizens of Cabell County have the opportunity to elect a man who has not only the professional experience so desperately needed to run the Cabell County Sheriff's Department but also the positive influence and moral fortitude to lead as well. I have personally spoken with many deputies who serve this county, and all have expressed their support for Tom McComas as their next sheriff.
It is expected that the sheriff have previous experience and knowledge of not only each department under his control, but of what challenges and needs each officer requires to function to his best ability. I believe Tom McComas can bring leadership, confidence and trust to the sheriff's department. Tom McComas is the most qualified and best man to be the next sheriff of Cabell County.
Janice Brumfield
Huntington
Same old ones running Huntington into ground
With the holiday season upon us, I urge all to remember they are their brothers' keeper. Since the tragic plane crash, when we lost so many, we have had the same old names helping the same old names all the while trying to promote growth in this city. It is time for all of us to help one another.
The local few who believe they run the city should be held accountable for the work they have not done, yet expected others' loyalty only because we should believe their "heartfelt" intentions. I say actions speak louder than words.
Huntington is a great city. Don't let the ones who leave to have their fun and come back when they want to rest and have the ones who have been here be quiet while they stay in charge.
Donna McCoy
Huntington
Obama wrong to support abortion
Barack Obama's campaign admitted that the senator voted against giving medical care to babies born alive after an abortion attempt -- a fact that the campaign originally dismissed as a "smear." The truth is that Obama worked against efforts to ban the gruesome practice of leaving newborns who survived abortions to die and be disposed of with other medical waste. Please go to bornalivetruth.org.
As Christians, we are to make a moral judgment on actions that are morally wrong, because these sins will have eternal consequences. God speaks very clearly in the Bible on the value of the unborn person. God's word says that He personally made each one of us. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart (Jer. 1:15)." "Even before I was born, God had chosen me to be His" (Gal. 1:15). "Your hands shaped me and made me ... Did You not clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews? You gave me life" (Job 10:8-12).
There are many more verses in the Bible that support that life begins at conception.
Debra Smith
Huntington
McCain's VP choice raises serious concerns
With Election Day rapidly approaching, I would like to offer your still-undecided readers some food for thought. I believe that one of our presidential nominees' first and foremost responsibilities is their choice of a vice president who would be ready to assume on a moment's notice the enormous responsibility to lead our nation and the free world.
Sen. McCain's unfathomable choice of Sarah Palin for president in case of his death or incapacitation gives me pause to reflect on the presidential history during the second half of the 20th century, when in the span of those years four of our 10 presidents (Truman, Johnson, Ford and H.W. Bush) moved into the Oval Office before their predecessors had served out the term for which they had been elected (President Bush temporarily after President Reagan had been wounded in an assassination attempt).
Our nation was well served by these presidents, all of whom had been chosen with the sense of responsibility that their selection demanded. I wonder how Sen. McCain reconciles his selection of Sarah Palin as vice president with his claim to always put his country first.
Sigismund Harder
Gallipolis, Ohio
Christians must make voice heard on Nov. 4
If we were to believe Clintonite Howard Wolfson, "The world is a different place" because of the crisis in the financial sector, and the resulting public anxiety has closed whatever chance John McCain once had of winning the election.
The "prediction" is reminiscent of the Chicago Tribune headline "Dewey Defeats Truman."
If indeed the issue is primarily one of economic crisis, it may well be over. However, the drama of these past weeks may prove blessedly misleading if the 92 percent of Americans who claim to be Christian (Obama among them) stand for the truth.
A basic truth acknowledged by the scientific community of the 21st century is that human life begins at conception. Civil rights, women's rights, gay rights, sexual rights, the right of free speech, the right to bear arms -- none would exist without the right to life.
If only 10 percent of the 92 percent of Americans who call themselves "Christians" would remember that their loyalty to Jesus supersedes their loyalty to any political party, the tide may change. With only 12 disciples lacking any worldly "qualifications," a "remnant" of Christians could reverse the "culture of death" to a "culture of life."
Marilyn Stefanski
Louisa, Ky.
Wolfe is dedicated to helping Huntington
I got to know Kim Wolfe when I ran against him for sheriff of Cabell County. I am now a strong supporter, which may be a good indication of the kind of individual he is.
Kim always takes the high road. He is completely honest. As we all know, this can sometimes ruffle some feathers. Kim's leadership style begins with his own example of integrity, work ethics and service to the community. He expects professionalism and demands accountability from his staff, while never expecting more from them than he would of himself. Kim is generally the first one in the office and is often the last to leave.
Kim has volunteered thousands of extra hours to the "Don't Horse Around with Drugs" program and to Marshall University, providing security on his private time without remuneration.
Kim and his wife, Debbie are honest, hard-working people who contribute a great deal to the community. They were both born here and have remained here their entire lives, the only exception being during Kim's service in the Navy. I believe that Huntington would be fortunate to have Kim Wolfe as mayor.
Kim Wolfe will be a positive asset for the city of Huntington.
William A. "Red" Dawson
Huntington
Christians can't vote for pro-choice candidate
I am shocked at what I am seeing. As a Christian, I have met many people here who profess to be Christians also. What is horrifying to me is that anyone claiming the name of Christ can plan to vote for a man (or a party) who is so adamant about child killing that he even supports giving no medical care to a child who survives an abortion, thus leaving him or her "on a shelf" somewhere until they "expire."
I am seeing people voting Democratic just because their parents told them when they were little that the Republican is for the rich man and the Democrat is for the blue-collar man. Have these people actually looked at the platforms of the two parties? Do they realize that the Democratic platform is pro-abortion? My guess is that if they looked at a list (see one at www.afa.net/08VG/index.html), they too would be shocked at what their votes are supporting.
If we vote for a politician who supports killing a living baby inside the womb or out, we become complicit in the murder of all those babies. Everything else should pale in comparison.
Tara Gibson
South Point, Ohio
The deadline for letters to the editor pertaining to the Nov. 4 general election has passed. No more election letters will be considered for publication except in unusual circumstances.
