Opinion

It’s hard to believe that summer is nearly over for Lancaster County schoolchildren. While autumn doesn’t officially arrive until next month, Monday morning thousands of local students will say goodbye to the carefree days of summer and return to the classroom.

This week, teachers began getting their rooms ready for their new students. Their planning and preparation will pay off as they welcome students back. Many students will be sporting new clothes and shoes and carrying new lunch boxes and backpacks full of new school supplies.

This letter is in response to an article on the second-quarter finance reports of U.S. Congressman John Spratt and his challenger, S.C. Sen. Mick Mulvaney, as reported in The Lancaster News (July 23) and Carolina Gateway (July 28). The piece quoted several Mulvaney releases in which he painted himself as the favorite and the most supported by local residents.

Neither paper, it appears, fact-checked his statements, though campaign finance reports are readily available from the Federal Election Commission at http://www.fec.gov/disclosure.shtml.

I am writing this letter to inform the people in Lancaster and South Carolina of some of the finest people in our county. I know the economy is in turmoil. I know jobs are being lost daily. But the adult education and literacy program should never be put at stake.

The Lancaster program is one of the best and most appreciated of its kind. The staff and teachers are blessed. They go above and beyond their call of duty.

The recent death of Dr. Bill Duke, a retired physician, leaves a void in our community, but a great legacy to follow.

Duke practiced medicine for nearly 40 years in Lancaster until retiring about 14 years ago.

During that span, he touched and save countless lives in his dedication to his profession and his patients.

“He was very committed to what he did,” said his son, John Duke. “His care for people – that was the way he thought he could give back to the community.”

For about the last 30 years the Republican Party has increasingly brought libertarian philosophy into their platforms and plans for the United States. While many of us may applaud some of the certain aspects of this ideology, in its larger context and application to state and local life it may surprise you as to its very destructive elements.

These applications of libertarian philosophy can add to the current massive problems for our country:

As many of you may recall, about this time last year the S.C. Senate had just closed the book on our debate over the first round of federal stimulus money. Now, with a year’s worth of information, we can start to assess its effectiveness.

Looking back, I had three concerns:

u Would the money come with too many strings attached?  

u How much would it actually benefit job creation?

u Would the stimulus have any adverse affects?

Mary Bernsdorff, a life-long educator, is a candidate for the S.C. House District 45 seat.

I had the opportunity to meet Mary and was impressed with her knowledge and passion for improving economic opportunity for the people of Lancaster and York counties.

Bernsdorff addressed several issues concerning the need for real, comprehensive tax reform and pointed out that the state loses $4-5 billion in tax revenue annually.

She said the state is not broke, the system is broken.

She gave the following as examples:

HOPE in Lancaster is returning to its old home Monday. After outgrowing its space on Pageland Highway, the local charity, which runs a food pantry and assists families with rent and utility payments, moved to a temporary location on Arch Street in Lancaster about 18 months ago.

But now its old home has been renovated and expanded, and HOPE is moving back into its old digs.

HOPE’s expansion wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for the help of some caring local folks who believe in and support its mission.

What about that mayor’s race? Four candidates who want to be the mayor of the city of Lancaster. When filing started, who would’ve predicted we’d have so many candidates vying for mayor? The interest in this seat certainly surprised us. How about you?