Opinion

Kershaw’s mayor and Kershaw Town Council are cutting down many of the beautiful healthy trees on historic Matson Street in Kershaw. Matson Street is the bypass or alternate U.S. 521 route through Kershaw.

It is the street most people think of when they think of Kershaw. This should not be done. The town council and mayor should look at the impact this drastic move will have environmentally, economically, historically and aesthetically in our town.

The Catawba River has just been placed at the very top of the most endangered rivers list. The Catawba is a lifeline for this state as it is for other states. From wildlife to businesses this river is most essential. We are talking about our environment, we only get one Earth.

In Wynette Burchfield’s letter, “Election is not a popularity contest,” in the April 27 edition of The Lancaster News, some statements were made that might give people the wrong impression of Discovery School.

I support S.C. Rep. Mick Mulvaney for the District 45 Senate seat. My experience with him has been consistently marked by his unbridled energy, enthusiasm and interest in his being a representative to all his constituents.

Coupled with his energy, interest and enthusiasm is a forward-looking, fiscally conservative insight into the political process and the sometimes questionable practices by some of our lawmakers. For example, witness the recent back-door pay raise that Mulvaney helped defeat.

I just read that the dog tethering bill passed the S.C. Senate. I am absolutely livid.

How dare so many responsible dog owners be lumped into a bill that is geared to reduce dogfighting. This is totally against my rights. I understand that the government wants to rid the state of dogfighting, but this is unconstitutional.

What about all of us who tether our dogs during the day and release them all night to guard our livestock? What about all of us who have our hunting dogs on trolley systems until the hunt? These are loved working dogs.

Gonze Lee Twitty’s recent Pioneer Award from the NAACP is most fitting for a man who has put others first in his life of service.

Twitty, 89, has lived a productive life of paving the way for others in need of a helping hand.

“He’s been out there for a long time helping those who can’t help themselves,” said Charlene McGriff, second vice president of the local NAACP and a member of the committee which selected the winners.

In the past year, we’ve been reminded more than once what an important resource the Catawba River is – not only to us in Lancaster County, but to residents of many counties in both South Carolina and North Carolina.

First there was the drought that took hold last summer and brought water-use restrictions to communities in both Carolinas that draw water from the Catawba. Then there were the water wars that erupted between North and South Carolina after the cities of Concord and Kannapolis in North Carolina proposed to draw 10 million gallons a day from the river.

In Shannon Catoe’s letter, “Citizens face worse issues that threat of vouchers” in the April 27 edition of The Lancaster News, she uses slight of hand and sleaziness to refer to Mandy Powers-Norell as “out of touch and foolish.” It seems Ms. Catoe has a hard time believing that the masses are really that concerned about school vouchers. In several conversations that I’ve had, vouchers are indeed the “hot button item.”

The Humane Society of Lancaster County Inc. would like to give a very heartfelt thank you to all those who helped make our first Fur Ball a huge success.

There are so many to thank that I won’t be able to list them all. So if you are not mentioned, please know that we know who you are and the omission is one of space only.