Dear Sheriff Tanner …
This letter was sent to Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner:
I attended a meeting that was held by County Council months ago after I read in the paper that you had applied to have ICE AGENTS sent to Beaufort County. I raised the issue of ICE AGENTS being invited into Beaufort County, because I was fearful as to what a bunch of poorly trained, MASKED officers would do to our families and friends.
You were not present at that meeting, but the idea that you had invited the ICE AGENTS into our community was opposed by a vast majority of the people attending that meeting. You had sent a message by the Councilmembers that they had no say so in your decision, and that you would be glad to answer any questions for anyone who called you. You must have had a lot of phone calls because you set up a meeting for anyone who had questions.
At the meeting that you scheduled, every single person who spoke opposed your plan to use ICE AGENTS. What do you now think about YOUR decision to add ICE AGENTS to your staff given the shooting of a 30-year-old mother that just occurred in Minnesota? This is just in addition to all the cruel and unjustifiable kidnappings and jailing of completely innocent people.
— Jim Gibson is a retired attorney living in Beaufort
Mathews a mixed bag
On one hand, it’s nice to see a new conservative voice, Louise Mathews, in The Island News. However, her [Jan. 22] column (“Boring and meaningless”) really missed the mark. Ms. Mathews focused her attention on the ubiquitous nature of the f-word in modern parlance and the president’s use of this word in response to a heckler.
She completely left out why the president was being heckled. The heckler called the president a “pedophile protector.” The president has repeatedly claimed the release of the Epstein files will exonerate him. Yet his administration has done everything in its power to prevent or delay the release of these files. One month after the deadline for the complete release of the files, the administration has released less than 1%. The excuses they offer are pathetic.
In a recent Sienna University poll, 66% of respondents disapprove of the president’s handling of the Epstein files. A significant majority of Americans wonder why the president is going to such extreme measures to prevent their release. It really does make him look guilty and the sexual abuse of minors is a whole lot worse than saying the f-word.
— Peter Birschbach, Port Royal
Dykes a domestic terrorist
Republican Congressional candidate Tyler Dykes is a domestic terrorist. On Jan. 6, 2021, he acted as an unlawful insurrectionist by terrorizing and attacking police and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. To make this an even more egregious fact, Mr. Dykes is a former United States Marine. He acted against the oath and the creed of Honor, Courage, and Commitment he had sworn to uphold. Simper Fidelis. “Always Faithful.” His attempt to violently overthrow the government in an attack where he was found guilty speaks volumes for his lack of integrity and character.
My father, the late major Herman E. Dickerson, Sr. (U.S. Army Major Airborne, WWII, August 1940-January 1946) did not risk his life in the European Theatre to have our beloved country run by criminals and fascists.
“This We’ll Defend.”
— Diane Dickerson Patino, Beaufort
