The quickest, cheapest, most direct solution
A traffic survey (both directions on Sunset) would establish the 85-percentile speed. That is the speed below which 85 percent of the traffic moves (sometimes called the “safe and reasonable speed.)” Traffic “calming” has a history of causing collisions and wrecks when motorists strike a new structure designed to slow traffic by narrowing (thus slowing) passage. Speed bumps have shown to be ineffective and a hazard to larger service and emergency vehicles. Perhaps the occasional law enforcement radar unit to “remind” drivers of the existing speed limit would be the quickest, most direct and cost-effective solution.
– Ed Trottier, Ladys Island
Dandridge shines light on Fisher House
Readers of The Island News have seen, and hopefully read, retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Larry Dandridge’s series of articles on veterans’ benefits.
I’d like to share with readers one of the benefits of being a veteran that Dandridge touched on because it affects so many of us in the Beaufort area.
It is called Fisher House, and it is a network of magnificent homes built on the grounds of our nation’s military and Department of Veterans Affairs major medical centers. There are currently 92 of these homes in operation with another three under construction.
Veterans or their family members can stay free of charge in these multi-family homes for as long as their loved one is receiving care. The eligibility criteria are that the veteran must live more than 50 miles from the hospital where they will receive their care.
We are most fortunate that it is more than 50 miles to Charleston, and there is a Fisher House there, located close to the Ralph A. Johnson VA Medical Center, MUSC, Roper, and Trident Hospitals, as well as the recently opened Children’s Hospital at MUSC. I have stayed at Fisher House Charleston numerous times while my wife and I have received care at MUSC. The savings over the cost of a hotel room and the cost of meals (Yes. Volunteers even provide meals for guest families) are in the thousands of dollars. The house has 16 living suites and is the equivalent of a five-star hotel (Fisher House is really much more than a hotel, it is a home away from home).
I encourage any veteran to look into this lodging option before paying for a hotel room in Charleston. The way to do this is to contact the social work staff for their primary care provider at our local VA clinic here in Beaufort, to determine eligibility. The priority is for families of patients at the Ralph A. Johnson VAMC, then families of patients at the other area hospitals,
And, if the house is filled? The Fisher House manager can place a family at a nearby hotel, and the cost will be paid by the nonprofit Friends of the Charleston Fisher House.
How is that for a benefit of your military service? And since most of us always want to pay it forward, please consider a donation to the Friends of the Charleston Fisher House (POB 1678, Charleston, S.C. 29402) or a gift of supplies directly to the Charleston Fisher House.
– Jim Weiskopf is a U.S. Army veteran and the Public Image Chair of the Rotary Club of Beaufort
I’d like to know what Ellis meant
In last week’s (article) on Democratic candidate for S.C. Superintendent of Education Lisa Ellis, she was quoted as saying “I really want to win this office because I’m horrified about the alternative.”
That quote led me to search for whatever might be out there in the universe about her opponent, Ellen Weaver.
What I was able to discover was a history of an ideal life: born, worked and educated in S.C., raised to value family principles and ethics, strong belief in God, family and country, a belief that parents are entitled to have a voice in the education of their children and a strong, obtainable plan to help every child in South Carolina’s education system to achieve their God given potential.
I’d like to ask Ms. Ellis exactly which of Ms. Weaver’s characteristics she finds horrifying, or whether she would agree to enlightening us on specific horrors she envisions for our children should she fail to win the majority vote.
The SCEA has endorsed Lisa Ellis. She has been highly critical of the S.C. Education Oversight Committee. Her Facebook site, SC for Ed, is listed as private. Other sites, including Twitter, paint her as an activist, having a strong belief in diversity versus individuality. Is this who we want in charge of educating the future leaders of our state and country or should we stand up for the conservative voices that love our children, value our families, contribute to our communities and have rock solid American values?
– Jo Murray, Beaufort
