Here are some of the calls we have received lately:
- "The Wal-Mart Supercenter should be required to have an adequate parking supply of handicapped spots for the high volume of traffic it receives. Instead of wasting your time trying to find a spot five rows from the front, simply park further out, better yet in the upper lot. On another note, I see no problem with report cards being sent out after the last day of school. It allows more time for teachers to accurately submit grades."
- "To Mail Call readers: Here is a quick quiz for you. What do you think impressed Kathleen Kennedy Townsend on her visit July 8 the most? A.) All the torn-up streets that we have every summer? B.) All the vacant store fronts? C.) All the sawed-off trees sticking up? Please respond to this."
- "I am a resident of Williamsport and have been for 20 some years and I wanted to thank Mayor Slayman and the Town Council for the beautiful July 4 presentation in the Memorial Park. The fireworks were beautiful and the band played beautifully. The mayor announced that this would be an annual event and we are really looking forward to it again next year."
- "We the voters of Washington County need to send a clear message to our politicians that we will no longer tolerate the development going on in our county. They need to know that they will either stop the development or we will vote them out."
- "To the person who called in about the parking for handicapped at Wal-Mart: I have a nephew that is handicapped, my sister has supported and he is 20 some years old. I wish you would get a life. I hope God loves you because people like us DON'T."
- "The Mail Caller said that if you didn't want God in the Pledge of Allegiance and prayers in our schools then you must not be very good Americans. My family has lived here for over 300 years and I think we are very good Americans. Why don't you check the Constitution, read it three or four times. You won't find the word God mentioned once. It was added later, so we could have God in our pledge and In God We Trust on our money. Nothing the founding fathers really wanted to begin with. This is America, baby! We have a right to have our own opinion. I vote, so I make a difference."
- "Dear President Bush, I would like to congratulate you on your term thus far and I will do everything in my power to give you four more, buddy."
- "To all the people in Hagerstown who have no clue on how to use the 3-cent stamps, why don't you turn them over, peel the backing off and stick them to the envelope. There is no licking about it."
- "I got three 3-cent stamps the other day. Guess what, you have to lick them. There is no peel off paper and yes there is sticky stuff, just lick it and you will find out."
- "I was wondering why we can't get a Vanity Fair at Prime Outlets in Hagerstown? There is a beautiful one across the Bay Bridge. They have everything you would need. I don't know why we can't get one at our Prime Outlets."
- "Sunday's smoke from Canada just goes to show how the emissions testing is working for us. Since we have states on our boundary that aren't required to do the emissions, anything that we do, doesn't benefit us a bit, it benefits states far away. So I think they should do away with the emissions testing."
- "I want to respond to one of the callers a few days about plucking the last nerve about the parking spots at Wal-Mart. First of all, you should see what it is like to have a disability. It is very difficult for these handicapped people to find their parking spot and safely make it to where they want to go without physically getting hurt. So stop complaining until you have walked in their shoes."
- "The Antietam Battlefield fireworks were lovely. I hope everyone enjoyed them. If anyone found a gold necklace with a Raiders charm on it, my husband lost his. It has great sentimental value. Call me at 240-420-3859, it's a local call in Hagerstown."
- "I feel sorry for the families of the two young people who were killed at Death Curve."
- "The stream that runs through Shafer Park in Boonsboro. It's really dirty, has odors. I think this is terrible for a park. The way it looks, it just ruins the park."
- "Day after day we are reading where CRS needs help. But yet their volunteer chief has a salary of approximately $40,000. If they want to do some cutting with CRS, cut this $40,000 because he already has a full-time job and he is taking this job away from someone else."
- "To the person who said in order to be a good American, we shouldn't want God out of our school or prayer. That is ridiculous, religion has nothing to do with patriotism or being an ideal American. I agree with the caller who said we have freedom of religion and freedom from religion. You don't have to believe in God to be a good American."
- "I really enjoy going to yard sales but there is one thing that really upsets me. To all of you who leave your outdated signs on the utility poles and street signs, take them down when the sale is over. Come, on law enforcement, there is a littering law, these people are littering and they have their addresses on it. A few fines might take care of this problem."
- "Neither Alexander Hamilton nor Benjamin Franklin, both forefathers of our country, believed in the divinity of our Jesus Christ."
- "To all you experienced hunters out there. I just want to know if hunting bears with a sword is illegal?"
- "If you are looking for something to do on July 20-21, head on down to the Smithsburg Pride Days. Food, fun and entertainment for the entire family, bring the youngens, it will be a bonanza!"
- "On Sunday, June 30, I lost a pager at Valley Little League. If anyone finds it, call 301-790-3553."
- "Is there a support group in Hagerstown for victims of MS? I know there is one in Frederick, but I haven't found one in Hagerstown yet."
- "I would like for someone with the knowledge that could tell me the benefits that we receive when we pay county taxes? I have lived in Hagerstown for about 70 years and I just don't know all the benefits we receive by paying county taxes."
- "I want to respond to the person whose nerves really got plucked looking for a parking spot at Wal-Mart. Well, I have been in a wheelchair for 24 years and I would give anything to just be able to walk into Wal-Mart. So get off your high horse and do some walking and be grateful that you can walk."
- "Why is George Bush suddenly calling for all these CEOs and major companies to be accounted for their actions when he wasn't accountable for his own actions when he was in business? He sold stocks, he didn't report things to the SEC and then he tried to blame it on first the SEC and then his lawyers. But yet he is saying that the people of Enron and all these other companies should be responsible for their own actions. How come they are investigating Dick Cheney? He got tons of money when he left that company. Millions and millions of dollars and bonuses. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."
- "Congratulations to Hagerstown for their great fireworks exhibit this year. I hope they do it again next year. Plenty of free parking and the show lasted almost a half hour. It was a different story at Antietam. The fireworks lasted barely 14 minutes. The grass was barely mowed in certain places for people to walk through. Not a very good show."
- "In my opinion the people that wear these pants with the crotch down around the knees, the piercing, the tattoos and all the other goofy stuff is only for attention. Why do they get huffy when comments are made about how they look. Some of them look like they belong in the jungle."
- "I think celebrating the Fourth of July using gunpowder explosions, otherwise known as fireworks, should end. A more patriotic way to commemorate the day is to donate the money wasted on these displays to the disabled veterans who have made such an enormous sacrifice for our freedom."
- "I agree with the letter to editor that some old buildings in Hagerstown should be torn down and build new houses instead of using up farmland. Every old building in Hagerstown does not need to be preserved. The county's taxpayers need to pay off their sewer debt before they give away any money for a ball stadium."
