That we should deprive the general population some culture and entertainment that is well-deserved and needed in these trying and difficult times? That we should not allow a high school drama class to perform a musical based on French history? That we should force our educators to stop educating and waste their time and the taxpayer dollars to form a witch-hunt?
I find your article insulting and offensive to the educated and intelligent populace of Hagerstown. This article sends a very wrong and offensive message. A message that is very un-American or anti-American in times when we should only embrace our Constitution and hold it near and dear to our hearts. I would much rather read about local service men and women and their families, and how they are coping with the task at hand. They are making the ultimate sacrifice of laying their lives on the line to defend this country so we have a Constitution and our liberty and freedom in years to come; now this is newsworthy copy.
Maria McNamara Enns
New York, N.Y.
Preserve funds for transportation
To the editor:
I am a resident of Jefferson County, W.Va., who is very interested in using my car less and the Pan Tran public bus system more.
Recently I was alarmed to learn that funding that supports public transportation in the Panhandle is at risk of being reduced. In five years only 50 percent of the operating budget will come from federal monies. Current funding for the bus includes $5,000 from Berkeley County and $2,000 from Jefferson County. This is a bargain for countless people who rely on a public bus system, especially those who cannot afford a car, or who are unable to drive.
The Metropolitan Planning Organization would like to have the Pan Tran link up with the public bus systems of Leesburg and Winchester, Va., and also with that of Hagerstown. This would bring greater flexibility and independence for bus riders, as well as provide commuters an alternative to traffic congestion caused by too many cars clogging the roads.
Unfortunately we may never benefit from the MPO's proposal due to funding cuts, which the Pan Tran may not even survive. Instead, please give all consideration and full support to the financial requests for Pan Tran made by its dedicated employees. Scores of bus riders are counting on you to put our tax dollars where we need it the most.
Leslie Carter
Charles Town, W.Va.
I've seen slot machines up close and the view isn't pretty
To the editor:
Our new Maryland governor wants to bring slot machines back into our area. When I was a young minister serving churches in Charles County (1955-1961), I discovered that slot machines could be found everywhere in southern Maryland (grocery stores, drug stores, restaurants, car dealerships, barbershops, convenience stores, gas stations, liquor stores, etc.) For six years I witnesses how people's lives were destroyed by playing the slot machines.
A young couple, whose marriage I performed in 1955, ended their marriage three years later - a direct result of the husband's addiction to the one-armed bandits. At a church meeting with parents, I learned that children and teenagers were stealing from their parents in order to play the slots. There was no effort, as far as I could see, to restrict the playing of slots by minors. I watched two families from my churches lose their homes because the money that should have gone to pay their monthly mortgages went, instead, to the slot machines. I learned as I counseled individuals and made pastoral calls that the loss of money to the one-armed-bandits caused a great deal of conflict and serious harm to marriages and families, as well as to individuals.
