"To the person from Sharpsburg and everybody else that complains about the trucks being everywhere: ... It takes trucks to get your food, your grain, etc. across the country. It takes trucks to get your roads and highways fixed. It takes a truck to deliver your appliance, furniture, whatever you order, to your home. It takes a truck to get fuel to the service stations. There are many, many more reasons why we need trucks."- Hancock
"I'd like to make a complaint about President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Come on, you gotta be kidding me. There has to have been a better candidate than him."- Falling Waters, W.Va.
"I was at a girls' soccer game the other night, and it's nice to see the teams in the county are so evenly matched this year. There's no real powerhouse teams or powerhouse players, and as a result, some of the kids that don't usually score goals are getting to score some goals, and some of the teams that haven't had winning seasons might hopefully do that this year."- Williamsport
"President Obama's Cash for Clunkers program appears to have been designed to get union auto workers back to work. Auto workers are only a fractional number compared to the millions of construction workers out of work, so maybe it's time to help that industry if the government has so much money lying around. In view of the $4,500 handout for a new car, since a new home costs at least 10 times as much as a new car, perhaps a $45,000 grant would be appropriate for demolishing an old clunker home and replacing it with a new, energy-efficient home."- Washington County
"I love reading Mail Call, but I can't believe what people are concerned about and how they say it. It's a good cross section of people, they want more services and less taxes. Those two work against each other. Do you notice that the more services and more taxes is what politicians are choosing, it gets them re-elected and they know it. Let's tell them less taxes with less services is what we want and then re-elect them."- Waynesboro, Pa.
"There were two comments in Friday's paper that should give our representation a clue as to where the problems are. The retired couple in their 70s paying big bucks for insurance and Social Security, and the comment about jobs available in the fast food industry - outstanding. We need better-paying jobs to remain in this country. The fast food industry is a booming business, but it won't pay the bills for most people; neither will Social Security. Our representatives need to address these issues; better paying-jobs and SS increases for those who paid into the system."- Greencastle, Pa.
"Although the majority of taxpayers do not have children in public schools, we are all making a substantial contribution toward providing a good 'free' education for the children of Washington County. While we do understand that school redistricting is an unpleasant process for those affected, we also expect the BOE to preserve our tax dollars wherever possible. Parents, please keep in mind that taxpayers cannot afford to satisfy your every desire for convenience. The BOE is making the right decision in moving students to where vacant classroom space is available, rather than building small additions onto every overcrowded school. Building one new school (Eastern Primary) near the center of greatest population and where the most growth is expected also is a reasonable decision." - Hagerstown
"I wish fretting over stink bugs was the most critical concern in my life. Instead, I'm worrying about world peace, hunger, keeping the wind out of my rotting house and not having my electricity shut off."- Hancock
"Allan Powell usually does in-depth studies on what he writes about, but apparently failed to do so when he criticized banks in a recent column for making sub-prime mortgages. As a former bank director, I can give him some information he overlooked. Congress required banks to write mortgages to those whom any prudent, responsible banker would never have loaned money to. Banks had to make risky loans to comply with the Community Reinvestment Act, not because they wanted to but because they were forced to. The CRA was enacted in 1977 by Congress, under initial pressure by Chicago activists. Jimmy Carter was president and Democrats controlled both houses of Congress. Sound familiar?"- Hagerstown
