Bicyclists and traffic circles

Editor, Smithfield Times
I urge all town and county planners and elected officials to review the county’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan when considering the construction of any traffic circles. Any location where a pedestrian or bike path crosses a road leading into a traffic circle will require stop signs or traffic signals to allow bike and pedestrian traffic to cross. This will eliminate any efficiencies that might be realized by constructing a traffic circle rather than a conventional intersection.
Greg Vassilakos
Smithfield

Drugs are taking lives

Editor, Smithfield Times
And we get “wound around the axle” when two illegal alien kids die from viruses while crashing our border with a so-called “parent.” Yes, a sorry loss of life, too. Nevertheless, are the “bleeding hearts” crying over the annual 70,000 deaths of family members, neighbors, friends, the unknowns and personally doing something about arresting this drug overdose epidemic? Sadly, no.
Are we waiting for our government to do something about it? We are “our” government (a constitutional republic), that espouses being a great democracy. Well, we need to get our act together at all levels, starting at home and in our communities. In the 1980s and 90s we had “Just Say No To Drugs “ as a national slogan, DARE in our elementary/middle schools (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) and Nancy Reagan leading the charge.

But stupidly we got away from these across-the-board assaults on arresting this cancer from within our society as a whole.
Where are we today? Dependent upon local and state law enforcement, the DEA and even the Border Patrol trying to stem the rising tide of illicit drugs coming into our USA regularly? Worried about sea-level rise, huh? The deaths due to drug overdoses will take out more humans before the next Ice Age slows and stops the former. Meantime, we as a once objective, principled society will ring our hands and largely remain oblivious to the problem, until it strikes close to home, or in it.
Let’s repeatedly try the old “Trust But Verify” idea in our school systems. As a former School Board member, I proposed this to the IWCS School Board earlier in December. Several times a year at High Schools have unannounced visits by law enforcement with “drug detection” dogs.  It works, as proven when I worked in industry.
All the talking accomplishes nothing. Action is called for. The toll rises a lot faster than sea levels will ever rise or the land subsides. Society in our USA is on a slippery slope to self-destruction if we do not dig in and get back on top of the problem — NOW. And, we do not have Nancy Reagan to lead the charge.  Something useful all our living First Ladies could team up on ?
Herb De Groft
Smithfield

Market drop due to Dems?

Editor, Smithfield Times
I voted Democrat from the 70s onward. I voted for Bill Clinton the first time around. Then he lied to Congress, under oath. I could not do so the next time. Trump was not my first choice and there was no way I could vote for dishonest and irresponsible “Billary” (intended) Clinton.
In June of this year I told people that when/if the so called “Blue Wave” of Democrats developed and elected large numbers that it would be followed by a decline in the stock market. I was correct. Within two days stocks fell dramatically and have continued to do so. The market is now at an all-time Christmas decline.
I know too that when January comes and these new Dems, self-declared extremists and socialists according to the news and polls, are sworn in our government and the economy will be further dragged down. This will be especially dire if they begin their desired impeachment process.
The crazy and saddest issue related to this is that the “collusion” was on the part of Bill and Billary. They hired a Russian agent to dig up information that would hurt Trump and then this agent added unfounded grist to get a warrant and the Clintons had the so-called “Dossier” and were off to the races to bring suspicion on Trump.
I now pay less in taxes due to Trump’s decisions, the stock market, up until this Democrat Wave, has increased all of our retirement programs, and there was hope that our borders could become safer rather than wide open and more dangerous for our futures. Do you know the motto of M-S 13 gang? It is “Rape, Kill and Own the People”.
Let me respond to Joe Puglisi who compared Dems and Republicans last November. Both parties care about people and put them first. However, Dems like to make people comfortable in poverty so they will become dependent on “Santa handouts” and vote Dem again and again while Republicans develop programs that help people rise up, get jobs and care for themselves and others. That is why a higher percentage of people, especially minority people, are working today than at any other time in history.
Dorien de Lusignan
Suffolk