Words and actions

Editor, Smithfield Times
On Tuesday, President Trump headed to Texas to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. The storm has deluged the nation’s fourth-largest city with more than four feet of rain, displaced families, and caused massive damage to homes and infrastructure. The President has expressed his concern for the Lone Star State, declaring, “Protecting the lives of our people is my highest priority.”

Though appropriate in context, it’s impossible to notice that this statement is incongruent with the administration’s actions. Since taking office, President Trump has removed the mention of climate change from government websites, pulled the United States out of the Paris Accord, and proposed a budget that aggressively strips funding for environmental protections.

The correlations between the impacts of Harvey and climate change are undeniable. Rising global temperatures lead to more moisture in the atmosphere — a process that then leads to increased rainfall. These same rising temperatures also cause sea level rise. In Houston, the combination of these forces caused flooding that was more devastating and deadly. President Trump would be remiss to ignore this connection. If left unchecked, this destructive pattern will only continue in the months and years ahead.

Hampton Roads is no stranger to the perils of climate change-induced sea level rise. As the second most at-risk community in the nation, Hampton Roads residents understand the uncertainty and frustration associated with recurrent flooding. Home to dozens of job-creating military bases, the security of Virginia’s economy and our nation depends upon the physical safety and stability of our coastal communities.

Though the impacts of climate change are a commonality between Houston and Hampton Roads, so is the President’s ability to address it. Rather than gutting the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association and the EPA, President Trump would be wise to fully fund them. Instead of denying science, he should embrace it.

As the old adage says, “Actions speak louder than words.”

Kristie Smith
Virginia Conservation Network

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‘Previous’ board

Editor, Smithfield Times
Just a reminder for when people refer to previous “The Previous Board:”

I am very proud of our Board Record. Everything we did was to benefit the citizens of Isle of Wight such as building the new Rescue Squad building, donating a building for Christian Outreach, and purchasing a new fire truck for Smithfield, new tanker for Carrollton and new vehicles for the Sheriff’s department.

The previous board before us made the Norfolk Water Deal, Stoup Purchase and the Blackwater River Swamp Property — not us. The long and short of it was $250 million added to Isle of Wight County debt.

Again, our Board, in my opinion, was probably the best and most conservative one in the last 25 years.

Buzz Bailey
Carrollton

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Protect the statues

Editor, Smithfield Times
The last few issues of the Smithfield Times show that History, in the form of the Confederate Monuments, is still under attack.

If the polls are accurate, 62 percent of those polled were in favor of leaving the Confederate Monuments alone, while less than half that number, 27 percent, were in favor of doing something with them.

The 27 percent say, “Let’s take those Monuments down and put them in museums and cemeteries.” What they don’t add is: “… where we can find them later and break them up and grind them into dust,” because they insist the Monuments are signs or emblems of hate and bigotry. They throw those words around too freely, like a blanket indictment, making one wonder: who are the real bigots; and who are the real haters?

In North Carolina a lynch mob broke the law by taking a rope and pulling a Monument down while local police looked on. How ironic; a bit like those horrible instances of the past when a lynch mob would “get a rope” and flout humanity and the law by hanging someone, while the local law enforcement was powerless to stop it, or looked away.

Another thing; those who fought for the Confederacy were not traitors; they were citizens of states united with other states to form this country, and some of those states believed they had the right to secede and join with other like-minded states to form another “confederation.” Where in the Constitution does it prohibit secession?

That matters not to the 27 percent. They are on their crusade, no doubt humming to themselves the Battle Hymn of the Republic, and thinking of themselves as being among the heavenly host. And by “host” I mean the pandering officials, as well as the Antifa, the BLM, the nouveau-offended, the self-righteous, the ultra-virtuous and the moral supremacists.

This systemic hysteria to remove Confederate Monuments, or anything connected with the Confederacy — or slavery, for that matter — is utter madness, and will not cease with the Monuments.

Allan C. Hanrahan
Smithfield

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Businesses thanked

Editor, Smithfield Times
The Woman’s Club of Smithfield would like to thank the Businesses of Smithfield for allowing us to display our collection boxes for our recycling plastic bags project. Thanks to the recycling efforts of merchants and the community, we were able to collect enough weight in bags (500 pounds) to win a free earth friendly “TREX” bench that sits outside in front of the Tourism and Arts Center on Main Street.

November 1, 2017 will mark the end of the club’s involvement in this particular project, however we encourage the community to continue to recycle their plastic bags and dispose of them in the many collection locations around the community.

As Martha would say, “It’s a good thing.” Thank you again.

Diane Hill
Woman’s Club of Smithfield

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Business thanked

Editor, Smithfield Times
Congratulations to the Business of the Year — The Cockeyed Rooster Café! The Luter Family Y would like to thank the Christou Family, The Cockeyed Rooster, and their staff for hosting the LiveStrong at the Y fundraiser dinner event on Aug 15. The event drew lots of folks out for a special evening opening of the well -known breakfast and lunch spot! The staff was gracious and attentive, ensuring all diners experienced a great meal and great service! The kitchen and wait staff was kept busy with a steady flow of customers that evening.

Thanks to the Cockeyed Rooster, the wait staff, generous donors, and attendees, $1,907 was raised to directly benefit the LiveStrong at the Y program, a small group class for adults affected by cancer. Raising tax-deductible donations helps ensure this program can continue to be offered at zero cost to participants. The 12-week program is led by certified instructors Michelle Armstrong and Tonya Jones, and focuses on helping people reclaim their total health after battling cancer.

The Luter Y is a 501(c)3 charitable organization serving Isle of Wight and the surrounding area since 1996. Since its inception in 2014, the LiveStrong at the Luter Family Y program has served 63 people. To learn more, call the Y at 365.4060 or visit www.peninsulaymca.org

Connie Chapman
Luter Family YMCA