Let’s help the birds

Editor, Smithfield Times

I love my songbirds. And, I love cats — indoor only cats. I would love to see an ad, like the one in the Oct. 26 of the Smithfield Times, entitled “Life Through the Eyes of a Songbird” (rather than a feral cat).

According to an article in the Jan. 28,  2013 issue of USA Today, 1.4 to 3.8 billion birds are killed annually by cats. About a third of the 800 species of birds in the USA are endangered, threatened or in significant decline, according to the American Bird Conservancy.

Cats that do not receive immunizations can become rabid, contaminate other cats with feline leukemia, feline immunodeficiency virus and feline panleukopenia, also known as feline distemper.

According to Animal Planet, the best way to prevent your cat from getting these diseases is by keeping your cat indoors. It’s time the idea of “helping” feral cat colonies survive be reexamined.

Sandy Schlaudecker
Blacksburg

How about Clinton?

Editor, Smithfield Times

In your editorial story, U.S. looking like a third world nation, you seemed to be concerned about what Donald Trump said He might do. You did not say what Hilary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee have done: Hired thugs to disrupt a Trump rally, lied to the U.S. Congress, lied to the FBI and lied to the Mothers of the men killed in Benghazi. There is the appearance of pay to play when she was secretary of state between the State Department and the Clinton Foundation and third world countries and she destroyed thousands of e-mails from her private server (some classified). Maybe your next Our Forum will say why this is not third world tactics.

F.T.(Tommy) Horton
Smithfield

If Hillary, a civil war

Editor, Smithfield Times

Amid all the noise of who groped who and how much lying and corruption some people are willing to tolerate and still vote for a candidate, there are two crystal facts, which define this election:

One: If Donald Trump is elected President, a Republican-led Congress will moderate his more radical proposals. They will act as a braking influence on him. A Democrat-led Congress will encourage Hillary Clinton to take even more radical leftist positions. The Bernie Sanders/Elizabeth Warren wing of the Democrat party will accelerate Hillary’s already extreme positions.  

Two: The Supreme Court, the Second Amendment and civil war. Hillary Clinton recently stated in debate that she disagreed with the Supreme Court’s recent decisions on the Second Amendment, as they were about “safe storage” and “keeping toddlers in DC from being shot”. This is a flat lie. In Heller vs DC and MacDonald vs Chicago the Court twice definitively ruled that the Second Amendment means what it has plainly said for 229 years — that Americans have a fundamental individual right to keep and bear arms exclusive of service in any formal organized militia. That’s it. Hillary has plainly said that the Supreme Court “got it wrong” and that she intends to pack the court with progressive justices so that that ruling can be overturned, thereby gutting the Second Amendment as we know it. A single new vote could redefine the Second Amendment forever.

The popular Gadsden flag features a coiled rattlesnake, rattling out its warning of “Don’t Tread On Me.” Consider the record gun sales of recent months and years. All over America, those who swore an oath to defend the Constitution and the freedoms it recognizes plus millions of others who cherish them are rattling as loudly as they can.

Hillary Clinton will pack the Supreme Court with progressives. They will act to redefine the Second Amendment and to pass restrictive gun laws. Millions will choose not to comply with these unconstitutional edicts. They will respond with violence if enforcement is attempted. This will touch off a bloody civil war, which will result in the loss of thousands of lives. And if you choose to vote for Hillary Clinton, you will bear some of the moral culpability for igniting this conflagration which no one wants to see happen. Don’t Tread On Me. Choose your vote wisely.

David Lloyd
Surry

Helping neighbors

Editor, Smithfield Times

On behalf of the Woman’s Club of Windsor I would like to thank your paper for the coverage you gave our organization concerning our Bucket Project. Windsor, N.C. experienced a terrible flood on Sept. 23, and the women of Windsor, Va. wanted to help our “sister town” in North Carolina.

We were told that they needed cleaning supplies and grocery gift cards. A plea went out to our community and we were able to pack 33 buckets of cleaning supplies and purchase $2,050 in gift cards for groceries. The buckets and gift cards were taken to Windsor, N.C. on Oct. 6.

Two days later Matthew hit and Windsor, N.C. was again flooded. We had $379 come in after Oct. 6. Our club voted to add $12 to that amount so we could send them a check for $500 for the second flood relief fund. I am so proud to be a member of a community that is so giving and so caring to our “neighbors” in North Carolina.

Thanks to all who helped make his project a success and to your paper for the coverage. 

Kathy Queen
Windsor

Evaluate their conduct

Editor, Smithfield Times

This 2016 Presidential Campaign is one for the Guinness World Records. Hillary Clinton would win for the candidate being the most dishonest, untruthful, untrustworthy, deleted emails, pay to play, and being under investigation by the FBI. Donald Trump would win for the candidate saying “wrong,” Make American Great Again, crooked Hillary, and accused of being disrespectful to women. 

As far as I am concerned they both can be in the Guinness World Records; however, I do not want to see Hillary Clinton in our history books as the first female president. In my opinion, the first female president should be a role model for our daughters and granddaughters, and Hillary Clinton is not that.

Hillary Clinton is like a garment hanging in your closet. When you first seen it, it looked good. You bought it because you thought it would do something for you. You wore it for a while then left it to hang in your closet. After about six months, you got rid of it because it did nothing for you. Hillary Clinton will do anything to get elected president and fulfill her dreams and not your dreams. 

Can Donald Trump “Make America Great Again” symbolizing our strength to foreign governments that they dare not take Americans hostage asking for ransom and getting it? Can America once again become the country that foreign countries not only respect for strength but also for honor? Can America be a safe place where terrorists dare not trod. 

There is still time left for both candidates to sway you to vote for them. I hope you will evaluate them according to their conduct, moral values, and what they can do for the future of our children and grandchildren. Only the votes of the American people will determine our fate. Also, we can pray to God to bless America, and help us make the right choice.

Kathelene Clark
Elberon

Time for a change

Editor, Smithfield Times

Economists refer to the Obama presidency as the lost decade. With the third worse growth rate in the country, Virginia is no exception to this gloomy description. Isle of Wight is buffered with the influx of Federal money, which is mostly borrowed from overseas investors. This borrowed money has created a false unsustainable economy for the nation. 

To get a better overall picture of Virginia, I suggest a drive down Route 460 with stops in Waverly, Disputanta, Petersburg, Crewe, Blackstone, Bedford, and Roanoke. Followed by a turn south to Danville and Martinsville and then a westerly trip through coal country.

On these stops, one will encounter good fellow Virginians who can fill John Edwards’ column “In The Short Rows” for years to come. These people who are our fellow citizens have not been spared the sour economy. They cannot afford another lost decade. They are mocked by Obama, who states that they are wrongly clinging to their religion and guns. Clinton called them deplorable and irredeemable.

Under Obama, Bobby Scott and Hillary Clinton have been integral players in the lost decade. It is possible that we can slip far enough that there will be no recovery. No one can say for sure if Donald Trump holds the solutions to the economic decline that this country is trapped in. However, it is time to try something new. As the old saying goes, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Mark Fletcher
Smithfield

Applauds Tourism

Editor, Smithfield Times

It is said that God has a plan and his timing is perfect. Well, apparently he knew exactly what he was doing when Souper Saturday was moved to a new date. What a blessing it turned out to be that they did not have to cancel or reschedule their event due to hurricane Mathew. Is the date of this event really what’s important? I would much rather see it from that point of view than the one of “Tourism sets town schedule” or as “ the unfortunate change of date.”

As the fairly new assistant to Cheryl Ketchum in tourism, I have to say I am very impressed with how much our farmer’s market has grown. So many of our wonderful customers stop at the tourism tent on Saturdays to tell us where they have traveled from and how nice our market is.

Vendors tell me how great our market is compared to other markets they participate in. Isn’t that what we want in our small town? We want to grow and find new ways to bring folks here. I can certainly understand keeping with tradition but there is also room for change.

With the parade being moved to Dec. 17, we will have an event happening in downtown Smithfield every weekend leading up to Christmas. Hooray for business owners! I say keep doing what you’re doing, tourism.

Kim Gardner
Smithfield

Thanks to supporters

Editor, Smithfield Times

We would like to thank all of our sponsors who helped make the 15th Annual Hog Jog a success, raising over $21,000 to support the many community support activities of the Christian Outreach Program. Special thanks go to Smithfield Foods for its continued generous support and to our Platinum Sponsors, Farmers Bank and Pay It Forward. We would also thank our Gold Sponsors-Fast Track Logistics, Tidewater Physical Therapy, Full Throttle Marine, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, Cockeyed Rooster Café, Parks Orthodontics and Riverside Hospital Services. Finally, thanks to our Silver Sponsors-Hampton Roads Sports Medicine; Smithfield Animal Hospital, Stallings and Associates; Smithfield Station, Hallwood Enterprises, Towne Bank; Bennett’s Creek Veterinary, Town of Smithfield, Smithfield Family Dentistry, Darden Country Store, Edward Jones Investments, Family Medical Care and Bobby Jones Esq. We also wanted to thank the over 800 runners who participated in the face of a possible hurricane. We look forward to bigger and better things in 2017.

Robin Gearey
Chairman IOW COP Hog Jog Committee

Cars are the real killers

Editor, Smithfield Times

You may have noticed that child protectors are often very selective about what they want to protect children from, and it usually boils down to two things — sex and guns.

So, here’s a look at what things might be like if “child protectors” were actually motivated by a concern for children’s safety.

• All electrical outlets would be 5 feet from the floor.

• Front burners on stoves would be banned.

• Medicine cabinets and kitchen cabinets would have to be closed and locked when not in use.

• And cars, being the leading cause of death for children (and cops and everybody up to age 40), would be restricted to 90 horsepower and the national speed limit would be 35 miles per hour.

The mayor of New York City, trying to restrict magazine capacity to seven rounds, said, “you don’t need 10 rounds to kill a deer.”

But don’t hold your breath waiting for him to say “You don’t need 100 horsepower to drive the kids to school,” no matter how many children die in cars.

And we’ve all heard of the zero tolerance schools have concerning guns and the bizarre extremes it’s been taken to.

But schools not only allow the number one killer of children on school property, but they even have Drivers Ed where future drunk and reckless drivers are taught how to kill children.

If I applied demagoguery like that to guns instead of cars, then I could have had a fine career as a journalist, a teacher or maybe even president. My fellow Americans!

Jim P. McAdaragh
Ivor

The people responsible

Editor, Smithfield Times

We need to educate those people moving in our area as to just who was responsible for our town and county’s progress.

Our county and town will never be able to repay the Gwaltneys and Luters for their dedication. They would never approve of anything that would harm us. “Go, Joe, go.”

The citizens of the county employed by Smithfield Foods surely appreciate their workplace.

I am especially grateful for having the Department of Motor Vehicles office opened on Church Street in 1980, with support from Mr. Cecil Gwaltney Sr., Joseph Luter IIII and the former governor of Virginia, Mills E. Godwin Jr.

Martha B. Powell
Smithfield

EDITOR’S NOTE: Mrs. Powell, who is now retired, was for many years the manager of the local DMV office.