People pay heavy price for drugs
Dear Editor: I want the citizens of Fayette County to know that I am on their side in the war on drugs. I made that decision during my last parole violation in prison when I got the news that we all fear about a loved one, who is a drug addict.
I got the news that my brother had been found dead of an overdose. The loss was punishing.
From that day on I made a dedication to his memory that I would honor his memory by becoming an ally to police to fight the war on drugs.
My heart and life had suddenly changed. I started to realize how drugs were harming the lives of so many good people and families.
Drugs can turn a good mother into an unfit mother. A good dad into an unfit dad; and on down the family tree.
But the harm goes far beyond family members. Our communities pay the price in human and economic suffering.
And many times death is the end result, as it was for my brother. That suffering result will last a lifetime. So I decided, no more suffering. No more will I sit back and watch another mother or father destroy and harm the lives of their innocent children through that parent’s addiction. No longer will I sit back and watch another man suffer helplessly as his wife, girlfriend, son or daughter, mother or father or any relative take themselves and other innocent people through their personal battle of addiction. The pain is more than most can bear. I know, because it’s happened to me. It changed my life and heart.
James Thompson
Fayette County Prison
Revitalize rail system, reader says
Dear Editor:
Why billions of dollars for oversea sinkholes when a few dollars invested in the rapid transit system, utilizing the thousands of miles of rails lying dormant nationwide, that would create thousands of jobs and jolt the sluggish economy into prosperous times?
The service would mean transportation, not from Pittsburgh to London, but from village to village throughout the state and country, like it used to be. That is, until the federal government nationalized the railroad industry and destroyed the world’s finest land transportation system.
We’ve had enough of the Conrail-Amtrak-airline-foreign aid boondoggles. We’ve wasted too much time and money trying to re-invent a mass transit system. Restore the mass railway concept to the successful tax-paying railroad industry and watch America’s creativity come alive.
Al Hopfer
Greensburg
Yard sale rule will impede visitors
Dear Editor:
Fifty-three years ago, Eric Blair under the pseudonym of George Orwell in the book “1984” coined a phrase “Big Brother is watching.”
Now a half-century later the leaders of our fair city are going to change it to “Big Sister is watching.”
I am referring to the new ordinance to restrict the annual number of garage and yard sales. In my mind this is just another complete waste of time on council’s behalf. One of the councilwomen states that she has received complaints along with the city clerk about daily and weekly sales by some people. Anytime someone takes time to complain about such a meaningless item is proof that they have nothing else to do but complain.
On some weekends the only interests that would cause anyone to visit Connellsville are the many such sales. With over 15 vacant storefronts within the two block downtown area, who wants to visit Connellsville? Now one of the only attractions existing is being restricted and licensed by our so-called “City Fathers.”
Oh another thing, while those 15 vacant fronts might be vacant, they are going to look good. And the “downtown area” for whatever reason and some approximately $75,000 to $100,000 later will have trash receptacles, attractive lights and benches. Now I am not against cleaning up and remodeling the area, but, please have some reason to have it done.
Limiting the citizens’ right to have sales on their own property is just another reason Connellsville will be losing residents and visitors to our fair city. There are plenty of other reasons, but most of the citizens already are aware of these.
John B. Truxel
Connellsville