Opinion

I started Indian Land School in 1957 and finished in 1969. I was sad to hear of Mr. W.P. Leaphart’s passing.

A lot of newcomers I’m sure don’t know, but this man was the best of the best in what he did. He guided a lot of students as he was a great teacher. His knowledge was vast. He was a soft-spoken man who could point you to the correct way to do tasks.

He was always helpful to the community as he ran the cannery in summer and taught adult classes in welding, small engines, etc.

With only a few weeks of summer vacation left, the thoughts of parents and children alike are turning back toward school and all that entails.

For many, that means new clothes, backpacks and school supplies.

But for those parents who are out of work or struggling to make ends meet, it just means one more thing to stress out about. If you can barely pay your rent, how will you afford school supplies for your children?

An Indian Land woman is hoping to get a referendum on the ballot in November 2012 that would let Lancaster County voters decide whether they want to OK the Sunday sales of alcoholic beverages at restaurants in the county.

We not only favor putting the referendum on the ballot, we also favor approving the referendum. We believe Lancaster County restaurants should be allowed to sell alcoholic drinks on Sunday if they want to.

Why not?

After about six hours of intense enemy fire on a Cambodian hillside, former U.S. Army Capt. John P. “Jack” Monahan knew his platoon could not hold its position. There was little food, water and ammunition left.

They would have to withdraw. They adjusted artillery barrages to cover their movement. The wounded Monahan led the survivors to safety several hundred yards down a hill while carrying a wounded soldier on his hip with one hand and firing an M-16 with the other.

They came to rest behind some huge tree stumps. That was May 19, 1970.

It has been said that the first casualty of war is the truth. After reading an article in The Lancaster News entitled, “Mulvaney challenges Spratt on budget, taxes,” it seems truth is also a victim of Mr. Mulvaney’s attempt to unseat Mr. Spratt.

Mr. Mulvaney claims that the House of Representatives will fail to pass a budget for the first time since 1974. That is simply not true.

The last time the House failed to pass a budget was in 2006, when the Republicans were in the majority.

I want to personally apologize for the cancellation of the BloodStock blood drive on July 22 at the Van Wyck Community Center. Due to technical difficulties, the blood drive was cancelled.

The donors who had left phone numbers were contacted immediately to inform them of the situation. If you were not called, I apologize. Many people were contacted and were attempted to be contacted and I apologize if you fell through the cracks and were not contacted.

Lancaster  County Council should initiate a program that would allow for nonviolent offenders to serve their time at home.

Those who serve their time through the program would have to wear electronic-monitoring devices that monitor where they are through GPS, or global positioning system, technology. The technology would allow authorities to easily keep tabs on those sentenced to home detention, as GPS technology would pinpoint where they are at all times.

History was made when South Carolinians chose their two major candidates for governor last month. Nikki Haley is the first woman from the Palmetto State to win a major political party’s nod for governor.

Haley clinched the Republican gubernatorial nomination in convincing fashion.

She nearly locked up the nomination in the GOP primary on June 8, falling just shy of the 50 percent plus one vote needed to capture the nomination. She then easily defeated U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett of Westminster in the June 22 runoff.

We are here to mark four years since Continental Tire ceased manufacturing operations and sent hundreds of area jobs to Brazil and Mexico.

We believe that in July of 2006 when Continental Tire suspended production in Charlotte that there were determining factors that entitled Continental’s Charlotte employees certain benefits coinciding with the production suspension.

We believe those benefits should have been provided just like benefits were provided to Continentals employees at their Mayfield Kentucky plant in 2005 under similar circumstances.