Letters,2/18 : New laws for drunk drivers

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We can’t make new laws whenever a tragedy happens in our society, but I do support this one. With drunken driving accidents estimated to kill someone every 32 minutes, and injure someone every 2 minutes, this is an obvious problem.

Making it mandatory for drivers who have been convicted of DUI to have an ignition interlock system in their car will not only keep them off the roads drunk but also keep us safe and help them with recovery if they have a drinking problem. If they are drunk, they won’t be going anywhere in their car, so if they are drunk all the time, they will have to find other means of transportation, which can become very inconvenient.

Some people may ask, “What about people who haven’t been convicted of DUI but still drive drunk?” If we are stopping people from driving drunk who already have one offense, that’s one drunk person off the road. It’s a lot better than having thousands of people who have DUIs still driving along with the thousands who don’t have DUIs.

I believe that if we make it mandatory for the accused to have this device installed in their car and pay for the installation, we will see a drop in the number of drunken driving accidents. No problem is solved right away.

Other people may think we should just resort to a public transportation system like in big cities such as New York. No way is Lincoln big enough to have any kind of public transportation system other than busing. Drunken driving is a problem that needs to be dealt with directly, not something we need to find a way around.

Nick Layton, Lincoln

Candidate not a true patriot

I would like to know how anyone could possibly cast a vote in favor of someone who is running for the office of the president of the United States, aka the commander in chief of the Armed Forces, who, on national television, refused to place his right hand over his heart during the playing of the National Anthem.

He also does not wear a flag pin, as do the other candidates.

Any true American patriot would not vote for him.

Roger Kopf, Nebraska City

Service comes with funding

Your Feb. 11 editorial addressing the need to review the snow-plowing process in Lincoln has some disturbing suggestions. You repeat the suggestion that Parks and Recreation equipment could be considered to clean some public streets. Every year, we hear the same comment that trails are cleared before some streets.

It is the responsibility of the city to make these commuter/recreation trails as safe as possible for children to get to school, disabled to get to local facilities, commuters to get to work, and certainly for people to get out and get some safe, healthy exercise. I cannot imagine asking the Parks Department to load up this equipment and use their already depleted budget to clean streets. Those of us who live on cul-de-sac-type streets do have some responsibility to make them usable. The Parks and Recreation Department’s budget  has been reduced by the City Council for years, and the agency should not have to take on this responsibility.

The only way we can maintain the level of service we expect for our city streets is to support a city budget that would allow for that. The more heavily populated areas need to be cleared before the outlying areas. 

Considering the number of snow and/or ice events we have had this year, I think Wayne Teten and his crew have done a good job.  While we can make suggestions as to how this should be done, we need to understand the number of miles and equipment, which is the responsibility of the Public Works Department. They are the appropriate administrative department to make this decision.

Elaine Hammer, Lincoln

Good ideas for P.E. classes

The author did a wonderful job on the recent article, “P.E. classes evolve to meet needs.” Physical education teachers are starting to change their teaching to accommodate all children. Teachers are trying to make the classes more fun so students do not feel like they are exercising. It’s about time something was done about overweight children in America.

Music is now being listened to while exercising in gym class. This is a wonderful idea. Everybody likes music, and, when listening to music that you like, it can make time seem like it’s flying.

Plus, students receive stickers at the end of each day for sweating the most. Psychologists have found that being rewarded directly after a task shows better results.

P.E. teachers are starting to teach classes so the children are doing individual exercises instead of team sports. They are teaching them workout skills they can use when they are older.

This is exactly what America needs to counteract obesity in children.

Alysia Harvey, Murdock

Look at Housing First options

My brother lives in an apartment building just south of the Capitol. My brother is an ex-felon and an alcoholic. Sometimes (not recently) visitors to his apartment get rowdy, and the police are called.

My brother is just the kind of person “we” do not want in “our” city — not! My brother is exceptionally thoughtful and generous, willing to help a neighbor or a stranger with any task, someone who often gives the shirt off his back or his last bit of food to anyone in need.

Many cities in North America, including our neighbors Minneapolis and Denver, have realized that the only solution to homelessness is homes, and they have versions of “Housing First,” a program that attempts to stabilize people in trouble with society in homes of their own, where they have security and the kind of faith in the future that allows them to deal with problems of addiction, lack of skills and other issues that make them undesirable in the eyes of other people. My family is lucky in that we are able to help out our brother with a personal form of “housing first.”

I am disappointed that in all the stories and responses to your features on my brother’s neighborhood, no one has mentioned anything like “Housing First” or the importance of a home of one’s own for anyone trying to rehabilitate himself or herself. My brother’s carpet may be a little frowsy and his Formica a little chipped, but his home is crucial to his giving back to our community. 

Instead of gentrifying his neighborhood, let’s make it the focus of our own “Housing First” program and make our city a better place for everyone to live — not just for those people who have never been plagued with dysfunctionality.

Frances W. Kaye, Lincoln

70th, O intersection dangers

70th and O is the most dangerous intersection.

Almost daily, I walk to either Hy-Vee, ShopKo, IGA or the Wells Fargo Bank.

When I cross the intersection of 70th and O on the south side going from east to west, I am facing the cars making right turns off of O onto 70th. I can see them easily. I always push the walk signal and start across when it says walk. I would say that maybe one of 30 cars making that right turn will yield to me as a pedestrian in the crosswalk. 

 When I am walking west to east and have the walk blinking, these cars force me to lose the walk signal, because I am forced to yield to them as they make their right turns.

I have gotten very good at dodging the negligent drivers but was not so lucky on Dec. 16. I was walking west to east but this time was hampered by the deep snow on the sidewalks. And the 3-foot snow bank to get onto the crosswalk was my downfall; I concentrated so hard on coming down safely that I failed to see the speeding car making the right turn.

This time I lived, but I have two cracked ribs and a broken right ankle from getting hit by that car.

I am scared to death of crossing that intersection again on either side after I have healed and can walk again.

Betty Christen, Lincoln