Now
Fair
20°
High
47°
Low
29°
Full Forecast

Jobs

Cars

Homes

Rentals

Alerts

Subscribe
Home > Opinion > Letters
Bookmark Us   •   Make Us Your Homepage

Letters, 6/7: Traffic light needed

Comments 16 comment(s)  
E-mail Story E-mail Story
Print Story Print Story
Share  Share
Text Size: 
Tools Sponsor

Saturday, Jun 07, 2008 - 12:42:56 am CDT

A loving 85-year-old family man died of injuries from an accident at 84th Street and Leighton Avenue last week.

I hope a light will be installed there before there are more accidents.

There are homes back there behind the fast-food restaurants on 84th Street. It can be a racetrack.

I came out of a restaurant on 84th and Leighton and was lucky to be able to make a right turn to go home.

A light on 84th and Leighton should be on a priority list.

Virginia M. Woodrum, Lincoln

Turn off engine, save fuel

Everyone in our city, as well as the state and country, is affected by high fuel prices in two ways. The obvious first way is when we painfully swipe the credit card at the pump. Less obvious, but equally critical, is the impact fuel prices have on our city budget, which is also paid for by all of us.

City officials express concern at the impact of fuel prices on city dollars. Yet those who drive city vehicles, be it emergency vehicles, StarTran or others, don’t do an obvious, simple task to reduce fuel use — turn off the engine!

I can count the number of times I have seen these vehicles parked and actually not running on zero fingers. UPS recently implemented sophisticated route mapping to minimize left turns by their drivers to save fuel. Every time I see a UPS truck or any other nongovernment vehicle stopped, even for a minute or so, the driver turns off the engine.

And yet I see police cars, firetrucks, ambulances, regular city vehicles and others idling and wasting fuel for 15 minutes or longer.

I’m willing to bet that adds up to hundreds of thousands of gallons of wasted fuel every year.  With diesel at nearly $5 a gallon, it is no wonder Lincoln residents continue conveying to Mayor Chris Beutler their belief that the city budget has considerable fat left in it. I share that sentiment.

Turn off those engines and save money for all of us!

Andy Ringsmuth, Lincoln

Funds for political cause

I was disturbed to read that the University of Nebraska Foundation is contributing $25,000 in an effort to defeat the Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative.

The alumni and donors who contributed these dollars to the university foundation doubtless thought their donations would be used to help academics, libraries, education or scholarship; they had no idea the money would instead be used to bankroll a political cause they may well disagree with.

How ironic, indeed, if their contributions have the effect of keeping their own children or grandchildren out of certain programs at UNL!

Gerard S. Harbison, Hallam

A fan of Ground Zero

I am a huge fan of Ground Zero. You guys do a great job of covering the goings-on around town, and I find myself regularly consulting it before making any plans.

The dining section of Ground Zero is probably the section I use the most. I love trying new places, and you guys are usually right on when it comes to your reviews of the various establishments.

I always like to check out the live music section, also. It’s always fun to go out and enjoy some live music after dinner, and because of Ground Zero I always know where to go, and more importantly where not to. Keep up the good work! You’re doing a great job!

Debbie Ocken, Seward


$1 Sunday Delivery - Subscribe Today!
Letters > Back to Top of Story

Post Your Comment

Standards and Rules
All posts to JournalStar.com are subject to our Terms and Standards.
Your posted comment will appear after it has been approved.
Frequently asked questions about story commenting.
(optional)
   
Hide Comments Hide Comments   Newest First Newest First  
Iraqi Vet wrote on June 7, 2008 2:18 am:
" My heart goes out to the man's family that died at the 84th and Leighton intersection, but I don't think a light is the solution. They should make that intersection a right turn only from Leighton. This city's solution to every traffic problem is another light. Now that a light is going to be put in, there will be 50+ cars stopped on 84th street so one car can turn left from Leighton. Does that make any sense??? "

 Professor Chaos wrote on June 7, 2008 6:49 am:
" Gerald, it hardly takes a college professor to understand that the causes the foundation choses to donate to may not please everyone. On the other hand, the donation you speak of is one that I can easily support. The California organization who has completely financed the "Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative" certainly has it's critics. Count me in that math. "

 peb wrote on June 7, 2008 7:27 am:
" Mr. Harbison: Maybe the donor of the $25,000 designated that money for that purpose. The Foundation has to donate per donor's wishes. "

 Isnt it ironic - no its not wrote on June 7, 2008 7:27 am:
" It's only ironic if someone donates money with the thought that that donation will help their child get into certain programs at UNL. If, however, like most donors, they're simply hoping to make a better university overall, it's not ironic in the least. "

 Big Chief wrote on June 7, 2008 7:43 am:
" Andy you may not realize that most Diesel engines in larger vehicles have turbochargers. Turbochargers are driven by hot exhaust gases and when operating under a load may reach temperatures in excess of 1200 degrees F. These turbochargers require several minutes to cool off before the engine is turned off. If you turn the motor off before an appropriate cool down period the oil in proximity to the hot turbo will be cooked and can result in severe engine damage. Some of these Diesel engines can cost close to $50,000.00 to replace. Insuring that they are cooled off before turning them off is proper procedure. "

 hank wrote on June 7, 2008 8:07 am:
" Mr. Harbison, the university's application of affirmative action seldom, if efver, comes at the expense of other students because nearly all programs at the university are open-ended. There is no precise limit to the number of students who attend UNL. What affirmative action does do is open opportunities to those who did not have the same opportunities that most of us had. Unfortunately, applicants to the university did not all receive the same quality educations, have the same family wealth, grew up in the same family structure and cultures, or experience equal opportunities in the past. Affirmative action allows more students to attend the university; it does not stop some qualified students from attending. More fundamentally, prohibiting the university and any other private or public organizations from attempting to overcome the lack of equal opportunites faced by young Americans will only perpetuate the inequalities we seek to reduce. The so-called "civil rights" amendment is a blatant attempt to perpetuate unequal economic and social privileges; UNL and the Foundation, in their roles as educators, are quite correct in actively opposing this dismal amendment. "

 JRD wrote on June 7, 2008 9:43 am:
" Do not let Mr. Ringsmuth around a military facility. The amount of wasted fuel there might cause his head to explode. "

 Mrs. Johnson wrote on June 7, 2008 10:38 am:
" If you want to see fuel being wasted, drive through UNL and you'll see their campus shuttle buses running empty all day. What a waste. Who's in charge? Who's paying for that? "

 Other side of the story wrote on June 7, 2008 10:57 am:
" In response to Andy's letter about turning off city vehicles, there is a good reason to let them run. Police vehicles have multiple equipment additions causing a greater draw of power. These additions are advanced computer systems (MDT-Mobile Data Terminal) allowing the officer access to records, maps etc...The radio system that the officer relies on to communicate with dispatch and other officers also draws power constantly. These are the inside modifications. The obvious draw of power are the warning lights. These lights keep officers safe while parked in precarious positions such as during a traffic stop.

Fire trucks and ambulances also have the same MDT's that constantly send and receive information regarding emergency calls, other emergency assignments and updates of software.

Ambulances are Fire apparatus carry over 30 specialized medications for the treatment of acute medical and traumatic emergencies. These medications require a fairly stable temperature environment. So the summer requires air conditioning and the winter months require heating.

Rehabilitation and recovery time are critical after during long operations and after short high intensity operations, such as fires, extrications, and activities such as foot pursuits. This protects against preventible exacerbation of injuries, hypo\hyper thermia, or worsening of injuries suffered while working. . Again, the vehicles AC and heat are used in there respectable months.

Again the safety of the public and the workers are enhanced by the warning lights. While parked the warning lights provide motorists an advanced “heads up” to what they might encounter ahead of them. For instance a traffic accident with numerous agencies working in the lanes of traffic, prohibited areas etc...

This will provide you with some information regarding why you see fire and police vehicles running while parked. "

 wrote on June 7, 2008 11:04 am:
" Approx 25 million gallons a day of petro is being consumed by our 'freedom' operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. "

 Gerard Harbison wrote on June 7, 2008 1:03 pm:
" Hank; I teach at the University. I ran the graduate program in my department until recently. The graduate and professional programs are certainly not 'open-ended'. Most are selective, and some are very selective. Preferential admission of some students excludes others. There is no way around it.

Sure, we don't all have equal backgrounds, but nothing in the amendment prevents UNL from giving a leg-up to students based on an underprivileged background. The amendment prevents the university from giving people preferential treatment based on race and sex. If you want to help poor kids get into UNL, go right ahead. Just don't give preference to middle class black or hispanic kids over poor white ones. That is what currently happens. "

 Casper wrote on June 7, 2008 1:12 pm:
" I agree with Dr. Harbison. Unless the University Foundation makes it clear who the source of the funds were, and what their wishes were, it is a reasonable assumption that those funds came from general donations. The people who make general donations, in all likelihood, believe they are donating to education, not a political campaign to stop Nebraskans from voting on an initiative with which they will overhwelmingly agree. "

 Laura wrote on June 7, 2008 1:56 pm:
" I live in the neighborhood near this intersection and I wholeheartedly agree that lights need to be put at that intersection. The commercial development that has already occurred paired with future development makes this vitally important. Making right hand turn only signs will not stop the accidents...it will only transfer them to the areas where drivers will need to make risky u-turns to get going in the direction they need. I have trouble finding times to cross 84th since traffic flows at high speeds and isn't coordinated to provide long breaks for cross traffic. I fear for young drivers, too. Thank you city of Lincoln for planning to get lights up. It can't come too soon. And to those who think this is "the city's answer to everything"...perhaps lights aren't the answer in other areas...but it is the only answer to providing more safety at this intersection. "

 Zoomie wrote on June 7, 2008 3:20 pm:
" Funny how the wingnuts from California who are trying to trick us into changing our Constitution fail to mention the immediate effect of their law change out there was a drop in minority attendance in college of more than 30%! Nor do they ever mention that until and unless the people and process that prepares people for college do so at full and equal footing, well, its just hard-coding discrimination forever. In California, for example, there are more students with perfect GPAs graduating from HS every year than there are openings at the state's elite schools (UCLA, UC-Berkeley, UC-Santa Cruz, etc.). So since they can't consider race or gender, they look to AP test scores. One problem! In most-white school districts, the average HS offers 6 AP classes per term; in minority school districts, they only offer 1-2 per term. Result? No matter how good, no matter how hard-working, minority students in minority neighborhoods are barred by the system in place from ever being accepted. When asked to sign the petition, I asked where the petition was that would guarantee ALL H.S. students would have equal access and opportunity to a quality education, to prepare them for college, to ensure the acces was actually fair and equal, as they claim to want...Needless to say, the mercenary signature collector didn't have a clue! And the people paying for the this really don't care! "

 Don wrote on June 7, 2008 10:09 pm:
" Why not cut the campaign season down to one month in order to conserve fuel. "

 Luke Peterson wrote on June 8, 2008 5:00 pm:
" "Just don't give preference to middle class black or hispanic kids over poor white ones" - Gerard Harbison

Does anyone else sense Mr. Harbison's racism in that quote? Heck, I'm by no means an affluent "white one" but I sure know that I have more doors open to me just because of my ethinicity and gender. I recognize that I'm just fortunate enough to be privileged like that. When I disclose my sexual orientation, that is a whole other story all together. Point being, this "Civil Rights Petition" only seeks to circumvent progress made by Dr. King and the movement that followed him back to when my parents were college students. I do however take no issue with people being hired based on merit. In fact I think that is what Affirmative Action seeks to accomplish when we live in a world that doesn't discriminate based on old fashion hatred and biases. However, the society that we live in hasn't progressed that far. Just take a look again at what Mr. Harbison said and judge for yourself if we need Affirmative Action or not! "

Ads by Yahoo!