Marion County Letters to the Editor

This week is be kind to animals week

Dear Editor,

Be Kind to Animals Week is May 4-10. If you aren’t sure how to celebrate, here are three simple suggestions: 

* Have your dog or cat spayed or neutered. Spaying-neutering reduces the stress and discomfort females endure during heat periods, makes males much less likely to roam and fight and reduces the risk of some types of cancer in both sexes. Spaying and neutering also helps prevent animal overpopulation. To find out about low-cost spay-neuter services near you, contact SPAY-USA at 1-800-248-7729, or visit www.HelpingAnimals.com to sponsor a needy animal through PETA’s low-cost spay-neuter program.

* Let your dog live inside with you, not chained or kenneled in the yard. If a dog in your community is left outside all day, please persuade his or her owner to bring the dog inside or, at the very least, provide the dog with adequate shelter, food, water and enrichment. You can also provide a needy dog with a doghouse by becoming an “Angel for Animals” sponsor. 

* Collect donated dog and cat food, bedding, toys and treats for animals at your local animal shelter or volunteer to help walk dogs, clean cages and play with the animals.

For more ideas, visit www.PETA.org, or read Making Kind Choices: Everyday Ways to Enhance Your Life Through Earth — and Animal-Friendly Living.

Heather Moore

People for the

Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

Why have lawmakers?

Dear Editor,

How do we come to have laws passed by the members of the South Carolina Senate and House of Representatives, spending weeks, months, even years of deliberation — their time, housing, and travel expenses paid for by us, the citizens — and then find that it was all a waste because we are told the laws are unenforceable? Why waste the time of senators and representatives in setting the penalties for actions that won’t even be charged and the perpetrators called to no accounting for the blatant breaking of these laws.

The entire Title 47 of the S.C. Code of Laws is about one thing — recognizing that the mistreatment and suffering of animals is wrong and should not be allowed. A dog in our midst suffered near starvation, had to go through pregnancy with hardly enough nutrition to stay alive herself and full of fear.

 When she bit someone who was trying to help her, no one thought it was rabies, but was simply her effort to protect herself in the only way she could. The laws of DHEC work more efficiently than the legislature’s. Any doctor who treats a bite wound must report it to the Health Department because rabies is a terrible disease that has no cure and is fatal to humans as well as animals.

Presently a bill in the S. C. legislature for the second session concerns the tethering of animals. If this bill becomes law, a lot of money will have been spent to decide on the exact wording. It seems to be a good law, but stop and think, people. If it is not an enforceable law, how is it going to help the animals and will it have been worth the cost of legislating it?

Eleanor Kitchens, the foster caregiver of the abused German Shepherd, acting for Paws to the Rescue, Surfside Beach

Working in tobacco made us who we are

Dear Editor,

I left the Tobacco Barns in 1962 for a life in the business world. After living in New York City 20 years and 17 other cities for stints of six months at a time I now realize my values and life were molded of those days.

Yes, I remember cropping tobacco most of the day and then stringing until the job was done and after all was hung in the barn time for a little sleep knowing that next night I had to stay at the barn to stoke the fire and regulate the temp. This prepared me for all night flights, sleeping in the terminal during snow storms and a intolerance of others that would not sacrifice to get the job done and done right.

I have one question. Would America be what it is today without the Tobacco Barn? The answer is no. Tobacco is not all bad.

Charles Melton

Kansas City, Missouri

Editor’s Note: Mr. Melton’s remarks were made in reference to the “Ode to the Passing of the Tobacco Barns,” a pictorial posted on our Web page and  first published in the Star & Enterprise in 2007.

Energy drinks harmless or harmful?

Dear Editor,

I stopped in a local convenience store the other morning to grab a quick cup of coffee and there it was… an innocent looking creamer in the bin with my precious French Vanilla. On closer examination, the name on the creamer was “Stok”, the black coffee “shot.” The package stated that you must limit yourself to two only, due to the extremely high caffeine content. The writing also warned that this was not a product for anyone under the age of 18, pregnant or caffeine sensitive.

Now, mind you, I had to look very closely to see all of that information, but there the creamers sat, right next to the Slurpees and the Little Debbie Cakes. I didn’t try one because, quite frankly, I didn’t want to be… well… “stoked.” What a clever name. Great marketing. I’m not generally an alarmist, but this does in fact make the hairs on the back of my neck rise just a little.

Why does everyone have to have so much extra energy all of a sudden? Are we doing so much that we’ve got to gulp a coffee shot or some other energy drink on the market to make it through the day?

Notice how conveniently placed these energy drinks are in our local stores. They are generally right there where you can grab one at the check out counter. They are also marketed very nicely with art designs that appeal to our youth, such as monster claws ripping through the can. I urge parents to be observant and aware of what your children are drinking.

Some of these so-called energy drinks not only have the high caffeine content, but also, contain alcohol. Yes, alcohol. Pay attention to what’s on the can. If you see the nutrition guide box with the calories, nutrients, etc. the drink most likely will not have any alcohol content, However, if you see a can without the nutrition guide, you can almost bet it will have some percentage of alcohol.

Now, imagine a student going to school with his energy drink. Let’s say he has just a regular ol’ non-alcoholic energy drink. Around about lunchtime, his body system is going to “crash.” He will have an overly tired or exhausted feeling, and he will want to put his head down on his desk. It will become difficult to focus.

How about if this student mistakenly gets the one with the alcoholic content? Well, we know that caffeine hypes you up. What does alcohol do? It depresses the body’s system.  How is this student’s body going to react to two different drugs in his system combating each other?

Imagine the health problems that could occur if the student continues to do this to his system. Imagine the problems his teacher might have to put up with if he is doing this. And imagine how the student is going to feel after a couple of days of doing this to himself?

Do you think that he will be a pleasant individual? These energy drinks can lead to other problematic behaviors, such as moving onto other drugs and alcoholic beverages. (There are also flavored candies on the market for children, such as pina colada, but that’s another article.)

These companies target our youth because they know that they will be their customers in the near future. They are merely priming the future cash pump of their companies. Look to see who manufactures these energy drinks and candies. That will tell you a lot. There are several energy drinks on the market right now, which are put out by beer companies.

I urge parents to please be aware and watch what your children are consuming. April is Alcohol Awareness Month. For information, you may call me at (843) 431-9225 Ext.31.

Deborah Rogers

Teacher, Prevention Specialist, Trinity Behavioral Care

Author responds to editor’s column

 

Dear Editor,

Putting your shopping cart in the designated place after use is not a law. It’s a considerate thing to do, but as to causing suffering, I doubt that it normally would. Withholding food, water, and companionship from a dog does cause extreme suffering.

Imagine that your only source of food and water are mechanical dispensers that are always empty. Malnutrition as obvious as Kent Williams’ dog showed, and still shows a month later, does not happen in a few days. Now imagine that on top of constant hunger, you become pregnant and your body does its best to supply the needs of eight unborn puppies. The rule of nature is to meet the needs of the offspring, no matter the cost to the mother.

To own a dog and not take care of her is breaking a moral code higher than anything produced by mere men and women. But if one has not that moral code inside, a minimal response is respect for the lesser laws deliberated upon and chosen by those we elect and pay to sit and consider what seems fair and right. I believe the law condemning ill treatment of animals should require maximum penalties for all who choose to ignore them.

Name withheld

Life goes on?

 Dear Editor,

After all the uproar with the animal lovers of Marion and surrounding counties being upset to the nth degree, I guess life goes on. I’m referring to the disgraceful actions of District 30 Sen. Kent Williams. He openly admitted adopting three dogs from the Marion County Animal Shelter. One he gave to his Mother. The other to his brother.  I don’t know what breed of animals those were but he kept a female German Shepherd for himself.

Then she turned up pregnant because he did not adhere to the number one rule of the adoption —having her spayed. So what does the good Senator do? He has a county employee return her to the same shelter she was adopted from! Not only was she returned pregnant, but in terrible physical health. She gave birth to eight puppies four days after her return to the shelter.

In his official statement, Williams says he planned to re-adopt her if no one else did. From where I sit, that makes no sense. Did he plan to take the eight puppies also and care for them since it’s very apparent he didn’t take care of the mother?

Now he makes the statement that he planned to breed her. It just gets worse every time he opens his mouth. It is very plain that Sen. Williams has committed a crime. Just read the statute pertaining to the offense. 

My question is, who is responsible for arresting this man? Is it the city police, the county or SLED? If nothing else, he definitely should be fined for this callous act.

If anything has been done by the authorities, I have heard nothing of it. It does appear that his life goes on. (Those eight puppies will soon be old enough for adoption. If a certain amount of time passes and they haven’t found homes, they will be put to sleep.)  I see his picture in the local paper every week. This week I read he’s getting an award from FMU and  he posed with the Marion mayor awarding a check to a local Fire Department. When an elected official is allowed to “get away” with such an act of cruelty, what does that say to youngsters who wish to  emulate him?

Linda Sturms

Britton Neck