Letters to the editor | 8-27-14

Duke’s stance on education suspect

It is nice to see that Michelle “Mike” Kerr has a sense of humor. I am positive that Duke was Lt. Governor when the school furloughs happened. He sure sounds like he is “now” an advocate for better education.

I don’t know how he manages to say that and doesn’t choke on his words. His actions spoke otherwise when he could have done anything to prove he cared one iota. Lip service gets you elected, but the most embarrassing, disgraceful and downright disgusting attack on the education system, including on the students and educators, happened while he was on duty.

I am sure Duke supporters can and will be adamant and creative in his defense, but facts don’t lie. He may not have been in charge, but he sure was in a position to do something.

Ray Pieri

Kailua-Kona

Please tie down your loads to prevent accidents

I was traveling north on Mamalahoa Highway at 1:45 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, just before Matsuyama’s Foodmart and the Kaiminani intersection, when a truck with a load of furniture traveling south lost a small table that was not tied down.

The table flew out of the back of the truck and right in front of my Subaru Forester, hitting the grill. I saw the table fly out and all I could do was grip the steering wheel and wait for impact. It hit my car without hitting the ground and exploded into many pieces. Had it been a little higher, or had I been driving our Civic, it could have smashed through my windshield. I watched the truck disappear in my rearview mirror as I navigated the always congested and accident-prone intersections.

I don’t know who was driving the truck that lost the table and there is damage to my vehicle. The driver left the table remains all over the highway, which I could unfortunately not pick up without help, being eight months pregnant and shaken up considerably.

I own a mobile personal training service and am in my car a lot. I see untied loads and things flying out of truck beds all the time, usually garbage. Untied and untarped loads are dangerous, which I now know firsthand. This incident should not have happened and could have been avoided altogether if someone took a few minutes to secure that table in the back of their truck. I am hoping that by writing this it might raise awareness to this problem and prevent future accidents.

Kelsie Wehren

Kailua-Kona