Dear Editor,

Alabama is blessed with a wealth of natural resources that makes it one of the finest fishing and hunting places in the country. That being said due to all of the accidents caused by deer per year in the state something needs to be done to deter the deer population. There are approximately 1.5 million deer-related car accidents annually in the United States. The cost of these accidents results in over $1 billion dollars in vehicle damage. There are 175-200 fatalities every year and 10,000 injuries. While deer can be active any time of the day, the majority of deer-related car accidents occur starting at dusk and during the evening. Deer-related car accidents have consistently risen over the years due to increasing deer populations. The road hazards and cost due to crop damage greatly out ways the benefit. It’s our opinion that a free year round hunting season of unlimited hunting with no restrictions instead of the limitations of seasonal hunting will save lives and property.

Tommy Peacock

Troy, Ala.

 

Dear Editor,

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which built the Vietnam Wall in 1982, seeks to honor all Vietnam veterans and help heal the nation’s wounds from the Vietnam War. As they continue their mission, they are seeking to connect a face with every name on the Wall through both their interactive digital Wall of Faces as well as in the future Education Center.

In an effort to help fulfill this mission, AP US History students at Auburn High School are seeking help in providing photographs to honor the memory of the fallen soldiers from Alabama. As of January 2016, two of Troy’s three casualties in the Vietnam War still do not have photographs representing them (613 of the 1210 casualties from Alabama lack images).

Your help in finding photos of the following fallen heroes from Troy would be greatly appreciated: Thomas John Campbell (US Marine Corps; 1945-1969) and Joel Keith Watkins (US Marine Corps; 1948-1969).

For those with information or photos of these heroes, please contact Blake Busbin, Auburn High AP US History teacher, at wbbusbin@auburnschools.org. Families and friends can also submit photos to the Wall of Faces site, by going to www.vvmf.org and clicking the Wall of Faces link. The Wall is searchable by name and, from the advanced search link, veterans can be found by state, county, branch, rank or date of casualty.

Blake Busbin

Auburn, Ala.

 

Dear Editor,

Letter to the editor on the “natural born” requirement of Presidents under the law

In recent days, Presidential Candidate Donald Trump has stirred up a hornet’s nest about Candidate Ted Cruz not being a “natural born” citizens (he was actually born in Canada to American citizen parents who were working there).

Trump is correct in that our constitution does require Presidents to be natural born citizens! Cruz’s response is that this matter has already been addressed in our court and settled in that children born to their citizen parents are, in fact, American citizens.

This issue has surfaced hundreds of times during the history of our nation. Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, was born in the West Indies. He was by virtue of his office in line of succession to the Presidency. As a matter of fact, twenty (20) appointed cabinet members in the past were foreign born. Obviously this raises questions about the appropriateness of these appointments. As occurs too often in the political climate of Washington, with a wink and nod and the law was “overlooked”! In order of their rank, the highest level Cabinet Secretary in line of succession is the Secretary of State, following the Vice President, Speaker of the House and President Pro Temp of the Senate. Two Secretaries of State in recent years were born i foreign lands: Madeline Albright and Henry Kissinger.

Who knows where all this political noise will shake out? The law under the Constitution is the law of the land and should be obeyed.

James W. Anderson

Talladega, Ala.