From: Charlotte O. Beam
Ellicott City
Defensive driving, together with the book of rules, is a necessary caution for every driver of every age and experience.
This is a lesson learned by trial and error which can be destructive and fatal if not learned soon enough.
The tragedy of the loss of a daughter of our community, Andrea Barlow, has saddened and become very personal to every parent and grandparent, her family, friends and teachers.
Although the circumstances of the accident are nebulous and still under investigation, knowing the daily violation of speed limits and safety, surely the urging for caution by her fellow student drivers at Centennial High School should be emphasized as a major course.
This is a time of ribbon messages -- the yellow honoring the return ofour soldiers, the red against drunk driving.
Perhaps the friends knowing Andrea's favorite color can promote every student of Centennial High to find a place for "her ribbon" near the mirror of their cars, to honor her memory with the message of caution.
BRING BACK DRIVER'S ED
From: I. Doris O'Neil
Ellicott City
When I first learned of the tragic accident in front of Centennial High School involving a young driver, my vision instantly focused on the intersection ofWaterford Road and the school parking lot entrance.
It was a natural reaction for me, because I spent many years explaining the dangers associated with that intersection to hundreds of student drivers.
Of course, that was before its reconstruction, which has made the intersection more difficult to traverse safely.
As the details of the accident were circulated, my shock quickly turned to helplessnessand despair, not only for the students and their families, but for all the loss of life and injury to our youngsters of late.
The article in The Howard County Sun ("Road death spurs PTA lobby for return of driver ed," March 10) renews the anger and resentment I felt when the PTA, in 1986-1987, offered only weak support to keep driver education in the school curriculum, where it was overseen by educators!
The PTA was alerted at that time to the concerns of quality driver training for profit.
I wrote numerous articles lobbying for its continuance in student schedules.
When I put copies of them in the then-PTA representative's mailbox at Centennial High School, I receivedno response.
The representative at Mount Hebron High indicated his empathy for the situation; however, his primary concern was for class-size reduction.
Finally, when I called Karen Campbell, who was then the Howard County PTA council president, to solicit her assistance, she made it very clear that the driver education program was not high on her political agenda, which included plans to run for the Howard County Board of Education the next year.
Well, you can bet she did not get my vote.
Perhaps she perceived driver education witha small "d," much the same way she perceived coaches with a small "t"?
In late 1987, Sandra French asked the school board to restore the driver education program.
Apparently, the support was not there. Her requests went nowhere.
The proposal in 1989 for parent-funded driver's education likewise fell apart.
Parents, this program isbeing held hostage! Recognize it and organize a defense. In lieu of stealth fighters and Patriot missiles, perhaps your smart weapons could be yourselves.
If the program is worth having, it is worth fighting for; do not let your kids down again. Enlist their support. Circulate petitions, and you be the ground troops; stand up to the Board of Education. Your smart weapons here can be your vote!
I must admit my amusement to the board chairwoman's comment, paraphrased, that "the former driver education supervisor is retired and the whole infrastructure would have to be put back into place."
Well, it seems to me the Board of Education chief assistant superintendent No. 1 retired too, and we are hearing from him, aren't we? Who knows, he could become another smart weapon, as No. 1 General!
If you find yourself asking, "Who are you?", I am someone who cares a great deal. I am happy in my current position with the Board of Education, but I cannotlet go of my care for young drivers.
I spent 10 years, along withmy contemporaries, developing the best student drivers that I possibly could. I was in the position to keep an eye on them around school.When I saw them making mistakes in driving, they heard about it. Andfrequently, so did their parents!
This short verse, from "The Bridge Builder" by Will Allen Dromogoole says it all for me:
"The builder lifted his old gray head.
'Good friend, in the path I have come,' he said,
'There followeth after me today
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
The chasm that was nought to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be:
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim --
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him."
Editor's note: The writer is a former driver education paraprofessional.
JUDICIOUS BUDGET CUTS
From: Anita M. Iribe
Highland
We appreciate the opportunity to comment at this stage of the budget process, before it is cast in stone.
The League of Women Voters believes that an across-the-board reduction of 16 percent in county budgets is both a simplistic and heavy-handed response to the need to effect economies.
The best approach would be to define essential public services, to set priorities, to make cuts judiciously and to fund accordingly.
People are willing to accept decreased service if there is an acceptable means of accommodating that decrease.
People are willing to pay increased fees for those services that are "nice" to have.
But, certain services are clearly a governmental responsibility and necessary to the public health, safety and welfare.
In December, your administration supported a cap on property tax assessments,further reducing local revenues by an estimated 2 1/2 cents on the tax rate.
If the property tax was deemed unacceptably high, did you, for instance, endorse the proposal in the state Senate to increase the limit on the piggyback income tax to compensate for the property tax loss before the proposal was killed in committee?
The fact is that Howard County is one of the wealthiest counties in the United States.
We believe that the county's taxpayers do not wish to see a drastic lowering in standards of public services.
The administration should evaluate those expenses which can be cut in each departmentor agency -- in, for example, administrative costs versus those directly attributable to public services.
A searching and equitable evaluation, with explanations for such decisions, would represent a more responsible approach to necessary reductions in the budget.
There is a need for the public to lower expectations in view of the current economic realities.
But there is also a need for stability in essential governmental services. We ask you to recognize the budget's complexity and note which functions are clearly vital.
Please be carefully selective in making cuts.
Editor's note: The writer is president of the League of Women Voters of Howard County. Her letter was presented for the March 11 budget hearing at Mount Hebron High School.