Open Letter of Appreciation
The officers and members of the Men’s Auxiliary to Glen L. Jeffers VFW Post 10624 wish to thank all businesses and individuals for their assistance, support and participation in our “Meet the Candidates” forum which was held Oct. 27 - 29 at the National Guard Armory in Mount Pleasant.
Special thanks to the three mayoral candidates, Joe Bustos, Billy Swails, and Gary Santos, who graciously gave of their time to participate in the forum. Thank you also to all council candidates who participated.
We hope we provided the residents of Mount Pleasant an enlightening and informative forum as to the political issues facing our community.
Again, thank you and congratulations to all the winners in the election.

John C. Evans, Jr.
Men’s Auxiliary to Glen L. Jeffers
             VFW Post 10624 President    

                                                                                                                          
Irresponsible choice
I was dismayed and outraged at the editorial cartoon in the Wednesday, Oct. 28, Moultrie News. For those that do not remember, it was a water faucet with an ingredient list of materials the cartoonists’ believes to be flowing from the faucet including agricultural runoff, livestock manure, and cleaning solvents to list a few.  Worse yet, there was nothing on the page in explanation of the chosen cartoon or reference to it. This was taken by me and all who work to provide clean safe drinking water to our customers as a slap in the face.
The sad truth is that all of our waters in this country and the world have become polluted as a result of the actions of human beings. We take prescription drugs which flow right out of us into the waste stream, we wash our clothes and dishes and discharge this water with the detergents, and we put chemicals on our farm land and crops. Most of man’s actions have an impact on our water, our air, our food, our land, our wildlife and us every day. The list of pollutants provided by the cartoonist are found everywhere in our environment and the fingers should be pointed at us all as contributors to the problem and not the water coming from the faucet. A more realistic cartoon would have been those pollutants are in the air in a bright sunrise, in beautiful mountain streams or beaches, as well as going down the drain from our own homes and businesses.
The good news is that the water and wastewater industry is trained, educated and constantly working to improve our processes to remove these pollutants. We work hard every day researching new ways to remove pollutants from the water -  think how bad it would be if we failed to do our job.
Your cartoon was a direct assault on the 120 employees of Mount Pleasant Waterworks and all water professionals who work every day to provide clean, safe, and reliable water and wastewater service to our customers. We stand behind our Clean Water logo for a reason. I imagine you succeeded in scaring some people into opening a plastic bottle of store bought water rather than turning on their tap, which is a disservice to your readers and the environment.  
In the future, I would hope your cartoons characterized the real problem and not just take a jab at the water industry which has made great strides in protecting public health and safety.
 
Clay Duffie
General Manager
Mount Pleasant Waterworks
 
Make life better                                                                                      
The Town of Mount Pleasant is facing one of its biggest political changes with the election of a new mayor.  
Whoever is elected as our new mayor must strive to make everyday life better for the people who live, shop and work in Mount Pleasant. One of the more similar ways of making everyday life a little smoother is to have the traffic lights timed on Coleman Blvd. This would allow you to travel on Coleman Blvd. without having to stop at almost every light.  Another suggestion for the new mayor is to have the ever growing bumps that are located near the intersection of Coleman Blvd. and Patriots Point Road repaired. Not only do these bumps cause damage to automobiles, they could also cause an accident, which could result in someone being injured.
 
S. Scott Bluestein
Mount Pleasant

Susan G. Komen
As I was walking with my husband to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Oct. 17, I commented that this would be the first time out of nine years as a breast cancer survivor that I decided not to wear the pink “survivor” hat, and therefore, people wouldn’t realize I was a survivor. I was wearing the pink “survivor” T-shirt, but it was cool, so I wore a black vest over it. Just as we arrived at the venue, the Family Circle Tennis Center, two young ladies approached me and asked if I was a survivor.  They proceeded to give me nine pink beaded necklaces, each representing a year of survivorship. What a great idea. That was the beginning of the best Race for the Cure I have ever attended.
I want to thank all of the participants, sponsors and vendors who made this such a memorable event. The staff at Family Circle Tennis Center did a fantastic job with the arrangement of the sponsor / vendor tents, placing them on cement near the stadium. It was easy to walk around and get a sample of the message or services offered by the many vendors. The survivor tent was awesome, with food and camaraderie, each of us asking “How many beads?”
During the survivor celebration we all had an opportunity to look out to the crowd at our loved ones who have shared this journey with us. We remembered those who fought the fight but lost. We talked to each other about our experiences. We shared advice, gave references, grieved what we’ve lost (to someone who really understands), all while celebrating another chance at life.
I ran the 5K, and was impressed with the overall organization of the race.  The volunteers were spectacular, the cheering was appreciated, and once again, camaraderie on the course. Afterwards, I was surprised to find that I was the 3rd place survivor, so I was given the most beautiful lei I have ever seen (and I’ve been to Hawaii).  
I would like to urge everyone to attend the Komen Lowcountry Race for the Cure event next year.  It was wonderful not just for survivors, but for everyone.  We all know someone who has been affected by breast cancer.  All the proceeds from the Race for the Cure go back to our community in the form of grants.
Patty from the Komen Lowcountry affiliate called me yesterday to tell me that I had won a door prize at the survivor’s tent, but I wasn’t there to claim it. There’s more? I can’t believe it.  Patty is sending it to me in the mail. Can’t wait to see what I’ve won.

Teresa Privett
Mount Pleasant