Ideas offered to ease traffic around races

Again I find myself at odds with chief of police of Bluff City, Tenn. He says he is for safety. As you read his comments you get the feeling he cannot wait for the race fans to arrive and then for the races to be over and the money to flow in. I do not want the cameras turned off for the races either. But I do want the race fans to have the same consideration as was given other citizens of a “warning period.” But since they will only be here for roughly four days, that is not possible to accomplish without turning off the cameras. And, yes, Bristol Motor Speedway is entitled to some consideration. The owners of BMS put their millions of dollars at risk, create jobs, create opportunities for people by them renting out their homes, front yards, etc. Any citizen with any simple math capabilities would realize what the race fan dollars mean to the TriCities region.
OK, if I was the chief of police, I would:
* Put officers on duty around the clock.
* Put patrol cars at the industrial park entrance, 19E and other important roadways with blue lights on.
* Request assistance from State Police and sheriff’s departments, with above.
* I would even try to get some help from the local National Guard unit.
* Put the chiefs on duty and assist with patrolling.
Bristol’s leaders could address safety concerns with phrases such as: More personnel on duty, more first-aid stations, improvement of traffic flow, better walk areas, more buses and the bottom line of getting them in and out safely, so they have a great time and want to come back!
Southern hospitality should not be sent out in the form a ticket two weeks after you spent $500 to see the races.
And safety for all.

Peter Baratta
Bristol, Va.

Boucher’s legislation helps coal industry

In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that greenhouse gases are pollutants. The results of that landmark decision is that the Environmental Protection Agency is now required to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. I don’t know fully how the Clean Air Act works, but I do know that it was written with a different purpose in mind. And everyone seems to agree that using it to regulate greenhouse gases is a bad idea. Congressman Rick Boucher, who understands these issues better than anyone I know, has recently taken action to make sure that EPA doesn’t impose regulation on greenhouse gases – regulations that would damage the coal industry. He introduced a bill that would prohibit EPA from regulating carbon dioxide and methane for two years. That would provide time for a reasonable alternative program to be developed. This is an important piece of legislation for this region, and I am thankful that our congressman is looking out for us and for the coal industry. I’m not surprised, since he always does, but I just want to thank him for doing it yet again.

Doug Mullins
Pound, Va.

Writer glad GOP is looking out for voters

Why did we have to wait on Gov. Bob McDonnell and Delegate Will Morefield to make AEP roll back our electric bill? Why did Rick Boucher vote for cap and trade? Why are President Barack Obama and his followers trying to shove health care reform down our throats when we don’t want it? Why are they trying to rush health care through so fast? They cannot run the veterans health care or Medicare programs. They can’t run these national health care plans, but they want us to believe they can oversee health care for all of us. I am glad we have Republicans looking out for us. It is time to end this game. The current administration is going to run this country into the ground. We need to send them packing.

Pat Garrett
Tazewell, Va.