Now is the time and season to bring U.S. troops home

Now is the time and seasonto bring U.S. troops home
EDITOR:
To everything there is a season and a time, no matter what the purpose may be. There is a time to be born, and a time to die. Why should we hurry that time.
We have had four years of a season of this horrible war. Now there should be a time of healing and peace for our troops. Think for a moment. Over 3,000 of our troops have died, some have never seen their newborn babies, some husbands and wives are separated forever, brothers and sisters will never see one another other again. Many families will be grief-stricken for years.
There is an adage, "practice what you preach." While other families are in harm's way, President Bush has never experienced losing a member of his immediate family at war. He may not know how a family feels that lost a loved one at war. He may say he understands, but he has not experienced these feelings. I have a grandson over there, and the president does not know how the family feels.
It is high time that we become less war-minded, less political, and begin to initiate some wisdom. Sending 21,000 more troops to Iraq makes is a questionable strategy. If it is questionable, we should play it safe and not dig a deeper hole. If we are on the interstate and realize we are going the wrong way, we will turn around. If we started on a false pretense of mass destruction we will end up on a faulty basis; why pour more gasoline on the fire?
This is not a Democratic or Republican issue; it is an American issue. Troops are being escalated to Iraq while you are reading this article. The Iraqis want us out, the majority of Americans want us out. Let them fight their own war. Look at our own needs: health care, poor people can hardly make ends meet, homelessness, children wanting a college education. And billion of dollars are spent over there. It is time to spend money at home.
This is the season to bring our troops home and protect our own borders. If you want to help out in Iraq, send funds there to feed the children and the poor as you do for other foreign countries, but remember our needs. It is time for a new administration to take over.
GEORGE W. GIBBS
Sharon, Pa.
Poland council take note: safety should come first
EDITOR:
I am appalled at the Poland Village Council's lack of concern for the public's safety. When the Poland post office was built, I complained to the employees about the stupidity of the entrance/exit design. I was told it wasn't ignorance that caused the poor and dangerous design. I was told it was purposely designed to & quot;look nice & quot;-- not to be safe, efficient or convenient.
I can appreciate aesthetics but not at the cost of safety. Constructing a cement median strip that takes the place of the middle turning lane on 224 is ludicrous. Route 224 is already dangerous enough. I was told by my insurance agent that 224 has one of the highest accident rates in the United States. It is not a scenic, sleepy little country road and should not be treated as such. It is an extremely busy and already congested thoroughfare with a high accident rate. The members of the Poland council need to be educated to the fact that the public's safety is their first priority, not aesthetics.
As far as my personal safety goes, I have instructed my family to save a copy of this letter and to sue the heck out of the village if I am ever injured because of their blatant negligence. Shame on them.
KATHY AARON
Boardman