Historic Markers

Are a Curiosity

The concrete markers for the Yadkin Road/Trail, located at Manly Presbyterian Church, the Pinehurst Traffic Circle, Page Road and the Pinewild N.C. 211 entrance, have been here all my life.

You still can see part of the trail if you know where to look. I was wondering who put them up and when. It looks like someone is trying to keep them up.

Does anyone know anything about these historical markers? The one off Page Road in Pine-hurst has a small R/R iron in back for a brace; could this be part of the track that the trolley ran on down Midland Road (from Pinehurst to Southern Pines)?

It's great that this small portion of history is still visible in Moore County. Any help would be appreciated.

Steven D. Gilmore

Cameron

We Will Miss Her

My heart is heavy having just heard that Betty Liddell died on Monday, Aug. 9.

Betty had always been a true lady with Southern hospitality and grace. She and Mark lived in Southern Pines for decades and raised their children here. Being active Realtors put them in touch with so many people, and they were so well-respected. Mark died in 1988, but Betty never stopped loving and missing him.

The years to follow were good years. She was honored by the Business and Professional Women's Club as an outstanding lady over 70 years of age a few years ago - a genuine pearl (mother of Pearl!).

Betty's health started to fail, and she then moved to the Penick home three years ago.

Her love of life and sense of humor will be missed by all who knew her, especially me.

Ann Woodward

Candor

Forcing Their Views

I am constantly amazed at how the liberal/elite consistently know and dictate what is best for all of us who are either conservative or middle of the road. Just look at a couple of recent examples.

Some left-wing judge in California says that gay marriage is OK. This, despite the fact that a majority of Californians are against this. I would think that the vast majority of Americans are against gay marriage, but this liberal/elite judge knows what is best for all of us.

The Obama health care plan passed a very liberal Congress with a lot of pork barrel promises and with no consensus from the American people. Does it have even 40 percent approval of the American people? Missouri just voted 71 percent to 29 percent to repeal it. Again, the liberal/elite know what is best for all of us.

Same thing for cap-and-trade. Most of America is against it and know that it is a bad idea and has the potential to bankrupt the country. But again, the liberal/elite know what is best and intend to cram it down our throats.

On and on I could go. What can we do? Just vote this liberal bunch out of office and go on watching Fox News and listening to Rush Limbaugh.

Sid Barnett

Vass

Hoping for Healing

Paul Dunn's column (Aug. 15), was absolutely on target. How can anyone continue to harbor such negative feelings toward each and every Muslim in existence?

This type of behavior is prevalent in some Slavic groups, who after centuries show hatred for each other. I would imagine that they don't even remember what occurred in the distant past that causes them to hold such contempt for these "enemies."

Here's hoping that those who oppose the construction of the Islamic center will someday view it as a step toward a healing process. In their defense, however, I believe that it would be important to obtain some knowledge concerning the financing of this project. If this information was made public, I think there would be less opposition to this building at ground zero.

Jeanette Kauffman

Southern Pines

A Matter of Sacrilege

In response to Paul Dunn's column on Aug. 15, as I write this I am in the majority of the country who believe the proposed $100 million Islamic mosque is nothing more than an attempt to rub our noses in their despicable act of 9/11.

Obama indicated his desire to have it, and recanted - so to speak - later when public outcry was swift and sure.

In his syndicated article on Aug. 16, Charles Krauthammer called the proposed mosque at ground zero "a sacrilege."

When you think of the proposed 15-story Islamic mosque and cultural center, you cannot help wondering about the amount of anti-American propaganda that could come out of a building that size. It is not hard to imagine them planning future acts of terrorism from within its walls or having fugitives/terrorists run to its sanctuary for protection from U.S. law.

And how long do think it will take them to begin to attempt to cause Sharia law to be accepted therein and for all Muslims living in New York? They did in England and France and are making an attempt in Scandinavia also. No, friends and neighbors, it is not freedom of religion for which they plan a mosque and cultural center.

Finally, I find it pathetic that Dunn would try to cause readers of his piece to feel guilty about all the Muslims - all those Middle Eastern names he mentioned - who died during the attack on 9/11. And then he suggests that the mosque could become a memorial to them and that we should accept that as a good-will gesture.

No, Paul, the idea is that America was attacked and we have lost many good men and women defending our way of life fighting terrorism in the Middle East to be that gullible.

Rodney K. Ward

Pinehurst

Who's Financing It?

James Madison, the driving force behind the Bill of Rights and specifically the First Amendment, got it right with respect to religious freedom and separation of church and state. Accordingly, there is no constitutional basis to deny building the proposed mosque near ground zero.

Still, one has to wonder about the in-your-face decision by the relevant Muslim leaders to build this huge complex at that particular location. The planners' insensitivity apparent in this process is amazing, and the disregard for the feelings of 9/11 families and other affected Americans is the main cause of the uproar throughout the country regarding the proposed project.

Beyond this basic insult, the source of financing for what is a very large project is reason for questions and concern. If, for example, the money is coming from Saudi Arabia with its powerful Wahhabi faction, red flags go up immediately.

Wahhabis have spent millions of dollars around the world establishing madrasas and spreading a very fundamentalist and strict version of Islam. I would hate to see Wahhabism's radical Islamic theology at work in our society, no matter what the Constitution says about religious freedom.

Don Delauter

Southern Pines

It Doesn't Make Sense

Much is being said these days on the subject of illegal immigration. Here's the situation as I understand it.

By law and by custom, it is the federal government's responsibility to manage and control immigration. For most of our history, the government did this quite well. As a result, legal immigrants made countless contributions to our country and our culture.

The promise of the American dream attracted immigrants from all over the world, and the -diversity of backgrounds and ideas that resulted, bound together by the ideals upon which our country was founded, became one of our greatest strengths. For many years, nearly everything about this was good for both the country and the immigrants. So far, so good.

In the 1980s, some American cities decided to establish -themselves as "sanctuary cities." This means they deliberately chose to violate the federal government's immigration laws. They went so far as to make it illegal for city employees, including police officers, to even inquire about a person's immigration status. Today, 31 cities, including most of the largest ones in the country, are sanctuary cities. The flood of -illegal immigrants and the -attendant problems that followed should be no surprise to anyone. Even though this is a clear violation of federal law, the federal -government chose to do nothing about it.

Now comes Arizona, which, because of serious crime issues resulting from illegal immigration, passed a law supporting enforcement of the immigration laws. But the federal government, in its -infinite wisdom, decided to -challenge that law in the courts.

So to sum it all up, the sanctuary cities that chose to violate the law are tolerated and even supported by the government, while the state that tried to enforce the law is sued.

Can someone help me make sense of this?

John Rowerdink

Pinehurst

Grateful to Many

My mother and I would like to thank The Pilot and Jim Dodson for a well-written and organized story, "A Life Turned Upside Down" (July 25). Our story is complicated and has taken more than 35 years to evolve. Dodson presented the facts well.

I also would like to thank other folks for their support, such as my business partner, Joseph Lughes Sr., for without him, I would not have been able to become an owner of Dugans Pub.

I would like to thank Tommy Bolton, civilian aide to the U.S. Army, Fort Bragg, who in turn introduced us to Sen. Burr's office and Sunny Long. All of them have worked tirelessly on my behalf. For that we can never express how much gratitude we have.

Also, thanks to the many folks who have stopped my mother or me on the street and offered kind words of support and concern. That is why we chose to live in Moore County, hopefully for the rest of our lives.

Alan Riley

Pinehurst

Time to Trash the Trash

I know that our country is -politically polarized. I read it in the newspapers and magazines, and hear about it on radio and television. It is easy to say, "Yes, I know that," and be somewhat removed. I don't feel removed anymore!

Once again I have received another vitriolic, offensive political e-mail. It is difficult to maintain an open mind about others' political opinions when my home is invaded (via e-mail) by hate-mongering, patently untrue information about our intelligent and honorable -president. Such trash is certainly not going to change my political beliefs. On the contrary, it creates disgust for the e-mailer and his or her vicious rhetoric.

We do live in a democracy. I am entitled to my beliefs and others to theirs, but hate-mongering does not foster the collaboration and -tolerance needed to have an -effective and principled democracy, a model for the world.

Cynthia Williams

Vass