Dear editor,

While members of the Republican majority are competing to see who can make the deepest cuts, there is a budget proposal before Congress that would boost the economy for all of us while cutting the number of people in poverty in half.

It’s The People’s Budget, proposed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The People’s Budget invests in safe and productive infrastructure, education, affordable housing, health care and nutrition, child care and working family tax credits. It calls for increasing the minimum wage.

These investments will create 3.6 million jobs, and set us on a path to cut poverty in half in 10 years. The People's Budget invests $2 trillion in infrastructure spending, expanding rural broadband, universal Pre-K and free college tuition at state and community colleges.

Every year without fail our elected representatives give over half of the discretionary budget to the Pentagon, leaving less than half to be divided up to fund education, health care, environmental spending, infrastructure, and everything else.

These are common sense ideas that the vast majority of Americans support because they are in their own best interests. If you take the Democrat and Republican labels off and just consider the ideas, one can see that common sense wins here.

Randy King

Crestview

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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: This budget alternative offers 'common sense' ideas

Dear editor,

If corporations would stop sending their business to foreign countries, our economy would be better.

And, if the U.S. got on the bandwagon for alternative fuel, there would be jobs aplenty — especially in manufacturing solar panels, because China is beginning to take that industry over.

President Trump had decided to pull out of the Paris Accord long before [former FBI Director James] Comey's testimony. It is wrong to say Comey vented his anger toward President Trump after he was fired.

As for Comey's testimony, he didn't appear angry at the hearing. He told the truth. It was after he testified that President Trump called him a "nut-job" to the Russian Ambassador the next day. 

The question is, why is President Trump hosting two high-ranking Russians in the Oval Office one day after Comey's testimony? Believing that our Justice Department only goes after whatever [or] whoever it wants is plain untrue.

If Democrats will stop at nothing to bring the president down, what was the Republicans’ plan when Mr. Obama was sworn in as president? Remember [Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell] saying, "We'll do whatever it takes to make him a one-term president?”

It seems as though, when writing negative words, that is only separating us more. 

Why?

La Verne Wichman

Crestview

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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Negativity increasingly separates us

Dear editor,

(It's) such a sad state of affairs when a president is voted into office and others are doing all they can to stop him from doing his job. Usually, there are people complaining, but not politicians being just mean and rude and ruining this country.

Nothing will get accomplished if we don't all try to work together. It is horrible when citizens see how the politicians and actors are acting and believe they should be allowed to do anything to anyone that they don't agree with, such as senseless shooting against Republicans playing ball—just because they were Republicans and anything goes.

College kids think they can attack anyone that does not agree with them. People of color think they want to be segregated, when all through history people fought hard so they weren't.

This country has to come together. This is ridiculous. We are going to be like the countries that we see on TV with civil wars. Fight for what you are for peacefully. Fight for what you are for through your representatives.

What has happened to respect? What has happened to "treat others as you would want to be treated"? 

This must stop or the U.S. is never going to survive!

Cindy A. Baker

Crestview

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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: This country must come together

Dear Editor,

Repealing Obamacare would be a personal catastrophe for tens of millions of Americans who have done nothing wrong. Their lives and livelihoods are hanging in the balance.

These are real people—parents, children, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. They are women who need prenatal care to have healthy babies. They are sons and daughters who need chemotherapy to fight cancer. They are kids who need inhalers to keep asthma attacks at bay.

My adult daughter has a mental health issue and has never been able to receive coverage before the ACA nor help with endometriosis. Losing that coverage now would destroy the quality of life she's just attaining.

It is terrifying.

Matt Gaetz and Marco Rubio are uninterested in helping people with preexisting conditions or women with health issues.

I will be thinking about this on Nov. 6, 2018 and encourage each voter in Mr. Gaetz's district to do the same. 

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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Health care reform 'a catastrophe'

Dear editor,

Upon reading your article in Wednesday’s News Bulletin about the family vigil for Calandra Stallworth, a Crestview resident missing since the end of March, the Crestview Police Department would like to clarify a couple (of) inaccuracies.

Family friend Laura Hudson asserted that “the police aren’t doing anything or giving us any information and won’t let us search.”

We appreciate and understand her frustration. Ms. Hudson is partially correct. Although we actually are devoting tremendous resources to the case, because it is an active investigation, we simply can’t provide details of our progress.

I am sure Ms. Hudson and Ms. Stallworth’s other friends and family wouldn’t want any potential suspects tipped off if we were to provide updates on the investigation and details leaked to the wrong ears.

As I explained on April 21 when I replied to a Facebook message from Ms. Hudson, “Rest assured we have multiple investigators working to find Miss Stallworth, and we're working with several law enforcement agencies pursuing every lead we hear about.”

Additionally, we never told Ms. Hudson she could not search for her friend. However, we did discourage the idea on the grounds that untrained civilians, no matter how well-meaning, could inadvertently damage evidence.

“We want to walk on (Highway) 4 but most of it is private property and most of us think she's out there somewhere and want to look,” Ms. Hudson stated in a May 18 Facebook message.

Later that day she added, “Is there any way you can initiate a search so we all can look please. We beg you for this because we have (a lot) who want to search. Please.”

However, the Crestview Police Department cannot authorize civilian searches of private property. Additionally, Highway 4 is not in Crestview and therefore is not in our agency’s jurisdiction.

We provided Ms. Hudson a hypothetical scenario to illustrate how untrained residents could damage evidence and hinder an investigation.

“For example, a group of well-meaning people searching undergrowth and roadsides can camouflage scents that K9s might otherwise pick up,” we stated by way of illustration.

According to your story, Ms. Hudson misinterpreted that example to mean that we were actually about to initiate a K9 search, when it was merely an example of how evidence can be damaged by people tromping through a crime scene.

We appreciate the opportunity to clarify the misconceptions included in your otherwise warm story about Ms. Stallworth’s loving family and friends and their heartfelt vigil on her birthday.

We, too, include Ms. Stallworth in our prayers as we continue our active investigation into her disappearance.

BRIAN HUGHES

Public Information Officer

Crestview Police Department

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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Clarifying Crestview Police's investigation of Calandra Stallworth's disappearance

Editor’s Note: This letter refers to rocks with uplifting messages painted on them. The inspirational stones can be found at countless locations around the city — including outside the Crestview News Bulletin’s North Ferdon Boulevard office.  

Dear editor,

This town has gone rock crazy! Not only am I surprised finding a little painted rock could bring so much joy, but I'm loving it!

Family game nights may be a thing of the past; now families are painting rocks together! Parents and children are flocking to the great outdoors in search of these little treasures.

I've heard many talk about how to bring traffic to Main Street; well, guess what? Main Street is now a popular spot to find or hide your rocks.

Residents are discovering little shops they didn't know we had here and businesses are getting free publicity. Some are jumping right in with their own rocks, offering prizes to those who find them.

Not only have we come together, but we have put down our phones!

One more thing: to the city employee who was seen throwing away these community rocks on Main Street — not very nice!

Angie Nousiainen

Crestview

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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Here's one reason why Crestview ‘rocks’

Editor’s Note: This letter is a response to Bob Allen’s guest column, “Crestview doesn’t need a city manager,” published in the May 20-23, 2017 edition.

Mr. Allen, I must respectfully say that I disagree with almost your entire letter. More importantly, I disagree with the principles you used to form your opinion.

For example, we elect people because we like their ideas or their reputation. Rarely are people elected because of their business experience. If we restricted our requirements for council to only people who have experience running a $17 million corporation, the candidate pool would be small indeed. 

No, we elect people to set policy, to provide a general direction, to provide oversight, not to perform day-to-day supervision.

That's the whole point.

We have professional HR people, citizens and elected officials (to) determine the professional qualifications needed and hire an administrator who has those qualifications — which will probably exceed the professional qualifications of much of council. 

… If you can't build a consensus about their performance, then either you're looking at the wrong things or you’re politicizing the performance of the administrator.

The second point is your opinion that the role of municipal government, simply, is to provide those services that the individual citizens cannot provide for themselves, i.e., police and fire protection, roads and sewer systems, and whatever other services are deemed to be necessary for the body politic — I disagree.

If that were the case, no city would provide more. No city would have libraries, museums, art galleries, school systems or even police and fire. After all, the county and state can provide police and many places have volunteer fire departments.

No, city government cannot build a Walmart or an Arby's — but it can attract such businesses through tax and zoning incentives.

It can reduce the burden of government on local entrepreneurs.

It can make itself attractive to business and new residents.

It can improve the quality of life for current residents, which is exactly what residents are now telling you they want — and you aren't listening.

SAM DEVEREAUX

Crestview

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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Thoughts on a Crestview city manager

Dear editor,

New fire engines — maybe! Optics provide insights to safety. (Crestview Police Department) cars are equipped with "blue lights" to be more visible. Read again our April 15 front-page story, "Increasing traffic causes accident surge." Next, look at "Fire station gets new engines" (in the same edition). 

Our new (Crestview Fire Department) engine is red and the article indicates black will be an included color.

Why? Black is a color that research has shown for years to be a causal factor in higher vehicle accident rates.

Take a minute and look at the front-page picture. Your eyes will tell you that 50 percent of our CFD engines are not clearly visible, because it appears to be black.

A study by the Dallas FD in the 1990s confirmed; "multiple-vehicle accidents may be as much as three times greater for red or red/white fire trucks compared to lime-yellow/white trucks."

Today, we are 20 years past that study.

We all know that there will not be a real solution to Crestview's traffic challenge within the seven-year span of our new engine lease. The challenge Chief (Tony) Holland faces is his willingness to place his first responders in harm's way by using the wrong can of paint.

BOB HOLLINGSHEAD

Crestview 

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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: New fire engines' color almost invisible

Dear editor,

I am publishing this letter in the hope of catching the attention of Okaloosa County commissioners, newspaper editors and the Department of Transportation.

Growth management side effects of U.S. Highway 4 in Baker is that traffic between the two stop lights in Baker is so heavy at times that you have to wait a long time to get out onto Highway 4.

I propose another stop light somewhere between the two, to break up traffic flow.

JEAN THOMAS

Baker

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Baker needs additional traffic light