Saturday, March 29, 2014
We need jobs for citizens of the United States. Not amnesty in any form for those here illegally or the criminals who employ them! Don't tell me crops are rotting in the fields when I drive past three construction sites every day with no non-Latinos in sight. I drive past a minimum of two roofing jobs per day with no non-Latinos in sight. I drive by three house-painting jobs every day, and there might be one non-Latino and two Latinos painting. And all of this in one community at the foot of Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga. Illegal is illegal, and suing illegals can be illegal, too. I drive through East Ridge and East Lake on my way to work every day and find it amazing to see more Hispanics than whites or blacks! I cannot believe that there are so many businesses (tiendas!) along Rossville Boulevard with no English signage. We need to enforce the laws that we have already! These illegals knowingly violated our federal immigration laws, and the contractors/employers who hire them as well should be prosecuted. I don't care how cheap your labor is.
J.L WILBURN, Fort Oglethorpe
I am one of many residents who has to deal with the impossible, nightmarish traffic safety problems at the intersection of Ooltewah-Ringgold Road and Standifer Gap Road. I read the article in the Times Free Press about government regulations prohibiting making this intersection a four-way stop. Does receiving partial federal funding trump common sense? Perhaps the decision-makers should attempt a left turn from westbound Standifer Gap onto Ooltewah-Ringgold Road around 7 a.m. in the dark and experience the dangers and difficulty in doing so. Many residents drive several miles out of the way to avoid doing so. As for the proposed roundabout (probably one year away or more), is this the answer? Think of the delay when this project finally begins. Then when this roundabout is completed, traffic will be slowed during school rush hour as some vehicles will have to stop before getting a chance to enter the roundabout. Is this truly not an example of dysfunctional government problem-solving at its worst? Hopefully, it won't take a fatality or, God forbid, a multiple-fatality crash to cause a cheaper, more timely resolution of a serious problem.
BEN STONE