Editor, Times-Union: Dear YOUNG and OBVIOUSLY inexperienced driver,
It is approximately 9:35 p.m. on Saturday night, October 19. We (my husband, my 13-year-old son and myself) just arrived home after searching for a blue, I believe, Chevy Cavalier. I believe it was a two-door and it did have those ever-so-pretty ground effect lights. This vehicle crossed over CR 100E, after blowing through the stop sign on the cross road, without ever touching their brakes! I don't know the road number, but it's the road that runs past the Dells and into the airport. Anyway, after we slammed on our brakes, just narrowly missing your vehicle on the passenger side, we put our vehicle in reverse and proceeded to follow you. You, at an even higher rate of speed, took off and then all of a sudden your lights disappeared. So we know you either live in the Dells or were hiding in the Dells.
First of all, you owe my husband a debt of gratitude and most likely your life. If we had hit your vehicle with our SUV, I am confident that your parents could quite possibly be visiting you in the hospital or morgue. Now I know that you think you are invincible, but you are not. You were very lucky along with the other passengers in your vehicle.
I have been in the insurance industry for many years now and it never ceases to amaze me how upset parents get when they are told the amount of premium for their young driver. ... I'm here to tell you that this is exactly why their premiums and our premiums are so high.
I hope that what you got out of this scare tonight was the fact that you need to pay attention to what you are doing and realize that when you have passengers in your vehicle YOU are responsible for not only your safety but THEIRS as well. It just doesn't matter how cool your car is with all the extras if it's sitting mangled in a junk yard.
I hope if your parents or even you recognize yourself in this letter, you will be more careful the next time you're out driving. ... We are all depending on that.
Kelly Harkins Warsaw via e-mail
Coat Drive
Editor, Times-Union: The fourth annual coat drive to benefit people in our community who are in need of warm winter wear was a huge success. The response was overwhelming! We are so fortunate to live in a caring and giving community. Kerlin Motor Company Inc. in Silver Lake was the coat drive and collection headquarters. The collection box was a 2002 Ford truck in the showroom and the coats were piled high and overflowing onto the floor. There were 690 coats donated, and Combined Community Services was very appreciative.
I want to publicly thank all of the co-sponsors: Times Union for advertising, WRSW AM/FM and Cow Country for advertising and being a collection site, Wildman Uniform and Linen and Peerless Cleaners for being collection sites and cleaning all of the coats.
A sincere thank you to everyone who donated coats. I want to send a special thank you to the person who purchased four new coats for children; your kindness is greatly appreciated. Many of us have more coats than we need; what a glorious feeling to know someone will stay warm this winter because we shared something as simple as a coat.
Valerie Warner Kerlin Motor Company Inc. Silver Lake
Home Language
Editor, Times-Union: I am writing a letter to support the Home Language letter of Oct. 15. Our immigrants came from all over. Mine direct from Germany. They learned the language and prospered in this country. Our language is English American. Why are we changing our heritage to Spanish? We are all equal. If we insist on Spanish, then let us also insist on German, etc. America is America. If you can't make it here, I am sorry for you.
