BE SMART! Bring on Brockton's Power Plant

In a remarkably intelligent and informative contribution to Brockton's examination of the power plant controversy in the Enterprise on July 15 (click here to read it), Richard J. Lawton admonishes us "Don't Let Fear Guide Decision on Power Plant." Of course he is right.

He says "Historically, we have all born witness to climate and pollution theories designed to scare the public into fear and rash decisions" and "... The immediate threat of global warming and the dangers of CO2 emission .. is the most recent doomsday scenario peddled by politicians to push through a political agenda - i.e., increased taxes."

Amen, Mr. Lawton. Incidentally, Mr. Lawton is not just a lay citizen. He is "chairman of the Energy Task Force made up of university professors and graduate students engaged in studying energy in Massachusetts and the region."

Mr. Lawton wonders why Canada is capitalizing on our need for energy by constructing a 1,100 megawatt nuclear reactor approved in 2008 for exporting electricity to the energy-strapped northeast of the U.S.A., and the approval for Quebec Hydro to transmit power to this region through Maine and New Hampshire.

Wake up, citizens of Brockton, see the light, and do what you can make it possible for our children to live lives at least as comfortable as our own. The Education Trust says the U.S. is the only industrialized country in which young people are less likely than their parents to graduate from high school. This is unacceptable!

We have an energy crisis here, and Brockton should share in the benefits of realizing this fact and doing something about it. Nobody else is going to help us - we have to do it ourselves!

20-Year-old drunk driver kills passenger; 6 injured

At 2 a.m. on July 10, on Route 91 in Springfield, MA, Nathaniel Chisnall of Enfield, CT, crashed his car into the guard rail while driving under the influence of alcohol. A 23-year-old passenger was killed at the site, and he and his other five passengers all were injured.

20-Year-old motorcyclist dies in collision

Mitchell Campbell of Randolph, 20, reportedly in an act of road rage, crashed his motorcycle into a pickup truck on Route 138 at the intersection with Route 495 on July 11. He was pronounced dead at Morton Hospital in Taunton.

19-Year-old motorcyclist critical after collision

At 3:20 p.m. on July 8, Aaron Johnson of Brockton, 19 years old, ran his motorcycle into a Chevrolet driven by 21-year-old Justin O'Kelly of East Bridgewater at the intersection of Routes 14 and 27 in East Bridgewater.
O'Kelly was charged with failure to yield. Johnson is in critical condition at Boston Medical Center.

19-Year-old driver races train; kills 5 teens

On July 9 Dan Broughton near Detroit, MI, raced around another car, skirted the crossing gate, and his car was struck by a train going 67 mph. His car was dragged for a mile in flames, and he was killed along with his four passengers aged 14 to 21. Broughton was driving on a suspended license.
Of course, Massachusetts is set on challenging the rights of the elderly to drive.

21-Year-old driver charged with homicide

Jonathan Muir, 21, of Falmouth, crashed his speeding car into a tree in Bourne at 1:30 a.m. on June 29. His passenger, Cassandra Flynn-Rakos, 21, of Bourne, died at the scene. There were three injuries. Muir has been charged with speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol.

Johnny Pimentel, 22, dies in rollover

Pimentel's red BMW was going 80 miles per hour in Sudbury at 6:20 a.m. on July 4 when it missed a turn, jumped a stream, hit a bridge, and rolled over, killing him. And yet the relentless media campaign against elderly drivers goes on and on. Are the media providing balanced coverage of the dangers we all face on the road?

Note: The photo is a file photo and not Mr. Pimentel's actual car.