Coastal hairdresser of the stars shares fond memories of Barbara Walters’ class act

Thanks, Barbara

As so many people, I am sad to hear the passing of Barbara Walters.

My first job in the beauty industry was working as a receptionist at the Kenneth Salon inside the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. I remember first seeing her there. I was young and ambitious, in my 20s, from rural South Georgia. Barbara was one of the few celebrities who made me feel like I had arrived in NYC and maybe had a chance to be in the mix.

Eventually, as we would run into each other more and more often, she would always acknowledge me by saying, “Hello, handsome.” I came to believe that she didn’t remember my name until a full-circle moment when I was back in NYC from my work in Los Angeles with Paula Abdul on American Idol. Paula was a guest on The View. I was backstage after styling her hair, and as Barbara walked by to go on set, she turned to me, winked and said, “Hello, Dennis.”

For me, and probably so many of us, in person and in journalism, Barbara was the gold-standard of smarts, class and grit.

Dennis Stokely, Bluffton

Radioactive roads?

Our state’s roads are dangerous, but could soon become much more so. While Forbes.com lists South Carolina as #2 in the nation for traffic deaths, and says the South is at high risk for traffic deaths because of rural roads, lax safety laws and lower income, there is a proposal to transport nuclear waste from Aiken through GA, TN, OK, MI, TX and, finally, New Mexico after a series of processes intended to make the radioactive waste as inert as possible.

Any radioactive transport accident could result in areas being uninhabitable for centuries.

As the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration invites comment about the draft “Surplus Plutonium Disposition Program” Environmental Impact Statement, SC residents should be aware and well-informed about the risks of trucking lethal materials across the South.

In last October’s Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Council, the Preventive Radiological Nuclear effort was presented. Coordinated responses by SLED, Emergency Management and Homeland Security are responses. SC residents need prevention of nuclear accidents and full transparency by those accountable.

Grace Gifford, Conway

I-95 standstill

My wife and I lived in South Carolina for 13 years, during which time we became avid Gamecock fans. We recently decided it would be fun to meet some family members in Columbia and travel together to the Gator Bowl.

We assumed there would be heavier-than-usual traffic, but imagine our surprise when it took more than five hours to drive from Columbia to the Georgia state line. Interstate 95 in South Carolina was a parking lot, primarily because the two southbound lanes could not accommodate the increased traffic.

Once we got to Georgia and then Florida, there were three and, sometimes, four southbound lanes. Therefore, the heavy traffic moved at a much faster pace.

In Jacksonville, we heard countless horror stories about the traffic in South Carolina. People found it hard to understand why I-95 in South Carolina was so inadequate as compared to Georgia and Florida.

South Carolina has continued to lag economically behind Georgia and Florida. Perhaps highway infrastructure has something to do with this.

A few years back, the gas tax in South Carolina was increased to improve roads and highways. Where has this money gone? It certainly hasn’t done anything to improve I-95.

Frank Morgan, former SC resident now in Glen Allen, VA

Return recess

In 1998, Barbara Neilson, Gerrita Postlewait and others worked to ruin our schools and now we have the most mentally ill children in history.

It will not cost one dime to give them back their recesses and to shorten the school day by an hour. And voila! You’ll have healthy, happy children who are also better behaved.

Children need hope. Children need a playtime to look forward to after working hard in the classroom.

Teachers, who need healthy, happy, children to teach, have told you for 23 years that children need their recesses back.

Children misbehave because they are penned up for long hours and feel like screaming at the top of their lungs. If I taught school today, I would be screaming at the top of my lungs.

Our legislators have given the teachers and students an impossible world to live in.

Patricia Milley, Conway