Letter to the Editor from Rhino Times reader Joe Waters
Dear Sir
I am a concerned citizen. Check that. I am an outraged citizen.
The current leadership exemplified from the Greensboro City Council, City Manager and Staff, and Police Chief is nothing short of willful negligence.
The basic priorities of local government have always been public/traffic safety, a well maintained infrastructure (water, sewer and roads) and sound fiscal management of tax dollars.
Greensboro leadership fails on all three counts.
Our local newspaper and television stations report daily on shootings and murders. Our unpatrolled streets are filled with scofflaws who hit and run pedestrians, speed at high rates, run stop/yield signs and commit unsafe movements and if and when stopped receive warnings instead of citations. Our water supply exceeds the maximum EPA levels for forever chemicals and our tax dollars are wasted on a bloated city staff that has grown from 3000 employees in 2015 to over 3500+ in 2025. Money is diverted from tax paying property owners for leaf collection services and used instead to fund “surrogate father” programs under the guise of “Community Safety”. Newsflash! Neighborhood Prayer vigils and Community “Stop the Violence” meetings do not stop the carnage visited upon the youth of our city.
More examples.
Failings on Fiscal Responsibility – Our Property Taxes continue rise and the valuation process is a “black box”. Meanwhile city payrolls and salaries continue to grow. Where is the Homeless Shelter plans for the old Summit Executive property on Summit Ave across the street from Mrs. Winters? The property was purchased from the 2023 MWBE Vendor of the year for approx. $900K. The MWBE entity purchased the property for approx. $600K 60 days earlier before flipping it to the City. (Great timing that…hmmm) Are there concrete plans for using the property for it’s intended purchase of a Homeless Shelter? We could sure use one …
Failings on Public Safety – This past July 4th both Greensboro (Center City Park) and Winston Salem (Truist Baseball Stadium) had very disturbing shootings downtown. The Police Chief of Winston Salem went public with a tirade of having had enough of parents dumping their unsocialized youth problems on the police to manage. Where was the similar outrage from our Greensboro City Council and Police Chief. How many shootings and murders have to happen before our economic developers find no takers of job creators looking to relocate here? A 4 year old boy lies in a coma after being shot in a random act of violence recently. Why does our District Attorney decline to prosecute the parents of these teen criminals?
Failings on Traffic Enforcement – This one is personal. I live on a street which has become a favorite cut through street. Commuters routinely exceed the speed limit of 25MPH and run the stops signs right in front of my house. Sometimes at estimated speed of 45MPH or more. This street has at least multiple homes populated by 8-10 children under the age of 11. 2 homes have adults with special needs (mine included) . My petition for sidewalks, speed bumps or at least weekly traffic enforcement have fallen on deaf ears. My City Council representative, Tammi Thurm, is a highly responsive official. Tammi has repeatedly asked the Council for speed bumps only to be told the street does not warrant consideration because the traffic count is too low. Tammi recently walked our street from end to end and witnessed first hand the dangers presented by driver’s reckless disregard for human life by speeding and running stop signs.
My wife was almost hit twice checking the mailbox by drivers running the stop sign this summer. Across the street are two young children only a couple of years away from riding bikes…I fear for their lives. After the latest flurry of stop sign runners, Tammi Thurm put out a call into GPD and the result was an officer who came for 1 hour to my street and pulled 4 drivers for running the stop sign ( no citations were given that I witnessed) and promptly left never to return again.
I want to publicly thank Tammi for trying to resolve the issue but in her own words “she is only one vote” on Council.
Do children HAVE TO DIE before action is taken to ensure the safety of pedestrians and children at play? Does a grieving parent have to drag a maimed child in front of Council and our Police Chief before action is taken.
Just drive down Benjamin Parkway through the Grimsley High School Zone and witness first hand the speeders flying through the school zone at high speed when the yellow 25MPH lights are blinking. PSST…it’s not just happening at Grimsley High!
My street and Benjamin Parkway are but a microcosm of the lack of traffic enforcement problems facing our city. Earlier this year I had lunch with our City Manager and voiced my concerns that lack of traffic enforcement leads directly to a blatant disregard of other laws, resulting in people losing fear of consequences of their actions and aka more criminal activity. I guess my concerns were not taken seriously.
I am not alone in all these concerns. Safety and good government are not a Republican/ Democrat, Black/White or rich/poor issue. We all deserve better from our elected officials and law enforcement.
Joe Waters
Greensboro, NC
Regarding the violence aspect of this letter and public safety, it all starts at the top with our governor.
Governor Stein, often criticized for his ‘soft-on-crime’ policies, used the tragic death of a White Ukrainian refugee, Iryna Zarutska, to further his political agenda. His delayed response, ‘finally speaking more than two weeks’ after a Black man killed the NC resident, raised questions about his commitment to public safety.
Despite the severity of the crime, Stein’s lack of accountability and his prioritization of politics over public safety in this egregious murder should serve as a stark wake-up call. This incident alone should ignite a sense of urgency for profound change.
Stein’s response to the horrific tragedy was to call for more funding for the police. However, his attempt to shift the blame to the Republican legislature is not just a political game; it’s a dangerous one. It’s this kind of mindset that allows high crime rates in NC: 2024, homicides in Charlotte spiked by nearly 20%.
Decarlos Brown was arrested over a dozen times. Yet, the Democratic-controlled justice system, so-called Judge Stokes, Mayor Lyles, and AG Jackson, looks the other way. The responsibility ultimately falls on the Democratic governor; Stein’s ambush actions directly and severely impact the safety of NC residents.
Brown’s mother questioned why NC laws let her son walk the streets. Forget mental illness, Brown knew what he was doing: “I got that White girl.”
Left-leaning Bill Maher says Democrats stay soft on crime and are reluctant to get tougher to “appease” white liberal voters. Charlotte Mayor Lyles ridiculously said, “We can’t incarcerate our way out of the problem.” We should not accept Lyles’ response to violence in our cities.
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The savage murder of Iryna Zarutska is the most evil thing I’ve ever seen. I hope the animal who killed her is executed.
“I got that white girl” – If that isn’t a hate crime, what is?
Not a hate crime. Mental illness in this person’s case. Schizophrenia is an ugly disease that likely had this guy hearing voices making him believe he was acting on orders. I fully understand this doesn’t fit your narrative so you will reject it regardless of the facts.
But you be you.
The guy who killed Iryna Zarutska should have been put in a sanitorium a long time ago.
In response to Iryna Zarutska’s slaying, Black Lives Matter (BLM) itself stated, “We have a right to violence. All oppressed people have the right to violence. It’s like the right to pee. You gotta have the right place, you gotta have the right time, and you gotta have the appropriate situation. And I am absolutely convinced that this is it!”
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ALL murderers hide behind the “mentally ill” defence.
Only naive idiots like you believe it.
I think the city of Charlotte, and the Judge who released Brown, are responsible. My information that the Judge does not have a law degree, or any related education.
On what basis did they have to justify cash bail for an abuse of 911 charge? He hadn’t been charge in a violent crime in over 10 years and had complete his prior prison sentence? I suspect you are using 20/20 hindsight to judge an advent with your personal bias and lack of respect for a democrat lead city pointing to an inaccurate conclusion.
He had been in prison for a number of years and had 13 other convictions. You must take into account prior convictions when serving as a judge. He was a violent person.
I wonder what Chris would say if a White man killed a Black girl and said, “I got that Black girl”. I know what he would say, but he’ll never admit it.
Racist remarks: The North Carolina chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NC) called for a hate crime probe after video footage reportedly showed the attacker twice saying, “I got that white girl”.
Brown now faces the federal charge of “a terroristic act”
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Precisely!
Imagine the uproar if a white man had murdered a beautiful young black girl on a tube train, and muttered “I got that black girl!” as he walked away.
It would be immediately categorized as a hate crime, and that would be correct.
But Chrissy will never admit it, because he will never admit to being mistaken. He’s perfect.
Perfect a**hole, that is.
Pubic execution. Just like the old days.
Couldn’t agree more and that goes for Guilford County government too