We’re going to touch on a few instances that happened in a few short weeks that were heartaches.

Recently, 5 individuals lost their lives in a helicopter crash in New York. The only survivor was the pilot. He followed the correct procedures when landing in the water. Ironically, the helicopter flipped over and the passengers could only be released by having their straps cut off with a knife. The helicopter had an open door to allow passengers to take selfies. Something just doesn’t sound right, and the investigation is ongoing.

Recently, seven servicemen lost their lives in a helicopter crash in Iraq. Four of them were members of the New York Air National Guard. Of those four, two of them were also members of the FDNY.

One of the mothers of those men recalled how she pleaded with her son not to go on another tour. He just said, “Mom, if I don’t do it, who will?”

While listening to the radio, a commentator mentioned that people in the National Guard would have restricted duties and restricted days during the month. With doing away with the draft, there are only so many people who do tours of duty. This commentator also made a interesting point as to why do we have so many Americans patrolling parts of the world where there are no conflicts at all? It doesn’t make any sense.

We also wanted to mention the loss of life when the new Pedestrian Bridge in Florida International University in Miami collapsed. Ironically, that bridge was built to allow students to safely cross a busy highway to get to different buildings on campus. This was in response to a student who was killed on that highway. One of the victims was a FIU student who died when her car was pinned under the bridge.

This was called an accelerated bridge. Upon further investigation, there was voicemail that was left by an engineer stating there were cracks in the bridge. That voicemail wasn’t heard until two days after the collapse. As of now, it is not clear if those cracks had anything to do with the bridge’s collapse.

According to a news article, the Florida Department of Transportation, the FIU had a design team that was not prequalified from the State as required by their contract.

This company had a long history on working on federal buildings before. This company and others that helped to build the FIU bridge were fined in the past for safety.

The bridge itself was completed way ahead of schedule. Again something seems to be astray.

We want to conclude this editorial by another disturbing occurrences.

Mysterious packages have been appearing on people’s doorsteps, and recently on sidewalks that have exploded when opened. Authorities have been trying to make a connection between all these instances. Something else to be aware of.

Again, our hearts go out to all of those who lost their lives and to their families and friends. C.M. & K.M.