Thanks to all who rescued dog in traffic

Thick and slow traffic from road construction projects may have left many El Paso motorists frustrated, but it has not robbed them of their humanity.

I learned this on the Friday morning before the Labor Day weekend. That’s when my small dog, Mia, scooted away from me before I was able to get a leash on her in the parking lot of the pet groomer in the 5200 block of North Mesa.

As I pursued my 2-year-old escapee into rush hour traffic, my heart sank as the likely grim outcomes raced through my mind. But what happened next made an even deeper impression on me. Drivers stopped. In both directions!

Some got out of their cars to help. One of them, County Court-at-Law Judge Alex Gonzalez, even directed traffic until I finally rescued little Mia, unharmed.

Judge Gonzalez then escorted a very shaken me back to my car, offering comfort and reassurance on the way. The celebratory horn-tooting that broke out spontaneously at this point still echoes in my ears.

To all who made it possible for Mia to remain with my wife and me, my apologies for the inconvenience – and my heartfelt gratitude for your exceptional kindness.

You are one of the reasons that I just love my El Paso!

Ira Batt

West Side

Look at other options for easing West Side traffic

Following the grim announcement by Bob Bielek of the Texas Department of Transportation about the West Side traffic situation only getting worse, it is time to think of adding a new artery to West El Paso: connecting the two lengths of Stanton to help alleviate the horrible traffic crunch.

The use of eminent domain may be necessary, but time consuming. Since the use of placing police along Mesa's intersections to help traffic seems to have fizzled, we need to look at other options.

Frank Rimkus

West Side

El Paso case demonstrates Kaepernick’s concern

Recently, Colin Kaepernick exercised his First Amendment right to protest the national anthem.

Kaepernick feels black people are more often targeted by police than others and he wouldn’t be wrong to feel this way. Black people make up 24 percent of those killed by police while only being 13 percent of the population.

Sadly, these are not just recent. In 2012, an active duty Fort Bliss soldier by the name of Sgt. James Brown died in El Paso Sheriff’s Office custody from sickle cell crisis that was triggered after being assaulted by five guards while having a panic attack due to his post-traumatic stress disorder.

When Brown checked into the jail to serve a two-day DWI sentence, he reported in writing that he was diagnosed with PTSD. There is a video showing he was given no special treatment for his disorder.

In a country where a black man who served our country cannot be treated like a human, Kaepernick has every right to sit down and protest all he feels he needs.

Adrian Gutierrez

East Side

Dental school good addition for El Paso students

I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the news that a dental school was coming to Texas Tech University in El Paso.

As a college student looking to pursue a career in medicine, it is very encouraging to hear that there are people in the city such as Woody L. Hunt and Dr. Richard Lange who think of local medical education as an important matter to address and the benefits that it could bring.

Before when I thought about where I wanted to study, I immediately thought about going to Dallas, Austin or other big cities out of the state. Now knowing that Texas Tech here in El Paso is growing and expanding its education to a broader selection of students, it brings hope for improvement of medical care and education here in the border.

Hopefully more people with the ideals and benevolence of Hunt will see the benefits of continuing the growth of education here in the border.

Jose Velazquez

Central El Paso