" You are going to catch it over this one. Yes he should be responsible and the government is going to see to it. "

" Yeah bicycle guy should ditch the phone, be it car or bike no one needs to be yakking while other peoples lives are at risk. As for the car wreck it is sad but Mr. Brooks should be held slightly accountable because sometimes as a passenger you just can't stop somebody from swerving or speeding or messing around even if you tell them too. On the other hand he got into a car drunk so they all shoulda had their thinking caps on that night but hey thats what alcohol does to you. It is sad that we have anti drug ads on tv and anti tobacco but not anti drinking. In fact alcohol companies are still allowed to advertise on television. "

" Bicycle/Phone Guy probably has gotten a DUI and does not have a license to drive. That is why he is multitasking on his bicycle and not in his car! LOL "

" Forrest Gump: Stupid is as stupid does. "

" While we're at it...
To the little army green sports car who was going East on 16 by the Worthington Inn at 6:30 PM Thursday...
We have your license plate number.

Would you like to explain to our grandson why you threw a carload of garbage out your window while driving???
Our windows were open, and some of your garbage hit our car!

If you had to pay for someone to pick up all the garbage you throw out onto the highway, would you still do it???

Who is responsible if someone gets hurt when you act so irresponsibly?

What are the consequences for someone like you, and what are you teaching your children while you are confusing mine by your actions?

We've had a lit cigarette fly in our window once from someone who threw it out of their window...that is so dangerous. People who smoke should keep their cigarettes in their own car until they dispose of them properly. New RULES OF THE ROAD are needed for all the uncaring insensitive rude people of today that are driving.

Why aren't the police going after people who purposefully litter our highways, instead of asking those at Lake Charleston to show their fishing licenses?

Our grandson would like to know.
So would we! "

" Do,es your smell phone have halitosis? "

" it usually takes a major accident or death before the city actually takes care of anything "

" Sad to hear that someone else has seen someone use a cell phone while riding a bike. You really do worry about their safety. Several of us saw someone doing the same and he was biking with someone else! 10 minutes later they both rode by again and the fellow was still talking! We felt sorry for the poor woman with him.

E.M. Foster said "only connect" but this epidemic of cell phone use is taking it too far! "

" Do you have any idea how mad I am right now? You compare my sons death with a spilled cup of coffee.Do you have any idea how offended i am right now?I wonder if some idiot at a paper made that comparison about your father. Would you be offended?How about you and me go for a car ride in a residential area at 120 miles an hour.You sit in the backseat and try to stop me,lets see how that works out. "

" Also I diligently await your next article on how its the rape victims fault because she got in the car with the guy.Lets look up the word journalist in webster shall we. an idiot with an opinion "

" Cellphones on bicycles should definitely be illegal. We think it should be illegal to talk while driving the car too though, people are just not paying enough attention on the road, and it is more dangerous than ever to be driving anywhere these days because of it. And people on bicycles should be extra cautious knowing that people in cars are on cellphones, that is...if they want to live.

We've also seen many cars throw trash out of their windows lately, usually on Route 16 between Mattoon and Charleston. We will usually honk at people who throw trash out of their windows. When we look as we pass them, they are almost always college students. They should get ticketed, and then have to spend a thousand hours picking up trash on the side of the highways. Then it would probably stop. How about it Charleston/Mattoon Police? "

" rekop...
So sorry that you lost your son! There just is not anything anyone can do to erase the deep pain of such a tragedy.

We will continue educating young people about drinking and driving in hopes that they will realize death does happen and can happen to them.

Again, our condolences, God bless you and comfort you. Let us know if there's anything we can do to help you and your family. "

" With all the that went on in that car that night... With that much speed I ask myself what would you do? I would be scared ---- ----.

I have been asked and I quote "Why did not one of them take the key out to stop the car."

Do you Penny, think you have all the answers to these questions?

All I know is that this was very poor judgement in your part as journalist/editor. "

" i believe the comparison is valid, even if it is a bit harsh. the point of the comparison was people making bad decisions and blaming others for their actions. bimbo with the coffee bought coffee and spilled it on herself. (her fault) mr. foltz made a bad decision to drink underage, then made a bad decision to get in a car with a drunk driver. (his fault) at the very least he shares in the blame. "

" SO WE ARE SUPPOSED TO PUT THIS IN THE SAME CONTEXT AS A CUP OF COFFEE SPILLED.

THIS 24 YEAR HAD A PRIOR DUI.

WOW MUST BE NICE TO HAVE A SAUB!!! WORKING AT THE ALMO IN MATTOON IL?
WE SEE RED LIGHTS WE STOP. WHY DIDN'T HE?

PROBABLY THOUGHT HE WAS ABOVE THE LAW TILL HE TOOK A LIFE OF A GOOD KID.

THESE FAMILIES HAVE BEEN PUT TO THE TEST THAT WILL NOT BE OVER EVER....

SO WHY WITH ALL OF YOUR JUDGEMENTAL RIGHTS AS A PARENT, THINK YOU KNOW IT ALL? OR ARE YOU JUST PERFECT????? "

" First off how dare you compare the life of a 19 year old boy to a spilt cup of coffee! You have know idea what even went on the night who are you to sit there and put the blame on anyone. It must be nice to be an outsider looking in and making your judgements. Because seeing what this has done to Matt's and my family they had both Repetitivly told him to slow down. oh thats right they should have over powered him why didnt they think of that oh i dont know they were probably scared half to death and besides in most situation that will just make it worst. You dont know the situation and you sure as heck do not know adam or matt so who are you to put the blame on anyone. "

" We all know that Harry is going to retire in the near future, please don't tell you are trying to imitate his style, Penny. Hopefully the paper will retire Goldenrod along with Harry. LOL! "

" ThIs CoLuMn HaS gOnE cOmPlEtElY oVeR sOmE pEoPlE's HeAdS. wHy Am I nOt SuRpRiSeD. "

" While we are talking about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING on this page:
The other day I was coming east over the Dewitt bridge. I was maybe three car links fron the stop sign and a man tried to cut in. I knew there was no way he could get in without my slamming on my brakes. So I did speed up a little. I failed to mention, when he pulled along my side, he looked at me and laughed. He had a passenger in his car also. When we left the stop sign he was on my back end all the way to the stop sign at twelth street. When we left that stop sign, he proceeded around me on the left side at a pretty fast rate of speed. After which he slowed down once in front of me.
I called the MATTOON POLICE to ask if it was illegal to pass in the city. He asnwered my question and asked if there was a problem. I proceeded to tell him what had happend. I told him the person was right in front of me and tried to give him the license plate #. He was more interested to know if I was in a 4 lane of traffic or a 2 lane of traffic. Everyone knows there is no 4 lane traffic after 14th street going east on Dewitt ( except the MATTOON POLICE.
Needless to say, after he got my name and all the personal business out of the way, he asked for the license # of the car. By this time I was at the Lerna road and rt.16. The person who I was complaining about was probably to the landfill by then.
Another complaint gone haywire that was reported to the MATTOON POLICE. "

" What's a "car link?" "

" what did you want them to do, citizen, pull up the address of the car owner then wait for them at the house til they came home? if they didn't see it, there's not much they can do about it. "

" pj1983 wrote on Aug 18, 2008 12:06 PM:
" what did you want them to do, citizen, pull up the address of the car owner then wait for them at the house til they came home? if they didn't see it, there's not much they can do about it. "

YES, that would be great! Actually, they could give them a verbal warning, just like with the garbage being thrown out of the windows. They don't have to see it!

As for your other post pj...what you say may be true, but you have the compassion of a bull charging a red scarf. Do you wnat others to talk to you that way if you lose a loved one...regardless of the circimstances? "

" sapient...my guess is that they don't know how to spell 'length', or have mistakingly used the word link instead of length all of their life. "

" I personally think the comparison in this editorial written by Penny is inappropriate. What were you thinking? To bring a sensitive situation where there are grieving families into this stupid, horrific attempt at defining a word (blame) is totally off the wall and tasteless. Using the example of the Bicycle/phone guy is fine at making your point. Nobody knows his name. But to bring in a sensitive situation involving good and decent families feelings, is just wrong. Go back to school and take a class on ethics. It might do you some good. "

" CitizenofMattoon,
You make some good points. However, when the police DO write a ticket it doesn't necessarily mean that person will be tried and punished for it. There are people who have had DUI tickets written and never go to court because there are people who work for the states attorney that pull strings and wipe their records clean. These cops are out doing their jobs and for what? So drunk drivers can keep on driving drunk. "

" I definately agree that this column went a little to far. You definately have no idea what this family is going through and you brought that into your column. You could have choosen many other examples of "whos to blame"....there are a lot of situations out there you wonder who is to blame. The fact is you singled out this family during a terrible time in their lives. Good luck chuck said it best....."Go back to school and take a class on ethics. It might do you some good. " "

" People who work for the state's attorney...that are pulling strings for friends to get let free from punishable crimes, should be fired and put in prison.

Isn't that called interference, with-holding evidence, or something similar that is a crime???

Aren't they committing a crime by keeping a friend free from the consequences of a crime committed? "

" While I realize Ms. Weaver used a sensitive example, I think her point is valid. The young men involved in that tragedy chose to drink while underaged and chose to get in the car of someone who was incredibly drunk (3 times the legal limit). I think she was just pointing out that we all must be held responsible for our actions. If only those young men had called a cab, or called a sober friend, or called their parents, perhaps all three would be alive and unharmed.

That's not to blame the victim. My niece, a current senior at MHS, was a friend of the young man who died and is torn up by this incident, and said there wasn't a nicer person on earth than him. I don't doubt that one bit. I've also heard many good things about his family and Adam's, too, and I feel so badly for them. No one is trying to blame them or add to their pain in any way. I think even good people can make bad choices -- we all have made mistakes in our lives and will continue to do so. I'm not judging anyone here. I only hope the incident will help serve as a wake-up call for other teens in our community.

My sister and brother-in-law had said to my niece many times before this tragedy that if she was ever in a situation like that, she could call them and they'd pick her up, no questions asked. I don't think she really believed them, and never called them because she feared punishment for her behavior (underaged drinking), and thought she could avoid blame for her actions if she didn't get caught, so she had done things like ride in cars with drunk drivers. After losing a friend like this, she has realized the message her parents were saying to her and has taken at least some degree of responsibility for herself and her choices by 1) drinking far less than she did before this and 2) when she does slip up and drink at a party, she has called her parents, even though doing so meant she had to own up to her actions. I hope this will keep her safe and that she won't forget this lesson as time passes. I'd be willing to bet that many parents have made the same offer to their teens but the teens have taken risks because they didn't want to accept responsibility for breaking the law and their parents' rules by drinking. I hope we won't continue to have tragedies like this to keep reminding our children about responsibility.

Penny might have used a less emotional example, but I don't know that it would have had the same impact. "

" Those who condemn this editorial are the ones who should pay closer attention to the message. The message is about taking responsibility for one's actions only then, will there be any hope of avoiding future tragedies.
Someone drove drunk, someone chose to ride in a car with that person, someone got the alcohol for underage drinkers which impaired their judgment, some where the message about driving and drinking is not getting through, alcohol related deaths among teens are up and not just from drunk driving accidents. How many tragedies will it take before people decide to actually do something to stop the underage drinking and drunk drivers, and I am not talking about stricter enforcement of laws or prison sentences though that will help. "

" It's a poor example in the context of what the article started out as. Not to mention that it's insensitive in the way that it's written to those families who are grieving. Yes...it's a shame that people make bad decisions. Yes....it's wrong to drink and drive. I'm so against drunk driving and have no problem telling anybody that. However, to bring in names of these individuals and use them as examples is very insensitive. Sorry, I DID pay close attention to this article. It started out about someone riding a bicycle while talking on a cell phone. This article (in my opinion) was poorly written. And yes, I agree that those people who write off tickets for DUI's simply because they are friends should lose their jobs. "

" what if the person driving wasn't the person who was driving erratically? for the same reasons that red light cameras aren't the best way to go. you may end up punishing/chastizing the wrong person. and if you'll re-read my post i did say the comparison was harsh. that doesn't make the comparison wrong, just insensitive. the fact of the matter is that those kids made a bad choice. it was a terrible and tragic choice but they all share in the responsibility. no one held a gun to their heads and made them drink. no one made them get in the car with a drunk driver. they CHOSE to do that. and therefore they share in the responsibilty for the consequences. "

" The Illinois Liquor Commission is dominated by people from the liquor industry. When Illinois mayors, who normally act as alcohol commissioners in their municipalities, impose fines and or punishments, and the offending party protests those decisions to the liquor commission, the mayors fines and punishments are usually reduced. True reform will only come when our elected officials take action and no longer allow the liquor industry to control the Illinois Liquor Commission.

It seems as though the Illinois tradition of appointing campaign donors to control boards has paid off for the alcohol industry.

It looks like this is an example of the fox guarding the hen house, or is it just another example of good old boy politics, Illinois style? "

" Ride a bike with one hand? I can ride my bike with no handlebars. "

" THANKS for the support GOODLUCKCHUCK.
I do realize that this might never have gone to court if a ticket had been issued. However, it may have made the person think twice next time they decide to pull a stunt like this in traffic.
Thanks again
ps....I didn't realize we had a word check on this page....called: sapient..
LOL "

" pj1983....If they would have just taken the information and done something with it that would have been...JOB WELL DONE
However....I was only trying to do my job as a CITIZEN OF MATTOON %#*^&#@ "

" I was driven off the road and into the ditch by a lady who was so busy talking on her cellphone that she didn't see me and swerved into me twice while changing lanes. That was twice that I had to slam on my brakes to let her switch lanes without hitting me. This was going west on Route 16, and I was by the hospital.

It was the third time that there was no way she could have missed me unless I did a sudden turn into the ditch. I sat in the ditch shaking & throwing up, wrote her license plate down and called the police. Mattoon police said to call Charleston police. Charleston police said they couldn't do anything. Why not??? She could have killed me THREE times! "

" The use of an emotional example gets people's attention for an important message a life-or-death message. This is an excellent opinion piece. "

" i'm surprised there were cops that actually were sitting for speeders, i'm beginning to wonder what happened to the law enforcement of charleston, i either see them all at marathon or hucks "

" as far as i am concerened the minute you put the key in the igntion you are responsable for ever passenger in that car you have their life in your hands regaurdless of the curcumstance so when he hit 120 on rail road tracks that was his fault he made the decision to drive recklessly so now he should suffer the Consequences "

" Hey His Child, unless you are part feline, she could have only killed you once! LOL She could have almost killed you 3 times but you can only die once. "

" the charleston cops don't have anything to do...the eastern cops do it all for them. every night when i come home from work i see at least one car pulled over on lincoln avenue. it's by a different agency every time though: state, county, city, campus. when i was coming into town tonight i saw 3 campus cops over on edgar drive. it made me wonder why it was campus cops and not city cops. "

" Texas T wrote on Aug 19, 2008 7:24 PM:
" Hey His Child, unless you are part feline, she could have only killed you once! LOL She could have almost killed you 3 times but you can only die once. "

*LOL!* Loveya Texas T!!! My mom always said she couldn't understand how I was part feline! *LOL!* Meow! "

" HisChild wrote on Aug 19, 2008 9:56 PM:

"My mom always said she couldn't understand how I was part feline! *LOL!* Meow!"

.......

Hey, I resemble that remark!
LOL! "

" You know on this blog I did not even know about till Saturday I really didin't realize how shallow journalist/editor and some of our community people could be.

With people at their age we have to hold on and hope for the best. best!!!!
(This is only because Seth Brooks would not stop because he had some issues in the past with a prior DUI)!
Wow !!!! Wonder who he texted up sidedown Im __ T------.
1# They really didn't know this would be the end of Matt's life. "

" I too have often wondered why there is so much action away from campus by the EIU police department. Being fully trained police officers, they certainly have the authority to enforce any law while away from campus, but why are they off of campus in the first place?

Navigating the small campus requires them to use city streets, but I see no need for them to travel all over town. I have seen them pull people over several miles away from campus, and that even includes having cars pulled over out of the city limits. Just a guess on my part, but could it be that they are overstaffed? Is this just another example of wasteful spending of the tax payers money? "

" Personally, I used to think EIU PD's guidelines/roads were from University Dr. to 18th St., & from Lincoln Ave. to however far south of EIU.

Now, from what I've seen & heard, it seems like they might as well be on the city's payroll.

What's up with that?

Does EIU have some officers possibly gunning, (excuse the pun), for FBI training school?
LOL! "

" I think that people who are slamming the EIU police need to be grateful that we have them. How do you know that the 3 EIU police cars had not stopped a possible DUI offender that might have possibly killed a car full of your family members? You need to RESPECT the police officers and just let them do their jobs. All of the police officers of this community help each other. "

" I, too, think the comparison between hot coffee and a child's life is one extreme to the other, BUT if you don't hit people's emotions where it hurts, something is lost. As a society, we feed on emotion. If you can get people to FEEL something, then you've done your job.

I knew Matt and he was an AWESOME kid, I am so sorry for his family and their loss. But I also feel that you can't blame everyone else for your mistakes. That's what wrong with a lot of teens these days, no accountability. No one makes them face the consequences. If Brooks would have been held accountable for the last few DUIs, then maybe this wouldn't have happened. In the same respect, Matt & Adam made a choice to drink, as well as get into a car with him. Again, please don't misunderstand me, I feel that Brooks is the most responsible; should be held accountable and pay the price for his mistakes. He should admit he made a mistake and take the consequences. Pleading "not guilty"?? How can he be "not guilty", he was there...in the driver's seat....driving over 100 mph...running from the police...... he is so responsible for what happened. In good conscious, how can he sleep at night knowing that his decision killed another friend and he has the guts to plead "not guilty"?

I just hope the ultimate message of this article is not overlooked by the emotion it has stirred.........be accountable for your choices and if you screw up, own up to it. Teach your children responsibility and consequences. In Matt's case, there were many factors, many choices, many mistakes made by all 3 of them which led to this tragedy. Just please don't overlook the point.......teach your children to be responsible and accountable for their own choices. It's easy to blame everyone else for your mistakes, it's harder to point the finger at yourself. "

" I don't think the criticism is directed toward the EIU police department personnel, mom of twins. I think the criticism is how they are being utilized. The point is why are they acting as Charleston police officers and leaving the campus area? Of course they back each other up, but do we need them patrolling the city streets in Charleston on a daily basis? Do the police officers at LLC leave the campus area and patrol in Mattoon? I'm sure all of the law enforcement agencies in the county help each other in the case of an emergencies, but regular patrolling all over Charleston is not an emergency.

I'm sure that everyone in the county appreciates the job that all of our law enforcement officers do, but criticizing the way they are deployed is not the same as creating the officers them self.

I really think you have read something into this that was not intended by the various posters commenting on this topic. "

" Outsider, you write "But I also feel that you can't blame everyone else for your mistakes. That's what wrong with a lot of teens these days, no accountability. No one makes them face the consequences."

I think that Matt faced the consequence. I think the other 2 will surely carry a great consequence of losing their friend in this matter, the rest of their lives. No matter who was to blame. BUt let these families grieve for God sake. We raise our kids and hope they make the right decisions. We preach, we teach, we lecture and unfortunately the power of "peers" and social life seem more important than the values that we instill on them. They are young and immature and have a lot to learn. Families are trying to work through this time in their lives. We all (no matter what) look for the best in our kids. We love our kids and want others to see the best in them too. I can't even imagine the feelings of Matts parents when reading a blog like this one. Let up guys! Come on! Do you really think the teens of today are reading this blog? I really don't think lessons are being taught to our children from this editorial. "

" momof twins, the campus cops hadn't stopped anyone. there weren't any other cars around. it appeared to be some sort of domestic dispute. and no one was SLAMMING campus cops. it appears that we all think that they should be just that though....CAMPUS cops. "

" yes we were praising EIU cops but point being even when the city cops aren't getting calls why are they all shacked up at the gas station shooting the breeze? We pay them for that!?!? They could be sitting out on the roads and highways watching for speeders or potential trouble causers, they should be watching our town to protect it not just responding when needed! "

" When I was in high school one of my teacher's gave us an ethical problem, one which I am sure many others have had put to them. I was asked to imagine that I was in charge of a life-boat with six other people: a doctor, a lawyer, a sailor, a pregnant woman, etc. Since the lifeboat only had the means to sustain six people, I had to decide who got put overboard.

After a long period of time I provided the teacher with an answer, at which point the teacher pointed out that I had left myself in the boat. I felt somewhat embarrassed while the discussion over my response continued. This stayed with me for many years.

Then one day I realized what a bogus problem this was. I didn't offer myself as the one to be put out, not because I wanted to save myself first, but because mentally I never thought of myself as being in the boat to begin with. I could not imagine myself in such a bad situation. I only evaluated the six that were there to me.

As time went by I began to realize that this explains a great deal. People who drive too fast, or swerve in and out of traffic like their vehicles are just giant Tonka toys. People who drink too much, or use drugs. Those who use cell phones at inappropriate times, especially while operating a moving vehicle. The list is endless, but it all boils down to the same thing. They've never thought of themselves as being in the boat. They've never understood that bad things will happen to them. Their failure is that they don't recognize this until it is too late.

Young people especially are prone to this lack of understanding, since many of them have yet to experience the bad things life can throw at them. Deep down they feel that they are invincible. My heart bleeds for the families of those that were involved in that tragic accident. Should the driver be prosecuted? Definitely. How about the guy in the back seat? Maybe he didn't show much sense when he got drunk and climbed into that car, but once there, he had no control over anything. If the driver didn't yield to the ones with the blue flashing light, what chance did the passenger have? My sympathy is also with him. It was a bad way to learn how fragile his life really is.

To everyone out there who thinks the traffic laws are too slow, or that cell phone laws will infringe on your personal rights, pay attention. Do not speed up to beat the stop light. Check for pedestrians before making that turn. Pull over to talk on the phone. Live every day like it is the day that that the bad thing will happen, and then conduct yourself in a manner that will stop it dead in its tracks. And accept the responsibility for your actions if you fail to do this.

Try to remember that you live in the boat. "

" Techno-less comment is right on target. What this community needs to discuss is how to get that message across to young people. Unfortunately it is an issue that folks keep avoiding. It is easier to comment on blogs than it is to do something constructive. We live in a society where there is someone else to blame for everything that goes wrong in your life. Ms. Weaver is right with her message, people must start accepting responsibility for their actions and that is an attitude that can be taught. "

" right on techno and susan, not enough action is being taken in coles county, we can actually try stopping these problems before they happen or at least getting to the real roots of these problems instead of chatting about it "