Letters to the Editor
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Sheriff Gilbertson ‘a pretty cool guy’
From Charlie Vile
Cave Junction
The other morning, a bunch of us (street people) were sitting in an alley drinking beer, like we do most every morning, and Sheriff Gil Gilbertson showed up.
He told us that we that we had to move. We did ‘cuz it was no problem.
But I had to stop and ask him why he as sheriff, the top man in the sheriff’s office, was out having people move from alleys. And he told me, “Well, they cut my budget, so I have to go to work.”
I thought that was pretty cool. He seems like a nice guy. And I’m still laughing at the answer he gave; it struck me really funny.
Religion and medicine; stem cell perspective
From Wally Hardie
Selma
During 1947-48 and beyond, while serving in the U.S. Navy on a very small ship (a destroyer escort), we took part in the evacuation of Shanghai, China before the Communists took control.
This was the first time I had witnessed those who had suffered and survived the ravages of the smallpox disease. Those who lived were terribly disfigured, to say the least. In our lifetime we have seen the eradication of that horrible disease that killed millions of people.
I also remember at that time that religion was preaching it was God’s will and God’s way of punishing those who had done wrong. That was yesterday. However, we all can remember the preaching of the late Jerry Falwell, as well as numerous others, when they were and still are preaching that AIDS is the new curse God is putting on homosexuals for a lifestyle they don’t agree with.
We can go back hundreds of years and find that discoveries in medicine and science were discounted by the ruling church, such as the teaching that the sun does not go around the Earth. Just how far are we removed from that mentality when our president in the year of our Lord 2004-5-6, has forbidden that any federal monies will be spent in using embryonic stem cell for the advancement of medical science?
Oh, it will come, but not until 2008. That interim will cost lives, and indeed we do not know just whose lives could be saved. But whoever’s life it may be, that person may very well know that had the cure only have been a few days or a few months sooner; the many who died in that interim would have lived.
It is indeed difficult to believe that a president would make decisions concerning life and death based on his concept of religion.
Hwy. 199/River Street intersection speeders
From Daryl Moore
Cave Junction
My family and I moved here from California nine years ago. At that time it was just my wife and me, and our two young sons (then 10 and 13 years old).
Now, my family has grown. I have a 5-year-old daughter and a 4-month-old grandson; and recently my mother moved here and lives a short distance from us.
I have worked for the same local business for nearly seven years, and my wife and son also work locally just a short distance from home. My mother is retired, and my daughter is just starting school.
My concern is this; during the years I have witnessed several accidents and too many near-hits to count at the intersection of Redwood Hwy. and River Street. On a daily basis I have seen countless cars and semitrucks towing trailers driving faster and faster through town with total disregard for people in crosswalks, regardless of whether the pedestrians were adults or young children.
A while back, during a Cave Junction City Council meeting, the question was raised concerning the lack of enforcement of the posted 30 mph speed limit. The response was one of, “We’re not a speed trap.”
What does that mean? A speed trap is one thing; the safety of our citizens, particularly our children, is another. How long before the life of an innocent pedestrian is lost due to an inability to address this issue?
If we need to generate revenue for our city so we can have a library, a park for families to enjoy, as well as curbs, sidewalks and trees along the main street, then why don’t we do something about the speeders?
I sit in front of my workplace on my breaks and lunch hour each day as I have done for the past seven years watching as the cars fly by. Most of the offenders are truckers and folks from out of state (California, Washington, Idaho and even Alaska). Nonetheless, they are still speeding.
So I ask, especially now that Robbie Robinson at his auto care center is no longer able to safely cross our children at Redwood Hwy. and River, won’t someone take the necessary measures to ensure the safety of our children and all citizens as they cross the street? Ticket the speeders and let’s get a four-way stop or traffic signals at that intersection.
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