Letters to the Editor
From our weekly issue dated October 29, 2008
Mauer, Rubenstein ‘OK’
From W. Scott Jorgensen
Grants Pass
This election cycle has certainly been one of the most rancorous in recent memory. Personal attacks and negative ads seem to be the norm, which is rather unfortunate. However, there are two notable exceptions.
House District 3 candidates Ron Maurer and Julie Rubenstein have demonstrated tremendous civility and mutual respect in their races.
Here’s hoping that future office seekers will see fit to follow the fine example set by these great candidates.
Public deception
From Andy Chen
Kerby
During a recent weekend we were asked by Cassanelli and Brown in a full-page ad, “What Can Josephine County Learn from Crestwood, IL?” The same question is repeated on Sandi’s Website.
Based on my investigation, it appears that the authors of the ad understand Crestwood finances about as well as they understand Josephine County’s. The lessons to be learned from Crestwood, Ill. are:
- Be in the same county as one of America’s largest cities (Chicago), with a tax rate at least six times as high as Josephine County, so that they can fund extensive county services.
- Be very small and leverage county services to reduce demand on your own resources.
- Have a major regional mall and extensive other retail property within city limits.
- Collect a 1 percent sales tax from all those nonresident retail customers.
- Due to all of the above, collect so much tax revenue in excess of your needs that you can actually rebate more tax than you collect from your city residents.
This has absolutely nothing to do with cost efficiencies. In fact, it is yet another example of the misinformation campaign so symptomatic of Josephine County politics in recent years. Voters in this election should be wary of anyone who attempts to deceive the public in this fashion.
Brown, libraries
From Ellyn L. Coley
Cave Junction
I just want to point out that Jack Brown, running for county commissioner, regards libraries as a nice-to-have nonessential. Don’t think we need subliterates running Josephine County.
Wants more Moore
From Steve Lyons
Cave Junction
I’d like to endorse Don Moore for Cave Junction mayor. Even though I’m not a city resident, I am affected by city policy and actions.
Don’s experience as a contractor, successful businessman and volunteer makes him very qualified. He is a city councilor, I.V. Chamber of Commerce president, sits on the Josephine County Rural Planning Commission, and is active in the local Rotary and Lions clubs. When you need something done, go to the busy guy.
Additionally, and on another subject, now is the time for all good men (and women) to come to the aid of their country and county by volunteering with I.V. Rural Fire Protection District.
No whining, please
From Harry Bradley
Cave Junction
At the beginning of my long career in law enforcement, I took a college course in police administration. The required text for the course was Municipal Police Administration by O.W. Wilson, the acknowledged expert in this field at that time.
I recall vividly the overall theme of this book as follows: “A community’s police service will only be as good as that community wants it to be.” How good do people want the police service to be in Josephine County? The answer will come forth when the votes are counted regarding the levy.
I have a caveat for the “No” voters if the Nov. 4 levy fails: “No whining please, when you call for help and no one answers.”
Grant money
From Luz Moore
Cave Junction
We had an audience with some USDA officials, and it was a fruitful meeting with them, where one can only hope for the best.
There is grant money for improvements in rural cities like Cave Junction, but it will take proactive leadership to get it. USDA has expressed frustrations over this deal under which improvements for Kerby Water District have dragged on since 2003. The grant is for approximately $1.7 million. In fact, USDA has added funds three times for this project.
Funds have been available since 2003, but there is a chance that we will lose them if we will not act fast. We are in economic hard times. We have to pull in whatever funds we can get for the benefit of the people in our community. We need responsible leaders go through with this project. Let us be proactive, coordinate and cooperate.
(Editor’s Note: Luz Moore is the wife of mayoral candidate Don Moore)
Most qualified
From Erlinda Felizardo
Cave Junction
There are a lot of positive statements to make about Don Moore. Having lived in the Bay Area, he was CEO of one of the biggest privately held commuter transportation organizations, transporting 500 people a day to work.
The Bay Area Air Quality Control District each year gives an award to exemplary contributions to air quality control. This award is selected from among seven million people, or approximately the population of Oregon. Moore also received recognition from the Environmental Protection Agency.
I think that we should elect hopeful leaders who might change Cave Junction’s atmosphere, especially in these current economic hard times. To do this, we should vote for Don Moore.
Veterans Day
From Marvin D. Sprinkle
Cave Junction
Veterans Day on Nov. 11 is approaching, and I recently ran across one of the best descriptions. What is a veteran? The answer is:
“A veteran -- whether active duty, reserve, discharged or retired -- is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to ‘The United States of America’, for an amount of ‘up to and including his or her life.’
“That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today who no longer understand that fact.”
Doesn’t like WOPR
Shannon Wilson
Selma
The Oregon BLM has just released its final version of the Western Oregon Plan Revision (WOPR). This final plan if implemented will increase logging by 436 percent over current levels.
This is not light-handed logging. During the first 10 years of WOPR implementation it plans 75,000 acres of clear-cut logging of native and old-growth forests. BLM and Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne are attempting to finalize and sign WOPR’s Record of Decision before the end of 2008 and before the Bush regime leaves office.
Implementation of WOPR threatens all Southern Oregon families’ livelihoods and homes (including my own family) with destruction by increasing the likelihood of higher-severity forest fires (old forests burn at lower intensity than tree farms), as well as the abilities of Southern Oregon communities to cope with economic downturns because of degradation of recreation values and salmon runs.
WOPR will hugely affect salmon runs because it proposes to reduce riparian buffers near 20,000 miles of rivers and streams by half of current levels.
This reckless and dangerous plan must be stopped by our elected representatives at the urging of the citizens and communities who will take the brunt of WOPR effects.
We should write and phone our representatives, including Gov. Kulongoski, before December or until BLM’s Western Oregon Plan Revision is thrown out. Otherwise we’ll all be paying for the consequences in the end.
Harelson expertise noted
From Isabella Brock,
Curry County treasurer
Gold Beach
In my position, I've had the pleasure of knowing John Harelson, not only as a colleague, but a fine man of integrity and great character.
As an appointed, then an elected county treasurer, I’ve always been able to call on John as a mentor for advice and counsel regarding my duties. His years of experience in this now volatile financial world are much needed for Josephine County.
Not only has he kept a safeguard over Josephine County’s public funds, but he has done well with county investments. His expertise is second to none, and he should be re-elected.
Letter-writers challenged
From Josiah Dean
Grants Pass
One might think that in this world of instant information and Google that folks could do a little fact-checking before writing their thoughts on paper. That does not appear to be the case with some recent musings in the Oct. 22 letters to Illinois Valley News.
Let’s start with a Mike Hunter and his questions about Obama. He should learn that there’s this thing called a “search engine” and it allows looking up information on the Worldwide Web. If Hunter needs help, he can let me know, and I can help him learn these newfangled computer thingies.
“He introduced no new legislation,” Hunter cavalierly claims of Barack Obama. The record shows that the junior senator from Illinois has sponsored or co-sponsored 625 bills since arriving in Washington.
According to Hunter, “Every country that has socialized medical care has far less the quality care than ours.” But according to the World Health Organization, we ranked 37 out of its member countries in 2000 (France, that bastion of socialism, was ranked first). More recently, a comparison of the U.S. and five socialist countries found that Americans spend more than twice the others and receive the worst care.
The study concludes that “the nation will need to remove financial barriers to care and improve the delivery of care.”
Let’s move on to Gregory Anderson and his question, “Why do you suppose the liberal major media allows the Democrats to get by with blaming Bush & Republicans for the financial mess when it is largely the responsibility of the Democrats?” Uh, because George W. Bush and the Republicans were in complete control of the country from 2000 to 2006, and in the last two years have tied up the legislative branch with filibusters and vetoes.
Wait, you blame Clinton? Nice try, but I ain’t going for it.
Those who’d like to look at the history of this mess might take a look at the de-regulation mania that was sparked by none other than Ronald Reagan (did someone say “superstar”?) After the last financial crisis in the ’80s (you remember the one: where McCain’s best-friend-for-life, Charles Keating, got five years in prison for corruption and the taxpayers bailed out the S&L industry) we had the opportunity to put in place regulations to discourage financial institutions from betting on real estate; but, during the years, we forgot about it.
Then, Flo Shepherd wants to talk about the candidates records. If you look at John McCain, you will see that he is proud to have supported President Bush 90 percent of the time. That’s quite a track record.
She thinks that we can drill our way to oil independence. Again, a little research shows that according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, oil production from drilling offshore wouldn’t begin until around 2017. Once begun, it wouldn’t reach peak production until about 2030 when it would produce only 0.6 percent of total U.S. energy consumption.
“Drill baby, drill” is a cutesy slogan for a woman to chant. It isn’t a sound energy policy, especially when one considers that the United States reached its peak production in the 1970s.
While I didn’t get Anderson’s jokes, I did get a chuckle when I read Shepherd’s comments regarding the candidates. She thinks Obama’s answers lack substance, then declares Sarah Palin a “competent, intelligent, fair-minded individual.” Words fail me here.
I respect folks having different opinions about how they think the country should be run. The discussions would be assisted if folks would do a little research, not just make knee-jerk reactions based on Fox News talking points.
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