Letters to the Editor

To the Editor:

In regard to S. Rowe's letter (May 29 Nugget), in which she considers it okay for a man to rape a flirtatious young woman who came over, uninvited, I would like to respond.

It is never okay to rape someone, regardless of the circumstances! No means no, at any time! As far as adult men having sex with underaged girls, this is against the law! What is terribly wrong in our society is that too many men get away with this.

Sincerely,

Susan Conner

Over coffee this morning, I read through The Nugget to catch up on the local news.

I had already heard the gossip of so many girls in high school being pregnant this year. When I read the letter to the editor from Rebecca Boehm, I said "right on!"

It brought back the memory of the prospect of my third child. My doctor had advised my husband and I that since one of us was O-negative and the other was O-positive, a third birth could possibly be what they call a "blue baby" and that we should give some thought to that possibility.

Consequently, we were very cautious. We were both "protected" every time and before we could make the decision, I was pregnant. I couldn't believe it. We had been so careful! Needless to say, I have used that story with my own daughters from an early age, along with the advice that not only is premarital sex morally difficult, but it is an emotional hardship at a young age.

"Just say no" can be such a relief!

Carolyn Olsen

(Thank goodness, our third child was just fine).

Because the High Meadow Homeowners Association of Indian Ford is soliciting proxies from its members for this year's annual meeting of the Indian Meadow Water Company, it appears desirable and perhaps necessary to make clear that it basically is seeking representation on the water company board of directors and encouraging certain changes believed constructive in the company's operating procedures.

The request for board representation is not a new request, and is one which is currently being studied and will require certain changes in the corporate bylaws and articles.

Accordingly, it has been our opinion and suggestion that the annual meeting of the Water Company, now scheduled for June 22, be continued for at least 60 days in order to give the water board time to study and effect necessary changes to (a) increase its board membership from five to seven, and (b) to require at least one representative from each homeowners association, to be selected by their respective association.

This would permit a new proxy to be solicited by the water company to include and allow voting for all candidates running for election or reselection to the board. No other proxies would be necessary -- a clean solution.

We should also make clear that in our opinion Merle Mosar and the other members of the water company board have done an excellent job of providing water service to all of our homes, for which we are most appreciative.

Russ Olson, President, High Meadow Homeowners Association

On Thursday, June 6, we held an assembly to honor our school volunteers for all their time and efforts in helping to educate the students of Sisters Elementary School. The volunteers were presented with certificates, flowers, and a standing ovation. We even serenaded them with our thanks.

Our total volunteers this year numbered around 190, but we had already celebrated and thanked our SMART readers.

These volunteers gave us an average of one hour per week. A conservative estimate is that they donated 5,890 hours, or 723 days, or 144 work weeks or 6.3 months to our school. At minimum wage they contributed almost $30,000 worth of labor.

This is a great savings to our taxpayers, an efficient use of our labor force and allows us to do many things that we could not otherwise do.

Here are just a few things that volunteers helped us accomplish this year: automated library checkout system, individualized practice and assistance to students in reading, writing and math, playground supervision, office assistance for delivering messages and assisting students and staff, staffing of the enrichment center, serving on our site council and our new parent organization.

Tim Comfort, Principal, Sisters Elementary School

Recently our youngest child graduated from high school. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff of the Sisters School District for all the time and effort you put into the high standards of education offered here.

Respectfully yours,

Fred and Teri Ast

We especially wish to thank those persons who made our fourth annual Memorial Day Ceremony a success. In that light we wish to acknowledge the following:

Mr. Dennis Lindahl and his son and daughter, who furnished the trumpets and the snare drum and greatly enhanced our simple ceremony.

Chief Mouser, Sisters/Camp Sherman Fire Department, for the loan of the chairs. They were really appreciated.

Pastor Harold Gott of Sisters Church of Christ, for the opening prayer. Thank you for your faithfulness.

SFC Cris Anderson and his firing squad from G Troop, 1- 82nd Cavalry, Oregon National Guard, Redmond. They add that special touch of class.

Alexander "Sandy" MacKenzie, who gave the keynote address. Thank you, Sandy.

Ron Bliven of Sisters for the loan of his public address sound system. A special thanks to him because without the sound system the speakers cannot be heard.

Tom Salgado for taking photographs of this year's event. He did a great job as usual.

A very special "thank you" to Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Anderson for the use of their adjacent pasture for additional parking. Without their generosity we would be hard put for parking space.

Also a special note of appreciation for our Past Commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8138, Jesse Edgington. At his request he was our official "Greeter and Keeper of the Gate." Jesse has been a member of the VFW Post going on 50 years and he is always faithful. Thank you, Jesse.

Last, but certainly not least, we wish to thank everyone who participated in, or took the time to attend and be a part of our ceremony to honor those men and women from all of our wars, who gave their lives so that our country could remain free.

By unofficial count there were about 100 persons attending, considerably more then the 65 or so last year. For that we are grateful, and we hope to see you all again next year.

The Sisters Veterans Group

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8138

Our heartfelt thanks to all the super people who came to our aid last week when our house burned.

From Gwen, who came by before the fire trucks arrived and loaned me a pair of shoes and a sweatshirt; to Don Mouser, who looked like a commander in a World War II film with his cane and his wonderful crew; to all the folks who have fed us, clothed us (literally), found us housing, and given or loaned us all the essentials.

And the offers of help continue to come in. The fire was a tragedy but the support and love we have received from so many people makes us realize once again what a wonderful community is Sisters.

Mickey and Bill Duehren

All of the Lovegren family wish to thank everyone that has responded to them in their time of need. Words seem inadequate to express the appreciation we feel.

We want to thank the paramedics and EMTs from Sisters, Camp Sherman and Black Butte Ranch who so quickly responded and did everything possible for Ken. What an outstanding team we are privileged to have serving our community.

The Lovegren family

The rodeo parade was great success, as usual. We counted enough horses, mules and Jackasses to remount Custers 7th Cavalry.

Art and Emily Scofield