Letters to the Editor

To the Editor:

A boy about eight years old was almost drowned in front of my cabin on the Metolius on July 15. Luckily he could yell loudly and a neighbor walked out on the log he was caught on and tried unsuccessfully to pull him out of the water. The boy was held against the log by the current, so the rescuer had to guide him, in the water, around the end of the log and finally pulled him out.

This huge log reaches half way across the river and was deliberately left there by the Forest Service, purportedly for "fish enhancement."

Are fish more important than the lives of our children? There are few fishermen on the Metolius this year (the river is no longer stocked with hatchery fish); there are more children. They wade in the river, they inexpertly float down it in all kinds of flotation devices. The river is a pleasure and a challenge for them.

I ask my fellow citizens to write to Sisters District Ranger Karen Shimamoto and request that no "fish enhancement" be allowed in the section of the river which runs beside the campground.

Mary Kate Spencer

The family of Jim McFadden of Sisters wish to express their sincere gratitude to all their friends and neighbors for their expressions of love and sympathy and their many prayers in the recent death of our loved one. Your generosity and concern for our family has meant so much to us.

We would like to give special thanks to the following friends and family for their special acts of kindness during Jim's illness: To my mother, Pearl, for her special kind of love and support that she gave us; to our sister-inlaw, Joyce McFadden, for transporting Jim to the hospital and home and for being there when we needed her; to Fern and Mike Felkel for transportation and moral support.

To Cathy Hinds for being there for us when Jim learned that his cancer diagnosis had changed; to Dave Carter, Jim's special friend and hunting partner, for his weekly visits of faith and friendship; to Pat Seile, a most extraordinary coworker, for his daily visits and all the special arrangements to help us cope with Jim's illness; to all of Jim's coworkers who came and cleaned up our yard; to Larry O'Chalek for preparing and painting the trim on our house; to Tim and Deanna Muir and the employees of the Sister's Drug Co. who helped us so much with Jim's prescriptions when we needed them.

To Judy Bernard and all the U.S. West Communications workers for giving so freely of their own money to help with Jim's care and treatment; to Gary and Colina Miller for entertaining Jim during his hospital stays; to Larry and Lynn Moore for their special time and effort to help in Jim's treatment; Mal and Edie Peeler for all their special friendship and support; to Lindsey Warner for being such a good friend to Megan when she needs it; to Tom and Eileen Stapleton for their many visits to Jim and helping with Megan when she needed some special attention.

To Art and Jean Blake for their many years of friendship, help, and support; to Pastor Dean Klarr for giving our family his time and support of faith to speak at Jim's memorial service; to the Trinity Christian Center for allowing us to use their facilities; to Greg Brown for his time and the use of his airplane to fly Jim's ashes over Cache Mt., Jim's final wish fulfilled.

To Donna and Dave Moyer, Jerry, Jan, and Jill Werner, Dick and Nita Sadler for the prayers and moral support in those last few hours of Jim's life; and finally, our most heartfelt thanks to Hospice and Eda Browning, who stayed with us and helped make Jim's last hours pain free and comfortable.

For those people not mentioned, forgive us for the oversight, but your help was greatly appreciated and will never be forgotten.

Throughout these past six months, people have commented on how strong I have been, but the truth is Dana, Megan and I could not have done this without the friendship and kindness of those around us.

Judy, Dana and Megan McFadden

In 1960 Jani Grider (who died in an automobile accident near Sisters July 16) married and thought she had acquired an eight-year-old son. She was her husband's chattel and thought she was a legal mother. Wrong! She needed to go the court and legally adopt him.

How many of you think you are in this position?

Her son couldn't claim her ashes at Niswonger's Funeral Home. He wasn't a blood relative.

Fortunately, she has a cousin in Redondo Beach, California. He is blood. Thank heaven it was a close match between the two. I took care of her dog for 10 days as her cousin paid for a visit to him and his wife.

She is an only child, no siblings. Check the legality of your position. The cousin has given her many friends permission to handle an estate sale with the proceeds going to her non-son of 36 years. She has no will.

Glory Daggett

With the thrill of our post-season success still fresh in our minds, we thought we would take a minute to thank all those people who made it possible.

Thanks to the board members of Sisters Little League who work throughout the year so that we may enjoy our sport for a few months in the spring and summer. Thanks to all the volunteers from coaches and umpires to concessionaires and field maintenance volunteers who pitch in to make Little League baseball successful.

Thanks to all the individuals and businesses who support our league with team sponsorships, sign boards and financial contributions. Thanks to the Sisters Baptist Church and the Sisters School District for providing the facilities we play and practice on.

A special thanks to the Sisters Rodeo Association for their generous contributions to our league and to the Sisters Public House and Restaurant for sponsoring our Senior All-star team.

Lastly, thanks to the fans who cheered us on either in person or in spirit and to our parents who allow the disruptions in their lives so that we might have a little fun.

This was a special time we will long remember.

1996 Sisters Little League All-stars

I would like to thank the many volunteers and donors of the Sisters community who helped make the Fifth Annual Children's Teaching Fair a success. Children and families of Central Oregon enjoyed the day of carnival games and free crafts. Amina Kyibula and David Mubezi of Uganda, Africa will enter school for their fifth year in September, with proceeds from the fair.

Thank you to the Children's Teaching Fair committee; Cari and Jeff Landis, Marie and Tim Clasen. Veronda and Chet McConville, Bev and Ed Norgaard, Robin and Mark Rapp, Barb and Steve Wilson, and my family for their help, advice, dedication, service and support to the fair.

Thank you one and all.

For the children of Africa,

Theresa Slavkovsky

If we allow 63 of our state parks to close on September 3, we will be cutting off public access to waterfalls, beaches, and forests. This is unacceptable. Oregonians are proud of our state, and with good reason. We decided a long time ago that our beaches and scenic areas would remain public domain. Reducing access to our natural places attacks the one thing about Oregon that most often inspires us.

In an era when each successive economic crisis is more pressing than the last, will we ever regain public access to our state's natural places once we lose it?

What can we do right now to make a difference? Contact our legislative representatives, volunteer time for park cleanup, or make a taxdeductible contribution to our favorite park. We must stand up for what is important and fight to keep our parks open. The Oregon State Park Trust (503) 3621905 has additional information.

Sincerely,

Teresa Spillman