Letters to the Editor

To the Editor:

Russell Williams is right (The Nugget 12/18) -- it's time to put the brakes on Forest Service land exchanges.

The USFS is trying to justify their massive land swap with Crown Pacific as a means to reduce management costs. If that's true, why are they splintering off 16 acres just west of the Sisters Ranger District offices? Surely, land that's visible from their office windows can't be too costly to manage.

Exchanging land in the middle of nowhere for forestry purposes is one thing but a tradeout of forested land at the entrance to Sisters is another matter. Instead of trees we will probably see buildings. This is a situation where the public loses and the developer gets rich. It's a public "rip off!"

Everyone knows what strip development did to California. Do we want the same thing here?

Write to the Sisters Ranger District to stop this nonsense: Sisters Ranger District, P.O. Box 249, Sisters, OR 97759.

Thank you,

Howard Paine

Editor's Reply: While we normally don't respond to letters such as this, Mr. Paine's misrepresentation of facts forces us to comment.

Despite his comment that 16 acres visible from ranger district offices shouldn't be too costly to manage, this type of property actually requires more intensive management than a larger acreage in the middle of the forest. In any case, why should an agency such as the Forest Service have responsibility for maintaining a wooded lot inside city limits?

Mr. Paine alleges a public "rip off," where the public loses and a developer gets rich. How does he know this? The property in question has not yet been appraised, and its exchange value has not yet been established, according to the Forest Service. Or does he begrudge a developer the profit that might be made on investment in property purchased at fair market value?

As to the accusation about strip development, the parcel in question is within city limits and mostly between properties already developed. It has almost no highway frontage. This is not strip development, it is infill and actually reduces the pressure for strip development, something a staunch land use watchdog should applaud.

Finally, we have watched while Mr. Paine has vitriolically opposed development of rural residential land, urban area reserve land and now land within the city limits. From this it must be assumed he is opposed to all development.

Which is a curious thing. Because the wages of carpenters and motel maids and building inspectors, who are trying to feed and house their families, also pay the pension and social security taxes that allow Mr. Paine the luxury of his activism.

This is the central paradox about growth. The environment attracts people. If those who are already here deny jobs to that expanding population, we will see a decrease in the standard of living and less interest in protecting the environment.

Growth must be managed, but it cannot be denied.

--ED

I could no longer sit back and not reply to some of the letters over the past few months.

Mr. Russell Williams' letter in this December 18 Nugget was a bit much.

How does he and those who believe as he does have the audacity to complain about and question further development in the Sisters area? Just how do they think the "old timers" felt seeing Indian Ford and other areas developed? The places where they camped and hunted are now gone. Gone to people from clear out of the area who even want to change the kind of outdoor recreation that has been a part of Oregon, especially Central Oregon, for all years past.

My husband and I have lived here only 7-1/2 years but have hunted and fished in Central Oregon for several decades. We wish the change hadn't been so dramatic but it has, and that's progress. I'm sure that's the way those who have always lived here feel too.

But who do we hear complaining? The newcomers from completely out of the area. Just because you have yours doesn't give you license to try to keep more developing from happening.

I think it rather arrogant for a newcomer to move into a relatively new development and complain, If there's going to be any complaining let's leave it to the Oregonians who have lived in the area for decades.

Barbara Wasson

My wife and I find ourselves in a situation with our new automobile in that we found out too late that snow chains are not allowed to be used due to lack of clearance between the front tires and the strut mounting bracket inside the wheel well.

This letter is only to advise those potential automobile buyers to be very certain they know if the manufacturer of their vehicle allows the use of chains. If the manufacturer does not allow them and says so in the owner's manual it is the purchaser's responsibility for any damage to the vehicle caused by the chains.

Buyer beware and take necessary precautions at time of purchase to know if restrictions apply to your vehicle. The state police will not allow you to drive without chains if weather conditions require them and you can be fined for disobeying that law.

Our dealer is right when he says the manufacturers are forced to make their vehicles meet federal regulations for fuel economy, safety, etc. As a result various tradeoffs have to be made.

Unfortunately for we owners, there is nothing that can be done short of taking a big loss in order to purchase a vehicle that will accommodate chains. We own a pickup and can use it if we need to have chains and can leave the new $18,000 car in the garage. How many other people have that opportunity?

We are fully aware conditions rarely are so bad as to require chains but, so far this winter, that "chains required" sign has been up more than once on Highway 20 over Santiam Pass.

I hope this letter will be taken in the spirit in which it has been written.

Bob McFarlane

Tollgate

I very much appreciated the article "Special education working in Sisters" by Jim Hollon. I would like to offer one correction.

Multiple Sclerosis is not a disease of young children (perhaps Mr. Hollon was referring to Muscular Dystrophy).

MS is a disease of young adults. The onset of symptoms usually occur in adults aged 30 to 50. Rarely does MS strike someone under age 15.

Anyone wanting more information on MS, a disease of the central nervous system that currently affects 350,000500,000 people in the U.S., can contact the MS Foundation or National MS Society, both of whom have offices in Portland.

Sincerely,

Adrienne Van Bemmel

We wish to thank the EMTs of Sisters-Camp Sherman RFPD for their help during our father's heart troubles last week. Their ready response and professional skill got him safely to St. Charles where he is doing fine after bypass surgery.

Beyond that, their friendliness and concern made him and his family feel that he was in good hands a long way from home. Thanks for a job well done.

And thanks to the McConnville and Fitter families for their help and support. Good neighbors like these are what make Sisters a great place to live.

The Coon and Cornelius families