Letters, letters, letters

To the Editor:

Can anyone imagine this county or for that matter, our town without a library? A library is part of life in America.

Even for those who seldom use it, it's presence is reassuring as a source of information, entertainment, education and life-long learning.

And yet, Deschutes County will be without it's library system if we don't all vote. The funding asked for will keep the library system operating, will give us improved services, more books, longer hours, etc.

Library expenses are reduced by volunteer workers and fund raising activities by the Friends of the Library. Membership in the county system gives us access to a vast amount of material.

Sisters' Library is a unique place. Going to the library is like going to a friend's home. The librarian and the volunteers who help her are like friends and often are. They are tireless in their efforts to help their patrons. Our community has built this library. Let's keep it open by voting in the September election. Since it is a vote by mail, voting couldn't be easier.

Georgia Gallagher

To the Editor:

The Sisters Library serves many important functions in our community, not the least of which is helping to educate our children.

I enjoy watching the children sitting in their special section of the library. They select books off the shelf, holding onto some and rejecting others.

The library is always one of our first stops when the grandchildren come to visit. We know from experience that children who enjoy reading and become good readers build positive self-esteem. Their visits to the library also offer the rate opportunity to assert independence because they make their own choices of the books they want to read.

Please post your ballot before September 15. A "yes" vote will keep our library doors open and assure that it will provide very valuable resources for our children as well as the rest of the community.

Julia Hammond

To the Editor:

Our children are back in school and the sound of their voices and their laughter carry throughout the community. Sisters takes great pride in raising many happy and healthy young people. It is the successes of these children that truly indicate the vitality of our city. One of the key factors to this achievement is the great impact of the Sisters Organization for Activities and Recreation (SOAR)on these young lives.

Hundreds of children each year participate in one of the many SOAR programs. Activities range in scope from simple school work assistance and arts/crafts projects to complete sports programs in taekwando and gymnastics. Special attention is given to provide fun activities during the summer vacation and school break periods. All of these programs are offered to the participants at a very low cost and no child is ever turned away due to inability to pay.

As usual, all good programs seem to come to an end. The overwhelming success of SOAR to attract the attention of our youth has led to a financial shortage. We will be asked in November to approve a new SOAR district tax base. The 22 cents per thousand tax rate will be one of the greatest investments in our community that we could make. Each dollar that we invest in the children of Sisters is one less dollar needed to cope with juvenile crime and drug use. We urge you to carefully consider this ballot issue and vote yes for our children this November.

Thank you,

Tim and Deanna Muir

To the Editor:

I attended the city's educational workshop on System Development Charges (SDC) and the measure to change the city charter. This is what l learned:

1. SDCs are a calculated charge to new homes and commercial buildings that insure that they pay for their impact on existing systems, such as water and sewer. They are also designed to make new development pay if it creates a need for additional systems.

2. Our existing SDC is for water only, since we have no other plan in place. This amount is $2,867 for a single family dwelling. It is the second highest SDC in Oregon according to a January 1998 survey conducted by ARLU DeCo.

3. The state has very specific guidelines for calculating SDC's. No one could think of another city in the state that has found it necessary to amend their city charter to include charging high SDCs.

4. A plan has to be in place before costs can be determined. We have a water plan, (which would have to be reviewed if the measure passed) and our sewer plan cannot be determined until all of the grants have been secured. We have no park or transportation plan. Developing plans is very time consuming and costly to the city ($15,000 - $20,000 each). They are necessary, but should be developed as time and the budget allow. Under the measure, this would have to be accomplished within in 180 days of passage.

I've decided that I will vote "no" on this measure. We don't need a bad amendment to the city's charter. The language is very ambiguous and is open to any number of interpretations and possible litigation against the city.

Since the state already provides us with guidelines, I see no reason to waste the council's time and the city's money with this unnecessary burden. Council has already proven themselves very capable of forming SDCs for Sisters when they developed them for our water.

Thank you,

Melanie Curry Director, Citizens for Cooperative Urban Planning

To the Editor:

We recently enjoyed a spectacular vacation in your area.

On August 15, we arrived in your area looking for Black Butte Ranch and by error followed the signs to Black Butte RV Park. On our way out we were stopped by a sheriff's vehicle and given a ticket of $107 for going 50 in a 35 mile zone. We were 50 yards from where the 50 mile zone began.

My objection is not to the ticket, though it was a mean one... it is to the amount of time we had to sit in the car waiting to be ticketed. When the officer approached us we were asked if we had any legal reason to go that speed. Was that a rhetorical question?

My husband answered no, except that we had a two year old in a car seat who had been traveling for a long time and we were anxious to get him out.

My husband mentioned our long travel time to this officer, who went back to his truck and left us sitting there for nearly half an hour while he talked on his car mike, knowing that this child was strapped in his car seat.

Subsequently, my grandson (the two-year-old) had an asthma/respiratory attack in the middle of the night where he was in extreme respiratory distress. The Black Butte Ranch Fire Department responded in less than four minutes and, in less time than it took the sheriff to ticket us, most likely saved our grandson's life.

Tim and his assistants were quick, capable and compassionate. They should be highly commended and congratulated. Tim even cared enough to call back in the morning to see how Dylan was and to recommend a check-up in Portland.

It was a good balance to our "Welcome to Oregon."

Carol Henry

Editor's note: Black Butte R.V. Park is located in Camp Sherman, in the jurisdiction of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.