Letters, letters, letters

The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer's name, address and phone number. Letters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday.

To the Editor:

This letter is in response to a statement made by Mayor Steve Wilson last Thursday night at a hearing regarding the development agreement for the proposed Barclay Meadow industrial subdivision:

Mayor Wilson stated publicly that five years ago residents of Trapper Point were solicited by a mailing for input regarding ultimate development of this specific section of Barclay Ranch. He stated that residents were asked whether they preferred high density residential or light industrial use as alternative potential uses.

Research was conducted by polling current and former property owners of Trapper Point as to their receipt of any document or other evidence regarding input for potential future use of the property in question.

Current and former residents contacted have emphatically denied receiving any such material suggesting input of the property's future use.

The integrity of this statement as well other comments was challenged by some of those in attendance as untrue and misleading with the express intent to persuade members of the city council and others in attendance for approval of the development agreement.

It was apparent to many in attendance that a decision on the part of most of the city council to approve this agreement was made well in advance of the hearing and in spite of very credible evidence offered in opposition.

By definition the term "hearing" implies listening and giving consideration to all viewpoints of issues requiring decisions. In this particular matter, fairness to this process was totally absent.

Respectfully,

Roy R. Schulke

President, Trapper Point Home Owners Association

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To the Editor:

Last week, the Sisters City Council passed a development agreement between the City of Sisters and Barclay Meadows/Lundgren Mill Business Parks. Before it passed, however, there was discussion among the councilmen and citizens present.

Councilman Tim Clasen raised a point that both Redmond and Bend's light industrial parks are NOT placed close to residences. I've noticed the same thing. He's entirely correct.

I'll take it one step further. Recently, I've been on several airline flights around the United States. During takeoffs and landings at large urban airports, I've noticed that light industrial parks and residences are NOT placed near one another. In fact, from the air, I've seen buffers of what appears to be up to thousands of feet between light industry and homes!

In the Fall of 1999, Deschutes County Hearings Officer Karen Green denied the Barclay Meadows/Lundgren Mill applicants development requests due to "incompatibility to the neighbors to the north." This was just one issue in her denial; there were others.

This is not just a "not in my backyard" mentality, it's a nationwide trend to keep buffer zones between light industry and residences. This common-sense trend has been ignored by our county commissioners, the City of Sisters and the developers.

Sincerely,

Marilyn Ebner

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To the Editor:

As our son finishes kindergarten this year, we are thankful for his safe and adequate classroom and facilities at the Elementary school. We all know that time flies and it won't be long before he will be attending middle school. We ARE NOT looking forward to him attending school in the current unsafe and inadequate middle school.

As a community do we want to continue to pay high energy bills and sink more money into increasing maintenance costs at the current middle school? Lets pass the bond when interest rates are low and build adequate facilities now that will last well into the future. Thanks to the school board for spending many hours researching numerous options and deciding on the most cost-effective plan for our children.

We are given another opportunity to pass the bond on May 15. Please join us in voting YES on the school bond.

Sincerely,

Rod and Susan Robinson

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To the Editor:

I wish to express our appreciation to the supporters of our Annual Easter Egg Hunt.

To the contestants and their families, it was a delightful day to enjoy this family event.

A special thanks to Spurge Cochran who has been our "Easter Bunny" for over 20 years and greeted all who attended.

The Sisters-Camp Sherman Volunteer Fire & Ambulance Association takes great pleasure in providing this event to our community. Kids -- we will see you all next year!

Stephen Fisher