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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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:

Your newspaper, The Nugget, had a letter published October 31. This letter was from concerned water users of the Squaw Creek Irrigation District.

Let me just say that, first off, these people don't attend the irrigation district's general meeting. If they did, they would know just where the money has gone. Many of us in the irrigation district have sat back and watched Matt and Keith Cyrus drain our coffers. They (Cyrus) want to keep our irrigation district broke, with all the legal fees they have brought against the irrigation district.

Some of the fees incurred by the district are accounting fees and water user fees (whether water has been used during the year or not).

Lee Christensen who is up for re-election is and has been one of the hardest-working people on the board. The person opposing Lee for this board position has already served on the board, but resigned.

The current board is a wonderful board and all the Squaw Creek Irrigation water users should be grateful to have this group looking out for their best interests.

Next time you have some concerns, attend one of the general meetings before you go spouting off.

Ann Wright

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To the Editor:

No matter what time of year it is we all expect central Oregon's highways to be in good driving condition. As winter approaches it is even more important that our highways are safe for our daily commute to work, business trips over the pass or family holiday gatherings.

The people responsible for the confidence we all have in our state highway system are the maintenance crews of the Oregon Department of Transportation. Although the focus of their work changes with the seasons their goal is always the same: providing motorists with the safest and most efficient transportation system possible.

During the winter months, ODOT maintenance crews are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to keep highways clear of snow, ice, mud and rock slides. Crews work day and night shifts to provide the public with safe traveling conditions.

Maintenance specialists apply sand and other materials to break the bond between ice and the road surface, push and remove snow from the mountain passes with snowplows and snow blowers and respond to accidents and stranded motorists.

We will do our part to keep the roads clear of snow and ice.

It is important that motorists do their part to ensure safe travel during the winter months.

First and foremost allow extra time for your daily commute and drive prudent to the conditions. Excessive speed is the most common cause of accidents during the winter months.

Be prepared and use traction tires or carry the appropriate traction devices.

Prior to leaving home visit www.tripcheck.com for the latest information on road and weather conditions. The site also provides access to roadside cameras located on all the major mountain passes and highways throughout the state.

Have a winter survival kit in your vehicle in case you become stranded for an extended period of time.

Winter travel in Central Oregon can be tricky. Weather and road conditions can change quickly and often. Stay informed, be prepared, drive with care and reach your destination safely. Let's all do our part to make the winter of 2001-2002 a safe and enjoyable one.

Pat Creedican

District 10 Maintenance Manager, Bend

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Letter to the Editor

The Second Annual "Sponsor A Scarecrow" Fund-raiser was a huge success this year raising over $1,400 for the Sisters Middle School "Helping Hands" fund.

This fund was established for students who need scholarships for Outdoor School and activities fees for sports and school programs.

The winning scarecrow was created by Mr. Patton's Guideroom for The Gallimaufry. They win an ice cream party.

We'd like to acknowledge second place's scarecrow as "BJ & Friends" hair lady and third place goes to the newspaper scarecrow for "The Nugget Newspaper."

All the scarecrows were wonderful and it was hard to choose.

Special thanks goes to the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce for judging, Tim Clasen and Bill Kelleher for providing time and help with this project.

Thank you to the SMS staff for their involvement and hard work. Please take time to visit these colorful guests in town. They will be up till November 16. Thank you to the sponsoring businesses for their support.

Diana Kelleher and Jackie Kolb

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To the Editor:

Once again the Sisters Library Halloween Parade was a huge success. A very special thank you goes to all the Sisters merchants, the Sisters Rotary Club volunteers, Barbara Turner of SOAR and the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office.

This year we had over 350 children and 65 merchants participate in this annual event. It's wonderful to see the parents, grandparents, children and store owners all enjoy a colorful and festive parade.

Thank you all for making another Halloween Parade a success.

Yours truly,

Peg Bermel, Sisters Librarian