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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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:

Like many others, I've watched as our school board and administration have gone through many gyrations to come to the point they say the proposed high school is "under budget." Now, "under budget" is a relative term. To them, it's under $21 million. To me, it's over the $20.5 million dollars that the voters approved and consequently, "over budget."

I disagree with the approach of starting high (a $29 million dollar school), cutting back amenities and features that we shouldn't have had anyway and proudly announcing that "we're under budget!" Better, in my view, to start with the fundamentals and add amenities and enhancements as the dollars come available.

I believe the bond interest should be returned to the taxpayers. Way back when, the board elected to ask the voters for a high school "not to exceed $20.5 million dollars." The voters approved that.

Great schools are not made of bricks and mortar. They derive from attentive students, motivated teachers, involved parents and administrators with high expectations, all of which we have. There seems to be an unhealthy emphasis on spending as much money as possible, erecting way more square footage than is necessary and saddling the taxpayers with significant, long term debt.

This unhealthy emphasis led to disturbing allegations at a recent school board meeting. Opponents of this rush to spend were said to be committing crimes against children. Say what?! This shrill, divisive, inflammatory rhetoric has no place in our discourse. One can only gape slackjawed at such alarming self-righteousness.

In a recent letter to the editor, B. Graham not only hit the nail on the head but drove it with one, bold stroke, cautioning the school board against building an edifice to their tenure. Proposing a gold-plated 700 student high school with a 900-seat auditorium plus other unnecessary amenities could well backfire when the voters next go to the polls.

I urge the board to return the interest to the taxpayers, rein in the costs and get the total well south of $21 million dollars!

Lon Kellstrom

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To the Editor:

Dogs, dogs, dogs. Does anyone care for peace and quiet anymore?

One reason I moved out in the country is to have a little P&Q. I must have a dozen or more neighbors with dogs that have no or little supervision. Night or day they are left to bark, growl, snort, scream, howl and complain for someone to pay attention to them. It appears as though these dog owners have no respect for their dogs or their neighbors.

One cannot enjoy their patio, their garden, to wash their car, have a picnic in their back yard or even a peaceful walk to their mail box.

I have talked to these people kindly, just to have some use the four letter word on me (and it was not LOVE). I have complained to the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office numerous times with no satisfaction. They do little to nothing, and this has gone on for over three years.

Does anyone have a 1,000-acre parcel in the wilderness they would like to sell me, cheap?

Shell Surgeon

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To the Editor:

Thank you to all the participants in the Christmas parade Saturday. It was a great turnout and everyone was great.

Everyone really helped make this a great parade. The snowfall really added to the effect.

A very special thank you to Santa and Mrs. Claus (aka Dan Higgins and Shawn Taylor), you were absolutely terrific.

The turnout after the parade for visiting with Santa at the chamber was wonderful. A lot of spirit was there and the children with their happy faces.

I am so very thankful to live in a community like this. The people, the scenery, and the community support is what makes Sisters a wonderful town.

Again, thanks to everyone for making this year's parade so much fun.

Sincerely,

Jeri Buckmann

Events Coordinator

Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce

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To the Editor:

Hi, my name is Rose Holm and I just recently moved from Sisters.

I used to work at the Sisters Market and I just wanted to say thank you to the people of Sisters for being so great. I miss you all.

Rose Holm

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To the Editor:

President Bush established an propaganda office to convince Arabs that America is a good guy, not the Great Satan.

If the Palestinians' plight is the issue, here's the ultimate propaganda coup (from Molly Ivins, taken a step further). Imagine one Gaza Arab saying to another, "Wow! America is building a luxury hotel resort here in Gaza, where we can get jobs! And building us better houses! Bin Laden never did that -- actually made our lives easier. He just feeds us empty rhetoric."

Let's do it; let's build two resorts: one in the West Bank, one in Gaza. Let Hilton, or Trump, or some other hotel expert, build and run it for five or ten years, using their worldwide networks to get the project firmly established with a loyal clientele. Let them pass on expertise and connections to Arab personnel who would ultimately own and run the thing.

Maybe Disney could help with landscaping -- an inviting garden atmosphere with a lake, tennis courts, golf courses, and other recreational opportunities. Profits could go toward helping finance affordable housing for the Arab workers, via Habitat for Humanity. This ought to interest Jimmy Carter.

Additional profits could fund a clinic (probably at a different locale) to provide badly-needed medical services, and hospice care.

Though possibly needed to oust an oppressive Taliban, the bombs and destruction just feed the Arabs' image of America as the aggressor nation. Let's show them the real American Way: provide the things Palestinians need and want: a living wage, decent housing, ample food, and some fluffy creature comforts. Give them the good life that we, until September 11, have always taken for granted. It would show bin Laden for what he is: one who doesn't really care for the Palestinians, but merely uses their suffering as an excuse to justify his own violent agenda, and increase his personal power and wealth.

June Forsyth