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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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:

There are conflict of interest questions connected with the annexation proposal that have not yet been answered.

Dan Berrey's December 5 letter to The Nugget raised such questions.

He asked, "if any independent consultant was called by (school Superintendent Steve) Swisher to commit the district to increase the sewer line by 20 to 40 percent... and if (then board chairman Bill) Reed had any involvement and received personal benefit or even perception of one from increasing the line by having the district paying for half, then you do have a story for the taxpayers."

He adds, "Did the board or its members have any input in the decision with this added cost? If they did and you have a board member who didn't abstain from that decision or possible vote, you clearly have someone who had a conflict of interest and appropriate actions need to be taken with the State Attorney General's office on possible ethics charges."

If the annexation is passed, the 90-acre McKinney Butte Ranch becomes adjacent to the school property. Requirements for trying to upzone land outside the Urban Growth Boundary are that it is first adjacent to the UGB and then that a plan amendment is required to bring it into the city.

If it were upzoned the McKinney Butte Ranch would receive a huge windfall in land value (along with significant westward sprawl as development resulted).

The reports (Nugget, November 28) suggest that Swisher and Reed worked out a deal for the sewer expansion without knowledge of the board. It so happens that the expanded sewer would be needed for any future McKinney Butte development.

If the public interest has been compromised in the school planning, the voters need to have the full picture before approving annexation. It would be unfortunate for a new school plan to be compromised by serving purposes other than the public interest.

William Boyer

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To the Editor:

I was a little disappointed that there wasn't a note with Jim Anderson's letter to the editor (February 20) clarifying that there was, indeed, an official notice of a Tollgate Board Meeting February 11, to review the multi-use trail.

Our business manager Betty Fadeley is extraordinarily efficient and not only was the meeting posted on the Tollgate bulletin boards, but she also made sure there was a public notice in the announcement section of the February 6 Nugget (as she does with all of our board meetings).

Deb Sether

Chair, Tollgate Property Owners Association

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To the Editor:

I agree with Jim Anderson regarding Tollgate's bike path ballot. Jim is concerned because he is one of a few property owners who would lose the privacy they have come to expect in Tollgate, should the bike path ballot measure pass.

However, Jim, there were at least three recent board meetings that included discussions of this ballot. Sadly, my husband and I are often the only attendees at the Tollgate Board meetings.

Tollgate property owners, I urge you to attend all Tollgate Board meetings. This is the only way you will know what changes the board is considering, and the only way your opinion can be heard. However, the board also needs to start assuring that the makeup of any committee to study an issue includes property owners who will be negatively impacted by a change.

I will not be voting for the bike path. I believe that it is wrong to remove rights from property owners if those rights were established when they purchased property and were considered important to their decision to purchase property in Tollgate.

I know many feel that this is simply a matter of letting the majority rule -- but when you are removing property rights, I think that considering the rights of the minority should prevail.

Proponents of the ballot insist that having a bike path is a necessary safety measure. I disagree. I see no evidence that safety issues for the use of the bike path, such as signage and right-of-way, have been adequately included in the bike path plan. If these issues are not addressed, we are setting ourselves up for some serious accidents and resulting liability and I have expressed this concern repeatedly to the board.

Respectfully,

Nancy Buffinton-Kelm

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To the Editor.

The Sisters Veterans Group is considering a tribute to the mothers, wives (or husbands) of United States Armed Forces Personnel serving on active duty status during the present Terrorist War.

In order to accomplish this it is necessary for us to obtain the names of the persons presently serving, and the names and contact information of the mothers, wives or husbands, as the case may be.

This honor is presently limited to those persons residing within the Sisters School District.

If anyone who reads this knows of one of the above people, and is interested in participating, please contact me at the phone number listed below. Your assistance will be gratefully appreciated and will determine if this project goes forward or not.

Write P.O. Box 1524 or call 549-0592.

Phil Chlopek, Commander

American Legion Post 86

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To the Editor:

I am writing this letter to the people of Sisters who are interested in supporting an organization devoted to helping children grow into good citizens with a spiritual foundation.

I have had the good fortune of being a past huddle leader (along with Guy Gleason) for junior high students in an organization called Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).

FCA is about reaching children in a spiritual manner and helping them apply themselves as best they can in any undertaking, whether it be scholastically, athletically or in personal relationships.

When I was a leader, our huddle consisted of children from multiple churches and some with no church affiliation. Some attendees were athletes and some were not. All interested students are welcome at FCA huddles.

Central Oregon currently has an FCA director, a board and numerous huddles dedicated to having fun, teaching positive life skills and helping students grow spiritually. In addition to supporting the huddles, the FCA leadership organizes larger events such as the Night of Champions, featuring well-known athletic keynote speakers.

In order to continue providing FCA programs and leadership in Central Oregon, financial support is needed. If many individuals, businesses and/or churches are willing to support FCA with small financial contributions, it can make a difference in the lives of many youth throughout Central Oregon.

If you feel this is something you would like to support, please call me at 549-1614.

FCA has been a blessing to our family.

Thank you,

Greg Everson

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To the Editor:

Congratulations to Citizen Of The Year, Bob Grooney.

Bob is always at the front of the line when help is needed to make things better in our town. Sisters is fortunate to have a citizen like Bob who takes such a genuine interest in the development and future of our community.

We are grateful for his dedication, leadership and friendship.

Colin and Alice Adams

Tucson/Camp Sherman

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To the Editor:

As co-captain of the Sisters High School Swim Team, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the people of Black Butte Ranch for their tremendous support.

Since our school doesn't have a pool, Black Butte Ranch has graciously allowed us to use their facilities to practice. The swim team has been such an important aspect of all our high school experiences, and we would be lacking many wonderful memories without it.

The people at Black Butte Ranch have given us an opportunity that might have otherwise passed us by, and for that we are very grateful.

Sincerely,

Jamie Cundiff and The SHS Swim Team