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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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:

In response to Mark Kershner's February 18, letter to the editor: It is a lie to assert that celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is racist.

It is also a lie to assert that objecting to the celebration of Dr. King's life is promoting racial equality.

The truth is that we celebrate Dr. King because he gave his life in the fight to guarantee all Americans the civil rights written in our constitution. The truth is that there is a small minority that will never accept Dr. King as a great American because he was black.

Peter Bearzi

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To the Editor:

In his letter to the editor last week, Mr. Harpham stated that the purpose of the First Amendment says nothing that allows for separation of church and state because that was not the original intent of the amendment.

Might I also conclude then, that Mr. Harpham is also not in favor of citizens being allowed to own guns if they are not part of the militia, as was the original intent of the statement "right to bear arms" from the Second Amendment?

Lynn Partridge

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To the Editor:

What kind of retired professor is Professor Boyer? Certainly not economics. His pseudo-economics come right out of a Democratic Party talking points list made for their politicians to spin out to the media.

Just for starters, his understanding of supply and demand is totally incorrect. He acts like he has never heard of the market mechanism connecting them (Adam Smith's Invisible Hand). In fact, supply and demand (for a particular commodity or service) only gets really out of balance when government action fouls up the feedback market loop. Examples of this in the past have been price controls and production goals imposed by both Republican and Democratic government action.

His discussion of supply side economics (SSE), a media derived term by the way, is also incorrect. SSE had to do with increasing the supply of money to the consumer by tax cuts, not to a government directed policy of increasing the supply of goods.

Today it is pretty well a proven economic fact that tax cuts are stimulating and tax increases are depressing.

He then asserts that class warfare is a Republican goal since they propose a tax cut for everyone, not the targeted tax cuts so favored by the Democrats? Targeted tax cuts, now there is real class warfare! It doesn't bug me that the upper income categories get most of the tax cuts as they pay most of the income taxes. The top 10 percent of income earners pay probably close to 60 percent of income taxes.

And what is wrong with not taxing dividends twice as Bush proposes? Reasonable arguments also could be made for the reduction or elimination of taxes on capital gains on the basis of risk and inflation effects on the invested assets.

In addition, the depression of the 1930s was a worldwide event, not just a U.S. event, linked more to worldwide protectionist economic policies and had nothing to do with economic parity or fairness in the U.S.

For the record, I am also an Emeritus Professor (of Forest Engineering and I like to see trees cut, even big ones).

Carl Yee

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To the Editor:

Do we need to hire a new school superintendent?

Can we afford to have our own school district? Do we need one? How about a more economic alternative? What are the costs for people, benefits, overhead, equipment, etc.?

The Nugget's February 12 "School spending compared statewide" article showed we are several hundred dollars higher in Sisters ($7,553) versus $6,892 for Bend-La Pine, and $6,504 for Redmond. The differences were explained as due to "larger districts benefit from economies of scale."

Consider these points:

1. The Bend-La Pine superintendent manages 19 schools (13,015 students), including five high schools. 2. the Redmond district has nine schools (5,667 students) including 1,800 high schoolers. 3. Sisters has just three sites (1,153 students) with only 450 high schoolers, plus 20 students in Camp Sherman. 4. The State of Oregon has shrunk from 400 to 198 schools districts in the past 15 years. 5. Budgets are bare bone and savings must be found.

Our high standards could be maintained by: letting our school principals manage and coordinate courses between each school level; our many excellent parent-volunteers; and our excellent teachers (who come here because our classrooms have discipline, respect, and parent support).

Our school board could continue to oversee standards, policies, and certain unique aspects of our community while we use Redmond's superintendent. He is a former "Superintendent of the Year' for Oregon. Local control would still be monitored by our school board.

This would be a substantial saving for our community. Savings that could provide funds for sports, and/or a language elective, and teachers. Please come and ask some questions at the March 3 school board meeting - 7 p.m. at the high school.

Dave and Judy Kell

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To the Editor:

Thank you, thank you one and all for the outpouring of love and prayers during Mom's illness and now in her passing.

Those prayers were answered so many times in the last couple of months, they made it possible for her to celebrate her 83rd birthday on New Year's Day. God is awesome and so is everyone who touched her life.

Our thanks began with the wonderful medic team from Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District who answered our first cry for help. The entire staff on the fifth floor at St. Charles and the helpful, caring workers from Cascade Home Care.

A very special thanks to the blessed people of Hospice who were with us, they are God sent for sure.

To the Gallery, for the grand gathering of her many dear friends, we know how you are missing her. The "Two O'clock Bunch" will never be the same!

Mom's life is one to be celebrated! There is, of course, much sorrow in her passing, but those who knew her would agree that it's time to get on with all our lives...to the fullest...because that's what she did...live life to the fullest!

She was so much to so many...Granny Grunt, Gi Gi, Grammy, Mom, Georgia Rae and Hey You.

Mom expressed great gratitude to Three Sisters Fellowship for the constant prayer vigil kept for her and us. In honor of her journey, donations may be made to: Three Sisters Fellowship Yucatan Mission Fund, P.O. Box 1045, Sisters, OR 97759.

Thanking all again for helping to make Mom's 17 years here in Sisters such a special time in her life.

The family of Georgia Hinkey