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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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:

I read with interest Jim Cornelius' article on the negotiations between the U. S. Forest Service and representatives of the Blue Mountain Bio-Diversity Project (The Nugget, October 7, page 1).

It is nothing short of amazing that this group, which is based in Eastern Oregon, is appealing this project. One wonders what the motivation is. Is it simply about power, are they appealing the project just because they can? Is it just an effort to "monkey wrench" a government project?

Karen Coulter is obviously against the Forest Service selling any timber of this project to sawmills. I don't understand why she is against the Forest Service trying to generate funds from the sale of logs to help lessen the impact to taxpayers.

Combine that with the cost of litigation being threatened by Ms. Coulter and her group and it's no wonder that this project is "high profile" with lots of local interest. Not only are local residents intensely interested in reducing the extreme fire danger in the Metolius Basin but it would be an added bonus if there wasn't an additional burden on the taxpayer.

Ms. Coulter is wrong and guilty of exaggeration when she says that the Metolius Project is nothing but a timber sale of enormous scale. The proceeds from the sale of timber wouldn't make but a small dent in the cost of the project.

Ms. Coulter is quoted as saying that her group wants to avoid logging large trees. The project allows the cutting of White Fir trees up to 16 inches in certain situations. Get out your tape measure and check it yourself; 16 inches isn't a large tree.

Hopefully Ms. Coulter will "butt out," drop her appeal, head home to Spray and let the Forest Service professionals (who obviously know more about the subject matter than she does) proceed with the Metolius Basin Project.

John F. Ferguson

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To the Editor:

My comment to Jim Cornelius about some people prefering to see the forest burn was actually a complaint about that quote in an article in The Source.

I include Congress in the group of people who would rather see the forests burn than see any management of our forests.

I invite Don McCartney (Letter, October 15) and anyone else interested in compromise on forest issues to get involved by coming to the Multi Party Monitoring Team meetings.

Call me at 420-3730.

Bruce Berryhill

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To the Editor,

I think I have the problem with the forest fire issue figured out, I know I have only 10 or 12 years fighting fires and am now retired, so I have more time to figure these things out.

We forgot to compromise with the forest fire, maybe we could have talked the fire into only burning 45,000 acres if we did not fight the thing.

I am sure that the Forest Service has no idea how to manage the forest and some environmental group has a better idea, like leaving more to burn, and certainly no thinning, no harvesting.

No money to be made off the forest by harvesting a crop of trees. No mill work, no taxes being paid, no improvement in the economy. No shopping in the local stores.

I wonder how many tourist dollars will be generated by those who want to come and look at our 90,000 acres of burned trees. Not many I am sure.

I do have a good question. How do you compromise on good science? Good science and good management go hand in hand.

Lest we forget we almost lost Camp Sherman; it could have gone either way. If the wind had been from out of the north or a little stronger...

We'd better let the managers manage and shelve the emotionally charged yep-yap and get to the real common sense management.

David Culver

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To the Editor:

Our current library is a real gem but it's just too small for our community needs. The Deschutes Public Library District Board, under the direction of Michael Gaston, has chosen the architect Rich Turi to build the library for Sisters based on his design for the 8,000-square-foot La Pine Library.

I recently visited the La Pine Library and was given an extensive tour by the main librarian, Carla Hopkins. She was quite enthusiastic about how well the space worked for her, library staff and patrons.

I would agree with her in terms of how the library functioned. However, when I stood outside the front of the library and asked myself, "does this have the look and feel of Sisters?"

It's those aesthetic qualities found in our present library that (are) held most dear: The garden with its tall trees, flowers and benches are always a treat for the eye. They lend a story-book quality to the library, an outdoor retreat, and serve to remind the viewer of the beauty found in the changing seasons.

I believe that all these qualities can be incorporated into the new library.

In addition, there will be an extensive collection of books, videos, computers, CDs and books-on-tape; a large children's area with room for story time reading; a large community meeting room and a much larger staff room.

Both in terms of function and aesthetics, my hope is that the new library will reflect not only the look and feel of Sisters, but will continue to be a gem that we all hold dear.

Paul Bennett

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To the Editor:

I have never been in the situation of the affected homeowners in Sisters, but have always thought it was the responsibility of the land developer to ensure that properties developed were to have utilities (including sewer hook-ups) to the lots during development.

This cost was then included in the cost of the property issued for sale.

Is/was this not the case in the City of Sisters? Also, shouldn't the planning/development department take this into consideration when issuing permits for development and or annexation of existing properties?

Bottom line: Has anyone at City Hall taken steps to prevent the recurrence of this type of situation? If not, why not?

Questions by a former resident.

LeRoy Giffen

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To the Editor:

On Thursday evening I watched "Oregon Field Guide" on OPB.

One of the subjects was very disturbing to me. The story was about the BLM police and the struggle to keep the vandals on BLM land in check. What in the world is the matter with a certain part of the citizenry who continues the slob activities and vandalism to our public property?

Who would throw a refrigerator or any other appliance into the Crooked River Gorge? Who would shoot bullet holes in the signs along the roads in the woods?

Us outdoor ATV (users) and target shooters are immediately suspected of doing all of the damage. I look at some of the faces of people who watch me when I head out with my pickup filled with the things which I enjoy. I have been told that we are a bunch of troublemakers.

We also care about this problem.

In the Camp Sherman-Metolius Basin area, we local citizens make an attempt to police and clean up the slob activities. It would be nice if people would give the BLM Police a hand in other areas. It takes little effort and gives support to the BLM and Forest Service personnel for the good works that they are involved in.

If all of us would take out more than we came in with, the forest would be a nicer place to visit.

John Tice

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To the Editor:

Twenty-two Costa Ricans were recently hosted by members of the Sisters community through the "Partners of the Americas" Oregon/Costa Rica program.

These Costa Ricans spent one month visiting various locations within Oregon, and they visited us in beautiful Central Oregon October 14-15.

In early 2004 a group of Oregonians will visit Costa Rica and be hosted by many of these same "Tico" families.

Two events worthy of mention took place: A visit to the High Desert Museum, where our guide spoke fluent Spanish, was of interest to our guests. Another highlight was a welcome dinner held at the Tollgate meeting hall.

I am writing this letter to express thanks to a group that represent the spirit of community present here in Sisters. When looking for a musical group to entertain, they stepped right up and put on a fabulous performance.

The "Ticos" expressed appreciation with loud applause, spirited dancing and requests for multiple encores.

The group that so deserves our thanks is The Anvil Blasters. Muchas gracias del "Ticos" and my thanks to Jim Cornelius, Al and Dianne Herauf, Charley Engel, Jeff Wester, and Lynn Woodward for your generous spirit and great music.

John C. Soutter

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To the Editor:

We know it is sometime after the fact but we would like to express our thanks to the following groups who helped save the community of Camp Sherman and all of the other communities that were involved in the B&B Complex Fires.

A special thanks to Mark Foster of The Camp Sherman Hasty Team for having the insight to recognize the potential danger to our community.

Over the years he has prepared the community by giving us all maps of the viable escape routes. The fire department has established a liaison person to check out each home and suggest things that could be improved to further protect our homes.

He has provided the necessary equipment for the Hasty Team to handle any kind of emergency.

A big thanks to one and all for all you have done for the community. Hopefully, there have been some lessons learned by all of us.

With sincere gratitude,

Lee and Betty Farm

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To the Editor:

Sisters High School sends a warm and heartfelt thank you to the Sisters Garden Club.

The Sisters Garden Club recently made a donation to the Sisters High School greenhouse which will aid in the construction of new raised beds in the greenhouse.

The Garden Club has been financially supportive of the high school greenhouse for the last three years.

The continued support of the Garden Club members has aided in creating a functional greenhouse facility.

Thank you again for your contribution!

Rima Givot