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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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:

As a visitor to the wonderful town of Sisters, I had to write regarding the subject of McDonald's coming to Sisters.

While there may be many reasons pro and con for a McDonald's to come to Sisters, I felt it necessary to write due to the comment by the interim planning director, Brian Rankin, in the June 23 article.

Mr. Rankin commented that since the golden arches are a "corporate logo, the city can't tell them they can't have it."

Perhaps Mr. Rankin should contact the City of Sedona, Arizona's, planning department to find out how they were able to persuade McDonald's to not use their golden arches at the restaurant in Sedona.

If you have been to the town of Sedona, you would see that McDonald's does not use the golden arches and instead has turquoise arches to match the southwestern architecture of the town.

It was amazing to see and quite refreshing that a large corporation had to conform to the picturesque surroundings and not the city having to change its standards.

Sisters is such a lovely town, and as a visitor from an urban area, I would hate to see its charm spoiled.

Thanks,

Laura Dobbins

Castro Valley, California

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To the Editor:

This letter is in response to Mr. Detweiler's allegations of extensive logging in the Eyerly Fire north of Sisters. How is treating 4,846 acres of a 23,573 acre fire considered extensive?

I am curious if Mr. Detweiler has ever driven through the Eyerly fire to see what work has been done before he wrote his letter to the editor. If he was to read the EIS or take a trip up the 11 Road and drive through the fire he would see that thousands of acres are not going to be treated.

If I could make a decision regarding the Eyerly Fire Salvage I would propose treatment throughout the whole fire (salvage logging), but it is not my decision to make that call. I am thankful that the USFS is trying to treat 4,846 acres of the fire.

I would also like to address Mr. Detweiler's claim that the USFS lets a fire go big for the revenue of salvage logging. The Forest Service has been working on the Eyerly Salvage since 2002 by detailing specialists and employing presale crews and silviculture crews.

These dollars spent to employ these people add up fast. How can the Forest Service be making money off this salvage? There are no logs presently being cut from the fire. It has been two years since the fire burned and most of the timber that could be salvaged is already unmarketable.

Shannon Esterman

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To the Editor:

Two characters were dropped from my letter on weeds last week, changing obnoxious to noxious.

Noxious weeds (knapweed and Dalmation toadflax) can get you a fine from the city. Obnoxious weeds are merely obnoxious.

Cheat grass, filaree, common mallow, wild lettuce, lambsquarters, red-rooted pigweed, chickweed, burr clover, and mullein qualify as obnoxious weeds. If you let them set seed in your garden, they will be back with a vengeance next year. One year seeding means seven years weeding. Some seeds will even last 50 years.

Bruce Berryhill

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To the Editor:

A huge thank you to Sisters for another fabulous Quilt Show! It "takes a village" to host this event and I'd like to share my appreciation for your support.

Almost every business in Sisters supports the show financially and we could not have a show without your involvement. Your dollars account for about half the revenue we receive (the other half coming from commissions on quilt sales) and go towards advertising, printing, porta potties, donations to school and volunteer groups and a thousand other little expenses.

Volunteers are the heart and soul of the show. Volunteers work in the Quilt Show Office receiving and returning quilts, they hang and take down quilts, they greet visitors and keep an eye on the quilts on Quilt Show day, they run errands, set up tents, answer phones and visitor questions. I thank each and every one of you for contributing your time, energy, ideas and resources.

I'd like to single out Todd and Myrna Dow and thank them for their expertise, encouragement, enthusiasm and thoughtfulness. Our town is lucky to have gallery owners of their caliber -- they have and will continue to add incredible value to the Sisters retail community.

Year after year our visitors are in awe of our show. I am proud to be involved with the Quilt Show and I am proud to say I live in Sisters -- this is a community that can pull off the seemingly impossible and do it with style!

Ann Richardson

Executive Director, Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

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To the Editor:

We have just returned from a trip to Sisters to visit the 2004 Sisters Quilt Show. We attended the show with great expectations which were quickly dashed due to unorganization of the event and lack of information.

In addition, we feel the show should be contained so that all quilts being displayed could be seen in a more enjoyable manner. Quilts displayed high on buildings look nice, but the labels could not be read.

May we suggest that two to three side streets be cordoned off and quilts be displayed in the same way that the teacher's quilts were.

We were also curious why other quilt store vendors were not present. It is our opinion that by bringing in outside vendors would only serve to enhance the economic state of Sisters.

Sincerely,

Jane Klocker, Alice Epler, Connie Chapman and Gayl James, Yuba City, California

Quilt Show founder Jean Wells Keenan reports that she has spoken to Ms. Klocker and discovered that her complaints were based on incorrect expectations created by reading a national quilt article. Ms. Klocker's concerns were reportedly greatly allieviated.

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To the Editor:

Here's a little wake-up call for all you people out there who profess to be followers of Christ, Jesus and at the same time defend this nation's invasion of Iraq.

You haven't yet learned the teachings of the Master. Either that, or you've simply chosen to turn your back on Him. If that's the case, then you need to understand that all the high-tech weaponry in the world won't protect you from Him!

Those who call themselves by His name are called to be the salt of the earth. But when the salt has lost its savor, then it is good for nothing, but to be trodden under the foot of men.

It's an insult to true Christians everywhere to condone hunting down one's enemies, real or imagined, as self-defense and in harmony with Christ's teachings!

I, personally, don't have any difficulty with a non-Christian's belief that the best way to respond to violence is with violence, but there's no place for such thinking among Christ's people.

Let's not be guilty of trying to make the ways of God resemble the ways of men.

Sincerely,

Duane Ernest Hanson,

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