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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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:

Whether deliberate or unintentional, the guest commentary (August 25) about Congressman Walden's recent hearing in Sisters was highly misleading.

I was among those invited to testify at the hearing.

First, this was a formal congressional committee hearing like those held on Capitol Hill but in a local setting. And like the public hearings on Capitol Hill, the rules restrict the discussion to the committee and those invited to testify. At the same time, Congressman Walden emphasized that the public was invited to submit written comments about the issues being discussed.

Second, I can only speak for myself, but I was not in any way told what to say. I was invited because I have expertise relevant to the issues being discussed, and what I wrote and said were my own words. As a professional, I resent the implication that my testimony was part of some sort of orchestrated "propaganda" and therefore not credible.

Third, in discussing watershed concerns, the guest commentator reveals his own "bias" by not mentioning the hearing discussions directly related to these concerns. The broad, unqualified generalizations about erosion rates from logging and roads similarly suggest the author's own "script" for promoting a negative image of these practices.

Fourth, by including references to a vague technical background the author is likewise "transparent" in his own attempt to gain credibility. Knowledgeable professionals recognize how this credibility is seriously undermined by the gross exaggeration that contemporary road construction and timber harvesting "usually" result in a 100-fold increase in erosion rates.

The Nuggetarticle (August 25, pg. 1) about the hearing provided a fair account of the proceedings, including information about submitting public testimony. Written testimony from the hearing will be posted at the House Resources Committee web site: http://resourcescommittee. house.gov/archives/108/ffh/index.htm.

Interested citizens should carefully review this information and judge for themselves the nature and value of this hearing.

Paul W. Adams, Ph.D.

Corvallis & Camp Sherman

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To the Editor:

Tom Davis claims to know a lot about forest operations and erosional consequences from such operations. He also claims that the Walden hearing was biased, one-sided and misleading.

Since I was out of town doing compliance audits on forest operations in two states, I cannot speak to the conduct of the hearing. However, having been a witness before such committees, I know that they are usually run by "House Rules" and witnesses are invited. The more eco-oriented members of the committee apparently did not attend this hearing nor did they apparently invite any speakers.

Mr. Davis' comments are incorrect and are not substantiated by the published science and research or by my professional experiences. His sweeping generalizations and exaggerations about erosion rates from logging and road construction and his presenting a black or white image of these practices suggests a real lack of knowledge of field operations or that the author has his own agenda in this area.

Current research, Oregon Deptartment of Forestry Harvesting Practices Compliance report and various agency and other groups' monitoring efforts regarding streams in Oregon and other West Coast states indicates that the opposite of what Mr. Davis claims is occurring. Forest practice regulations are protecting stream habitat, water quality, and soil productivity and the trend continues to improve.

I state the above as an expert in the field of forest operations, especially roads and harvesting. I have co-written a chapter on forest roads and erosional consequences in the landmark compendium entitled, "Influences of Forest and Rangeland Management on Salmonid Habitat," serve on the Oregon Interdisciplinary Scientific Management Team (IMST) for the Salmon Plan, have published over 20 articles and publications on forest operations and erosion, and have inspected over two million acres in the last five years for sustainable practices in forest operations.

I am also very familiar with the literature in this field and can't say I have ever come across any works by Mr. Davis.

Forest operations have changed markedly over the last decade and a half and compared to other land uses are proving to be rather benign under modern forest practice regulations.

Carlton S. Yee, Ph.D., RPF

Consulting Forester

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To the Editor:

I ask our city council and city manager what are you thinking?

I guess it is not actually my city council. There was a recent opening on the city council and I personally applied to fill the seat. My wife owns a business right in the center of town where we spend most of our waking hours. We have children in every school in the Sisters School District. And we also spend most of our income at businesses in the city.

With all of this I am not allowed to sit on the city council because I live in Crossroads.

I ask the city council and the city manager, what is the vision you hold of Sisters?

The last city planner left at a time when we needed his historical perspective on such matters of growth. Does it seem odd to anyone that right after his departure we hire a firm out of Portland to take care of our city planning?

And a month or so later we have a Mickey D's moving in on the west side and on the east side a major plan to bring in ... unattractive and impersonal establishments.

Why am I told we have such a parking problem that for my wife to expand her business she must pay $5,000 per parking space for the seats added? Why do five of these precious parking spaces get to be tied off for one business in the Towne Square?

A variance granted to the east side development makes no sense to me; the developers are taking away from our town's uniqueness and we are giving them a financial break to do this. The small businesses are not being taken into account in my judgment as we sell our town to the highest bidder.

I ask where is the integrity in our city, when my wife hung a banner that listed just her hours, (yes the banner had a Pepsi Logo); she was told within 24 hours to take it down. One week later three businesses were allowed to hang corporate logo banners (two of them for alcohol). They were allowed to hang for over a week.

A level playing field and a vision of where we are going is all we ask.

Michael Valoppi

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To the Editor:

Thank goodness for the latest rain showers. At least the high school lawn got some water. Seems like the $20-plus million, should of included a sprinkler system. The lawn looks terrible.

I don't know why I should of thought different, the old high school lawn was never in any better shape. Why all the water being poured on to lawn of the old brick school? Could it be (that) the public sees it?

Stu and Barb Marshall

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To the Editor:

This letter is in response to proposals for a McDonald's franchise in Sisters.

We receive your local paper here in Colorado and hope to become residents within the next year. We do not fear the "menacing golden arches" or even the lack of nutritional value in McDonald's food as much as losing the unique character we have found in Sisters during our last few visits.

The letter from the woman in Canby mentioned many of the special places in your town that have made our choice to move from Durango to Sisters easier. As for those people who believe that growth means fast food chains, I have lived in two communities here that have banned fast food chains (one KFC and one McDonald's that were built prior to the ban were grandfathered in -- the same could be done with the Subway in Sisters) and these towns are still growing despite the lack of 99-cent value menus!

There are no shortages of towns that have a McDonald's, but far too few places like Sisters.

Regards,

Tom Richardson

Camilia El-Bardisy

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To the Editor:

Marriage is to be held in "honor" among all. The Oregon Secretary of State approved the Oregon Defense of Marriage Amendment making the ballot as Measure 36 with over double the number of valid signatures necessary.

We want to take a few minutes to thank the record number of voters in Oregon who signed these very important and precious petitions. Most of all, we appreciate that the Oregon State Supreme Court gave us time to gather the signatures needed.

Encouragement is found in knowing that fellow citizens will have the opportunity to decide for ourselves how marriage is defined here in Oregon. Voting "Yes" on Measure 36 would define marriage solely between one man and one woman.

We would also like to thank President Bush, for taking a stand on this (and approving), one of the most important issues facing us today.

Lance and Monika Piatt

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To the Editor:

My letter of last week was partly omitted due to being over 300 words. Also, the final paragraph that was printed was edited in such a way that the meaning was muddled, so readers may not understand what I was referring to and may have thought I was saying that John Kerry flip-flopped from voting against defense of marriage to later supporting it. That is not the case.

To clarify, what I actually said was: In 1996, John Kerry was one of 14 Senators to vote against the "Defense of Marriage Act."(This is the title of a bill, which did pass, but is open to being struck down by activist judges, whereas the Federal Marriage Amendment, supported by President Bush, would protect traditional marriage and families permanently once passed as a Constitutional amendment).

In November 2003, Kerry voiced support for the Massachusetts Supreme court's rule mandating recognition of same-sex marriage. Kerry is keeping very quiet about his view on this issue.

In addition to his staunch support for the traditional family, President Bush values human life from conception. Ultrasound technology clearly shows that unborn babies are not unfeeling blobs of tissue, yet the Democratic leadership and John Kerry are arm-in-arm with the pro-abortion establishment. Kerry has consistently throughout his senatorial career voted against pro-life issues and says he will only appoint pro-abortion judges.

Citizenlink is a good website for more information on the issues and the candidates' positions.

Lorene Richardson

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To the Editor:

On behalf of Edgington Road District, I wish to thank the firefighters of Sisters-Camp Sherman RFPD, Oregon Dept. of Forestry, and the U.S. Forest Service for their excellent response in the past couple of weeks to lightning-caused fires in and around our neighborhood.

Through skilled, rapid action they prevented serious threats to our lives and property.

Our hats are off to them all for the important work they do, year after year, protecting our community and region from wildfires.

Jane Stevens

Board chair, ERD

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To the Editor:

I wish to give thanks and publicly acknowledge Hospice of Bend La Pine for the wonderful care provided for my husband Charles Wesley Post in his final days.

Extraordinary compassion and support were given during this difficult time by nursing staff of Hospice House in bend.

The physical, emotional and spiritual care they gave us will be forever remembered and appreciated.

A first-class facility provides every amenity to make both patient and family comfortable; a fully-equipped kitchen with dining area, arrangements for family staying overnight, email and phone access, a chapel, comprehensive library with materials on death and dying and a beautiful garden area which provides a place for reflection and solace.

Hospice of Bend-La Pine is a non-profit agency funded entirely through donations and contributions received from the community it serves. We are fortunate to have such a high-quality and professional organization in our area.

Juanita Post

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To the Editor:

Just a reminder that election time is fast approaching and if we wish to exercise the privilege of voting we need to register to vote.

Here in Tollgate, the county made some address changes several months back, to make it easier for everyone to find their way around this community.

Because of that "change of address" it is necessary to re-register to vote. I know I had to register again for that reason. Not only in Tollgate, but any address change calls for this action.

Elayne Clarke