Letters to the Editor 10/26/05

To the Editor:

Parents, do you know where your kids were a week ago Monday night October 17, after dark? I know some of you don’t, because two churches were vandalized during that time (see story, page 1).

Sonrise Christian School received a broken window and damaged playground equipment. Our church, Trinity Christian Center, received well over $1,500 worth of damage including two broken tempered glass doors, sheetrock and interior door damage and a broken drinking fountain.

All from two softball-size rocks thrown or launched through the glass doors. The amount of damage makes this a felony and probable jail time when the persons are caught.

I find it difficult to understand why someone would damage God’s house “just for kicks.” Our church is a small church with older folks on very limited incomes which makes our income very small. We spend hundreds of dollars each year trying to help kids by sending them to summer and winter camps, rafting trips, fun nights with refreshments and many other activities.

This loss will make our church unable to do what we normally could do with the funds. Even with insurance, the deductible and other out of pocket expenses will hurt us financially.

If anyone has information about this vandalism please call me at 504-9221 or call the sheriff’s department. Your name can remain anonymous if you have information or know the vandals’ names.

Pastor Frank Fraga

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To the Editor:

I would like to extend thanks to the volunteers who came out on Sunday, October 23 and took the time to help make Sisters a more beautiful place.

We had 34 volunteers come and pick up litter along the curbs, the brush, alleys, around and between buildings.

We had retired people, business owners, students, doctors, teachers, quilters, the city manager, entrepreneurs and we were all there to make a difference in our community. How nice it is to be the organizer of the first annual event (really a grassroots event) and to see such an outstanding turnout.

One thing we can do together now is be on the lookout for litter. If you are a business owner or property owner in the commercial district there is NO excuse for apathy. I can’t believe what we picked out from around your buildings. Is this what invites customers to walk through your doors?

Community members can help between the big projects, too. If you are walking around town on business or for pleasure and see a coffee cup blowing in the wind, take a moment and make Sisters a better place. Teach kids to do the same!

If we had a dollar for every cigarette butt we picked up today we could have helped fund the school district for a month. Seriously. We picked up thousands of cigarette butts and it’s the single worst problem we face for litter in our town.

Let’s work together to fund small trash kiosks around town that include cigarette and trash disposal, but also the plastic dog refuse bags you find in places like Drake Park and the River Trail in Bend. Dog owners love Sisters, but they can help us out by picking up after their pups. They simply need the facilities to do so.

Litter doesn’t belong in pretty places. It feels good to make a difference.

Jeff Perin

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To the Editor:

In the excitement of Halloween and the overconsumption of sweets, I would like to suggest inviting the Tooth Fairy (some call it the “Halloween Fairy”) to visit the children during the night.

Many families have been able to limit their child’s consumption by trading in the candy for a small token from the Fairy. At bedtime the candy is bagged and left by the bedside in hopes that the Fairy would take it in exchange for the small gift. The children are usually so grateful and the parents, too, no longer have to meter out the candy or hassle over ownership.

Having the Fairies come is such a magical experience that I encourage everyone to invite them in.

Evelyn Brush

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To the Editor:

Jim Anderson’s most recent articles have struck a nerve with me again. The “Deer hunters did well in the Metolius” article printed October 5 and the “Deer hunting can be costly if careless,” printed on October 12 are quite confusing.

Is it the author’s intention to generalize hunters as law breakers who lack any code of ethics? Is it the author’s intention to generalize hunters as road-hunting slobs who are willing to break the law, but more importantly compromise the safety of other human beings because of their careless shooting or disregard of the law? Or, is it the author’s intention to stand on his pulpit and lecture us hunters on how we should conduct ourselves in the field? What are his hunting credentials?

Why would any publication choose to publish stories that subjectively generalize or label the hunting community as a bunch of unethical lawbreakers? That’s as unfair as myself labeling the Sisters residents as a bunch of “rich, hippy, tree-hugging, SUV-driving environmentalist hypocrites who are trying to save the very environment and wildlife habitat that their $1 million-plus homes are built right in the middle of. But I would not do that; I am better and smarter than that. I know the Sister’s residents are a diverse group of people with complementary backgrounds.

But…if I am totally wrong with my assessment of Mr. Anderson’s intentions, and in fact he is truly intending to educate hunters, then I believe he needs to use a different means other than The Nugget to promote responsible and ethical hunting. The ODFW has a huge need for Hunter Education Instructors and I would challenge him to join the ranks of myself and other ethical hunters who choose to preserve, protect and promote our beloved and sacred tradition of hunting.

Joe Klink

ODFW Volunteer Hunter Education Instructor

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To the Editor:

This letter is directed to the low-life that dumped the grass clippings in front of the recycling station in Sisters for someone else to clean up.

The City of Sisters established the recycling station — not a landfill — as a public convenience for those of us in and around town who believe that it is our personal responsibility to recycle everything we possible can, including grass clippings.

However, one must compost organic materials if they are to be successfully recycled — not dumped for someone else to take care of.

The inconsiderate person who disposed of that bunch of grass clippings on public property was thinking of only himself, “let someone else do it, not me,” or, “out of sight, out of mind.”

Sincerely,

Jim Anderson