Letters to the Editor 12/20/2006

To the Editor:

I am very disappointed in the public comments of the Sisters School Board members regarding the resignation of Superintendent Ted Thonstad.

It is obvious that Mr. Thonstad was asked to resign, yet all comments regarding his performance were positive. The board is an elected body, and we don't know who supported him and who didn't.

We don't know why certain members were willing to renew his contract and others weren't. How can the public evaluate the thinking and decision making of these board members when they are unwilling to tell us why they made this very important decision?

There is a lot of talk about district problems in local coffee shops, on street corners, in gyms and other places locals tend to congregate. I know some parents who are afraid to come forward with their concerns out of fear of retribution to their kids. The following are five relatively common perceptions regarding the Sisters School District:

1. There is too much cronyism and nepotism.

2. There is a culture of bending the rules to get what otherwise may not be attainable.

3. When caught bending the rules, there is an effort to circle the wagons, to hire lawyers to investigate and find legal loopholes and to blame the misconduct on poorly written rules.

4. There is too much emphasis on getting more funding and not enough emphasis on prudent spending.

5. There is a perception that our district's first priority is to manage the Sisters schools to promote tourism, to drive up property values and to appease the real estate and business interests that dominate local politics.

It should not come as a surprise that recently there have been national news reports claiming a majority of students cheat on school tests and download papers from the Internet to get better grades. Isn't this what our district is teaching? If you think you can get away with something that will be of benefit, do it. If you get caught, blame it on confusing rules. Is this what we want our kids to learn?

Our kids should not be penalized as a result of the $1.2M home schooling scandal. Oregon Law at ORS 294.100(2) provides that any public official who expends public money for unauthorized purposes shall be civilly liable for such expenditures. Why aren't these board members seeking restitution under this statute or any other applicable rule or regulation?

I think our district should reflect honesty, personal responsibility, accountability and high moral and ethical standards. If you agree, please get involved and be vocal about your beliefs.

Mike Morgan

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To the Editor:

While doing my Christmas shopping in Sisters, I had the experience of almost being run down by a truck while I was crossing the street in a crosswalk.

I started across by The Stitchin' Post and an east bound truck and trailer going well over the 20 mph speed limit was approaching. I waved my arms and pointed to the markings in the road. The driver looked at me and sped up. I had to jump back to keep from getting hit.

This was certainly not my first experience with such lack of respect for Oregon state law but was definitely the most frightening. I am sure that most of us who live and do business in Sisters have similar stories to tell.

Do we need to wait until there is a death to do something about the situation? We need to have the streets of Sisters patrolled and drivers cited for ignoring both the speed limit and pedestrian right-of-way.

It needs to get out there to all those east and west of town that our town is a speed and crosswalk trap and if you violate the law you will get stopped and fined.

We need to get this done before there is a tragedy.

Diana Field

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To the Editor:

Ambassadors from the off road vehicle community visited the private property behind our house last weekend. In a matter of minutes, land that has stood for centuries as the Native Americans left it - a beautiful, natural area - was trashed. These two or three quad ATVs nearly ran over a BLM-placed "Private Land" sign as they plowed up the ground, bushes and small trees.

In the adjacent BLM land, trails that for years were narrow, 'single tracks', enjoyed by hikers, horseback riders, mountain bikers and careful motorcyclists are now six- to 10-foot wide eyesores with smashed vegetation.

I'm sure it's a small minority that has no respect for the land. Unfortunately, that's all it takes to do an awful lot of destruction.

Gary Yoder

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To the Editor:

Visitor Tina Thomas' letter in last week's Nugget expressed her appreciation for the warmth shown to her by Sisters-area residents. In particular, she recounted how one family burned for her a copy of a wonderful "holiday album" that was played prior to the commencement of the local Christmas parade.

But this act of "kindness and generosity," as Ms. Thomas put it, comes at a price to the songwriters, recording artist, musicians, music publishers and record company that produced the album.

Every time one copy of an album is made for free, the songwriters and music publishers whose songs appear on the album collectively lose on average $1 of income from lost royalties. The recording artist loses roughly $2. The record company loses several dollars on each free copy made, contributing to cuts in staff and the number of artists signed to the label.

If the recording artist wrote all the songs on the freely copied album and self-published it, that copy costs them at least $3 in lost income. If the artist also manufactured and distributed the CDs himself (and not under the auspices of a corporate record label), he or she may lose up to $18 on each freely copied album and must also eat the cost of all unsold discs. Many of our local songwriters fall into this category.

Rampant copying and especially illegal Internet downloads of music are costing everyone involved in the music business dearly. Without going into all the gory details of an industry in generally steep decline, suffice it to say that it is much more difficult to make a living in the music business today compared to what it took to do so just a few years ago - and it was unbelievably tough even back then.

I believe most people are honest and would not knowingly steal merchandise from someone or deprive them of their pay for their hard work and that Ms. Thomas' remarks stem from a lack of awareness prevalent in the general population.

If you love a particular single or album, please buy a copy to support all the talented people who make their living solely or in large part by producing such product. In doing so, you'll be giving them the money they need to support themselves and their families and provide the seed money for their next musical project for you to enjoy.

Michael Cooper

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To the Editor:

Wow! What an awesome season. Go Outlaws!

I would like to say what a great place we live in. Great scenery mixed with great people and great schools.

For those of you that don't know, our high school football team had a near-perfect season. They all played to the best of their abilities, supported each other always and when it came to the biggest game of their life and (they) lost they held their heads high.

And they should. What a great group of kids.

Thank you coaches, thank you kids, thank you parents and thank you all the fans that followed the Outlaws.

If you want to meet some great kids and show them some support, get the activities schedule out of The Nugget and get to the school and enjoy some great entertainment.

See you there.

Melvin Herburger

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To the Editor:

The transfer and subsequent release of the "most dangerous, best trained, vicious killers on the face of the earth" from the Bush Administration's infamous prison in Guantanamo, Cuba is typical of the present incredulous political thinking in America.

The horrible conditions and torture the so-called terrorists suffered in Guantanamo to - as Rumsfeld claimed - "get to the truth" have all been absolute nonsense at best and flat out lies at worst.

If these men were, as the Bush Administration claimed, "the most vicious killers on the face of the earth" why were they released the day they arrived in other countries? I find that preposterous.

It also appears to me that we may reap what the Bush Administration has sown. It seems only logical that these so-called terrorists, released from the living hell of Guantanamo, will not have the best image of America in their hearts and minds. Those guys and the people they talk to - especially the ones in Afghanistan - will be first in line to give back to America the same treatment they received.

Everything we have been told by the Bush Administration - from the blatant lies about Iraq's supposed role in the 9/11 tragedy, to WMDs and so-called economic reasons for the present astronomical price for gasoline - are, in my opinion, cleverly thought out misrepresentations of what is really going on.

I have heard it said that that the Bush Administration is the worst this nation has every seen. I'm beginning to believe it.

Jim Anderson, Naturalist

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To the Editor:

There is a word for the solution proposed by Mr. Krumvieda ("Letters," The Nugget, December 13) to unleash the military "… to do what has to be done no matter what …" in Iraq.

It is called genocide.

Dean Billing

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To the Editor:

Sitting in Depot Deli, we heard an interesting thought for the future of Sisters. The person presenting it did not want to be quoted, but their thought started a number of other people thinking about possibilities. The interesting thing about the later comments was this unique idea started people conversing how something could be done and not why it couldn't, which may or may not be true.

Here is the thought: Instead of ODOT building passing lanes on Highway 20, a temporary couplet through Sisters or an eventual bypass around Sisters, why not explore the following: Get the city and ODOT to review the costs for the proposed Highway 20 changes, find out if the Patterson Ranch might be purchased, relocate the core area of downtown Sisters to a new, well thought out townsite on the ranch.

Scrape the current core business area; let ODOT have their highway down the middle of Cascade; turn the side areas along the new highway into a sound diminishing, rolling hill park area to protect the residences along the north and south extremities. Maybe the overall cost of purchase, construction, relocation and development would be less than the three highway projects proposed so far.

ODOT saves money. Sisters gets a new town in a gorgeous location. The highway issue goes away and the north and south residential areas get a park like setting to block the highway and the traffic patterns get corrected. At least this person was looking at possible alternatives that could be possible.

Waiting for the editorial onslaught,

David Hiller