Letters to the Editor 03/03/2010

To the Editor:

It is unfortunate that the Sisters Charter Academy of Fine Arts has to close its doors.

Charter schools, magnet schools, religious-based education, home-schooling, etc. all enrich our community. The Sisters School Board knows this and supported the charter school for as long as it remained financially viable. The drop in enrollment presented the school board with little choice but to close its doors.

To propose that the school board should be recalled because of this seems like a waste of time and energy. Instead, why not see this as a "teachable moment"? The lesson being, we tried, we failed, we pick ourselves up and move on...

Paul Bennett

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To the Editor,

My husband and I buy our gas locally here in Sisters in order to support our Sisters businesses. We will continue to do so, no matter the outcome of the fuel tax vote.

It makes sense to us that our city needs an equitable funding source for street maintenance. By sharing the cost across the spectrum of those who use our streets, city residents, locals who live outside of city limits, tourists, and those just driving through town, we feel that a fair solution is found.

We must maintain our city streets. A fuel tax will save money in the long run for the citizens of Sisters versus a street maintenance fee to be paid by city residents only.

Wendy and Alan Holzman

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To the Editor:

Let's place things in perspective. Here we are, living in one of Oregon's finest communities. Folks come here to stay or visit for what Sisters has to offer. With the Cascade mountains, rivers, lakes and the sunny golf days of summer. Rodeo, folk music festivals, Saturday markets, art strolls and the complete marvel of this winter wonderland.

I look forward to paying three cents more for a gallon for gas. Street maintenance is an important measurement of our city's beautification. Retail stores, gas stations, restaurants and all the rest are extremely dependent on the guests that come here to visit. Our responsibility is to make sure they travel on well-maintained city streets; for their safety and "their word of mouth" to others about Sisters, a city with pride.

Drive to the next town to save three cents...come on!

Peter Storton

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To the Editor:

The gas tax is a difficult issue. On one hand it has the potential of reducing local fuel sales in our community and becoming a hardship on our filling stations.

On the other hand approximately 80 percent of the overall gas tax will be paid by non-Sisters residents, with 100 percent of the proceeds dedicated towards maintaining our roads.

Our family's solution is to fill our tank in Sisters whenever possible, thus underwriting the local economy while supporting the gas tax that will provide much-needed revenue for our community.

Spending our dollars in Sisters translates to maintaining and creating jobs.

Bill Willitts

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To the Editor:

My wife Jan and I are strong supporters of the proposed gas tax, even though we don't live within the city limits. We support our town by making sure to buy almost all of our gasoline, groceries and other purchases in Sisters. If we're in Bend or Redmond and the vehicle's gas gauge reads less than 1/4 tank, we'll still wait until we get to Sisters to fill up, so we can support our local stations.

The reasonable and well-thought-out approach by our city government of having the broadest amount of consumers pay for the continued maintenance of our well-kept roads is the right and fair way to be fiscally responsible. Just as a homeowner will sometimes have to make an adjustment that increases their expenses to cover the replacement of a worn-out roof or appliance, so it is with our town. Not to do so would be shortsighted at the least.

While I understand and appreciate the concern voiced by some, regarding that this small, local increase (three cents a gallon) might have a negative impact on gasoline sales in town, I just can't agree with the premise. How many of those traveling through town, either coming or going over the Cascades, will delay their purchase to see if they can save a few cents, if any at all? I bet, again, it's less than can be counted on one hand.

This approach is not only reasonable, it's very fair to all of us who live here. Paul Romaine, the state gas dealers' lobbyist, will no doubt use his influence to try and stop any proposed increase that might benefit our community. He doesn't live here, we do.  And it's our decision as to how our community decides these issues. Please vote yes on this important measure.

Jack McGowan

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To the Editor:

Am I the only person in Sisters who thinks back-in diagonal parking might be a mistake? 

The other day I tested the new scheme on Larch between Main and the post office. Backing in was more difficult than expected and I don't have a van or contractor's pick-up truck. It's very hard to center the vehicle between the lines on the first try; it's almost impossible without the use of side mirrors. Who practices using mirrors? If this is such a good idea why isn't it done in Bend's downtown business district?

Before the city spends any more money implementing this scheme I suggest parking some clunkers in every other space on Larch and inviting the public to test their ability to back in without damaging their vehicle or the clunkers on either side.

Imagine how this might work on quilt show weekend, in front of the hardware store, or anywhere after dark. The spaces are too small to accommodate back-in parking without significant risk of damage. I support economic stimulus, but this scheme might create too much business for our local body shop.

Mike Morgan