Letters to the Editor 09/28/2011

To the Editor:

In response to the two letters to the editor concerning roundabouts in Sisters, let me share the following: the residents of Sisters are neither bizarre nor deranged as one writer suggested. We spent countless meetings researching the best options at the intersections in town, and ALL options were considered. After numerous public hearings and discussion, the community decided that the use of roundabouts was the best solution for the residents of Sisters, and for the thru-traffic on Highway 20.

Can an 18-wheeler fly thru a roundabout at 50 mph like they can thru a signal? No, they can't. A little less convenient for them, but much safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. Ever heard of a fatality at a roundabout? We can find plenty of them at traffic lights. There is no question which is safer.

The reason another meeting on roundabouts is necessary is that the freight industry lobbied the director of ODOT to reverse their policy of considering roundabouts. Many states, including Washington and California, have installed hundreds of them, some are on state highways. But the freight industry isn't concerned about our town, or the safety of our kids going to school. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line and that is what they want.

So all the work this community has put into our transportation plan, that ODOT was part of, is being thrown out the window because the freight lobby convinced ODOT to stop roundabouts. No study, survey, test, or report supports this position - just a lobbyist's point of view. Are we really going to let a political decision by a bureaucrat in Salem determine what our city looks like, and how safe it is for our kids to get to school?

Carey Tosello

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To the Editor:

Wood stove season is upon us. Last Monday morning was going to be cold, so I decided to set up the fire for morning Sunday evening. I stuffed in the kindling and wood, placed the matches on top of the stove and went off to bed. At 5 a.m. I rolled out, took a match out of the box, lit the kindling, watched till it caught and went back to bed. Just as I was going back into slumber-land, my wife Sue, shouted, "Jim! I hear a smoke alarm!"

Oh, Best Beloved, I have lived with wood heat all of my 83 years, and my fear of Murphy's Law has always been with me when starting a fire in a stove in my home. For just that reason, I have four smoke alarms. I leaped out of bed (faster than I thought possible) and sure enough, there was smoke all over the living room. "Matches!" Hit me like a bolt of lighting. Sure enough, I had left the full box of Diamond matches on top of the stove.

The lack of oxygen in the full box kept them from erupting into a miniature volcano, but they were smoldering, filling the house with smoke - and once the heat broke through the side of the box it would have gone off like a fire bomb! I grabbed a towel, threw it over the box and ran to the kitchen sink with it and poured water over everything.

I share this dumb incident with you to show how stupid a guy can be, especially when he has a few years on him. Please, all you wonderful people; make sure your smoke alarms are operational with new batteries, or replace them. And, for crying out loud, NEVER leave matches on the top of the stove.

Caution will always be the better part of valor.

Jim Anderson