Letters to the Editor 05//07/2014

To the Editor:

I love having the traffic light at the intersection of McKinney Butte Road and the highway. For the first time I feel safe going that route. There have been numerous accidents there, and I've been afraid of a fatal accident.

It has been called temporary, but I'm hoping it will be made permanent.

Jane Getty

•••

To the Editor:

With regard to city council's decision concerning MP3 recordings of City meeting minutes being made available on the City website "not to pursue the issue at this time based on the $1,200 cost of installation, and the impact on the City server storage":

With all the hundreds of thousand of dollars in cockamamy projects the City has been willing to jump into lately and they can't spare a few bucks so the citizens who are unable to attend meetings (including the elderly, disabled and families with children) could participate in what's going on in Sisters instead of being at the mercy of the powers that be. 

First of all, $1,200? It doesn't take anything but few more minutes to download an MP3 file than it does a PDF, which are already available on the City website (meeting agendas).

I could do that and not charge the City a dime. Everybody needs more storage space, that's just life. Do we need to investigate the IT department?

Second, "it was noted that the same four people are the only ones that request transcripts of the meeting every month, now available on CD at city hall for $10 each." Really? We have to pay $10 for every transcript if we want to be involved when we could get it for free by downloading it from the City's website? How many meetings a month (city, planning, advisory boards, workshops) ... about $100 a month? Like that's in anybody's budget!

So the condescending message we're getting out here is: We don't want you involved, we don't want your input, we don't want you fact-checking us or, god forbid, criticizing our decisions - just shut up and live your mundane lives, and let us take care of business. 

Those citizens who want to participate in democracy need to step up, send letters/email/phone calls to the city manager, council members and The Nugget demanding that City meetings be more transparent and accessible on the City's website. And then don't just complain, get involved in the process.

Diane Goble

•••

To the Editor:

In remembrance of "Stu" Marshall.

I want to thank all the friends and family who helped celebrate his life with thoughts, cards, food, money and phone calls. You were all a very special part of his life. We had a great gathering to honor him.

Barbara Marshall and Family

•••

To the Editor:

I had been taking care of a cat, Buster, down at Barclay Square for eight years or so.

Many from Sisters and area visitors knew and loved Buster. He was an old skinny guy, but he had been to a local vet recently and was diagnosed with a thyroid problem. Sadly, he was picked up and taken to a vet last Friday by someone who didn't know his history, and he was put down.

Next time, please check around before you make that decision. The merchants at Barclay Square all knew I came down several times a day to care for him. If it was his time, that decision was mine to make. It breaks my heart I was not with him.

I want to thank everyone for their cards and support. I also want to thank Sisters Veterinary, who saw to it that Buster was cremated and his ashes caringly returned to me.

Pam Creason

•••

To the Editor:

I am chagrined to see the various state election signs along Highway 20 and recognize various names of corporate-sponsored incumbent politicians running again and some, running for advanced political positions at the federal level.

I would encourage all citizens to review the corporate affiliations of current candidates. Many voters don't understand that in 2011 the current Supreme Court awarded corporations the status of "personhood." The Citizens United ruling made it legal for corporations to support political candidates with no monetary limit and embed their employees deep in the federal infrastructure. For instance, it is clearly a conflict of interest that a Monsanto lobbyist/employee (Tom Vilsack) is the U.S. Agriculture Secretary deciding on GMO labeling for U.S. food.

A citizens research group has an insightful listing of candidates by state and their major financiers. Source watch and ALEC Exposed offer information on state and federal legislators. (www.ALECexposed.org and http://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed).

What is ALEC? The American Legislative Executive Council (ALEC) is an organization of corporations who write legislation which suit their agendas and pander them to legislators at the federal and state level for various favors. ALEC is online and you can review ALEC's corporate agendas. ALEC Exposed lists state and federal representatives who are ALEC benefactors, elected by unknowing citizens

Here is the list of Oregon ALEC members in office since 2012: U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-5), Rep. Jason Conger (R-54), Rep. Sal Esquivel (R-6), Rep. Tim Freeman (R-2), Rep. Bruce Hanna (R-7), Rep. Wally Hicks (R-3), Rep. John Huffman (R-59), Rep. Bill Kennemer (R-39), Rep. Shawn Lindsay (R-30), Rep. Michael R. McLane (R-55), Rep. Kim Thatcher (R-25), Rep. Matthew Wand (R-49), Rep. C. Gene Whisnant (R-53). In 2011, Gene Whisnant was even voted "ALEC State Legislator of the Year." Source: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Oregon_ALEC_Politicians).

Please research ALEC, ALEC Exposed, and local representatives who are double-dipping: citizens pay their salaries and corporations feather their nest deeper. Citizens United opened up the floodgates of corruption in our government (state and federal). We are losing our democracy for something new in U.S. history:corporatocracy.

As citizens it's crucial we train ourselves to ask questions, research , and like never before ... follow the money. Are you voting for another citizen or a global corporation?

Alex West

•••

To the Editor:

The Sisters Community Garden is beginning its second growing season at its new site near the Sisters Eagle Airport. Thanks to the generosity of Benny and Julie Benson, and the tireless efforts of Benny's father, Marvin Benson, gardeners enjoy a magnificent location. Countless volunteer hours have turned a section of rocks and weeds into a beautiful and bountiful food basket.

Plans for the 2014 season include planting and landscaping the surrounding berm. Providing wind protection for the garden, the berm will require numerous trees and shrubs. Any donations from individuals or businesses would be greatly appreciated. If you are able to help add to the beauty and harvest of the garden by contributing to this landscaping effort, please contact Marvin Benson at 541-610-9022.

Ruthie Douglass