Letters to the Editor 07/20/2016

A nice Sunday to be in the garden. But there is constant aircraft noise. Five miles from town by the Rodeo grounds. Get a muffler, fly over unoccupied territory. There are people living in the houses you are flying over. Over and over. This is just common courtesy. If you fly a really loud plane, don't fly it low over people's houses. Take it to Burns at 10,000 feet. The whole having someone ride a Harley with a leaf blower through my living room thing is getting really old.

Bruce Berryhill

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To the Editor:

Residents of Sisters Country from Crossroads to Aspen Lakes, while sitting in their homes and on their front porches, and tending to their yards and gardens, have expressed concerns with the noise of planes flying low over their homes and circling for hours overhead. They have lost the freedom to live in their homes in peace and quiet.

And in response to appeals to the Sisters airport, pilots, and the skydiving company to modify their behavior and plans in ways that would reduce their negative impact on the community, a guest column titled "The sound of freedom" is published in the July 13, 2016, edition of The Nugget, implying that, draped in the American flag with an electric guitar version of the National Anthem blaring, making noise and flying planes anywhere and anytime, disrupting the private lives of people in their homes, is a freedom that American soldiers have fought and died to protect.

In another article of the same edition of The Nugget, an author laments the "I wanna do my thing" attitude of ATV operators who entertained themselves by destroying the Prairie Farm Meadow, doing donuts and creating deep ruts, abandoning a still-smoldering fire, and leaving trash strewn about.

These things destroy community. God help America and Sisters if "doing my thing" regardless of the negative impact on others and the environment has somehow become the definition of freedom.

John Mapes

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To the Editor:

Re: "The Bunkhouse Chronicle: No decision," (The Nugget, July 13, page 10):

I think Jimmy Carter's observation on this topic says it best: "The challenge isn't to make politicians virtuous, but to inspire virtuous people to become politicians".

I know lots of virtuous folks, both liberal and conservative, and not a one of them would ever consider diving into the cesspool that is American politics.

Get the big money out of the game, and that might change.

Bill Valenti

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To the Editor:

RE: letter of Maggie Bull on 7/6:

Good for you, Maggie, for a fantastic letter. The Sisters area seems to have a BIG problem with narrow-minded people. The letters of Diane Pepperling and Michael Valoppi (July 13) get kudos from me, too.

We've lived in Sage Meadow for 27 years and hear the planes. But they certainly aren't an annoyance.

I, too, hope to never become so narrow-minded that I find the need to complain about others enjoying themselves.

Barbara Wassom