Letters to the Editor 09/19/2018

To the Editor:

On August 22 our little boy fell off the monkey bars at the Village Green and broke his arm. My husband and I want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts to the wonderful people who helped me get my son to the Fire Hall, along with the children that I was babysitting that day.

Two precious women and a wonderful gentleman jumped up into action to save the day for my son and me. I literally would not have known what to do to help my son and take care of the little boys I was babysitting at the same time.

It's a frightening situation to be in, watching your little boy with his arm broke so badly that it's crooked. I just hope and pray that those three great Samaritans and the amazing EMTs at the Fire Hall know what a wonderful wonderful thing that they did for me that day and for my son. I could never thank you enough.

I don't know your names and I may never see you again, but I will remember you forever. I have gratefully lived here my entire life. So thank you for being the perfect example of why we all live in and love Sisters and the people in it.

God bless you all

Brian, Wendy and Sabastian Banks

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To the Editor:

I was alternately agreeing and at odds with The Bunkhouse Chronicles this week. Mr. Rullman was suggesting we find a way to use the calumet idea of sitting down with our adversaries and coming to a mutual solution.

This is a wonderful idea.

The Kaepernick kneeling incident is a good example. It began as one man making a point. It might have ended there if you-know-who hadn't blown it out of all proportion with his nasty tweets and rally cries. Everyone alive today is aware of the inequality in this country relating to the color of one's skin. The point made was provocative and caught the attention of the news outlets. If it had been left to run its course, it would not have become the huge controversy it is today.

Mr. Rullman noted the splash Nike has made with their ad campaign. It likely would not have happened without the overblown response from the man in the White House. It took a while before Nike perceived the advantage of piggybacking on this controversy, so I say cut them some slack.

While I object to smoking anything, even a peace pipe, the idea is a good one. Maybe in a future column Mr. Rullman could explain how to implement the process.

Carolyn Hammond

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To the Editor:

Camp Sherman residents were surprised to find large-scale STOP signs, and large scale GET READY TO STOP signs at the T-junction of the main Camp Sherman road and Highway 22. It is not an intersection that has experienced incursions or wrecks due to lack of clarity about a major highway at the T for outgoing drivers. There is a significant left/right turn in the road just before approaching the highway which naturally slows drivers, so the danger of approaching the STOP at high speed is mitigated.

Trying to get ODOT to explain this new signage is futile. Is there a point at which the comment, "For your safety and security," becomes a blank check for authority to implement policies that are not fitting for all communities?

Ranting is all too common in the modern dialogue so that is not the intention, but since we got super-sized on our STOP signs in Camp Sherman it raises the opportunity to ask why do we have such proliferation of urbane highway signage anyway. The pervasive nature of signage along the roads offering meaningless information about Medal of Honor, bicycle community, fallen officers, control noxious weeds, etc. detracts from the peace of driving through our beautiful natural environment. It is visual pollution that citizens don't seem to have any control over.

I mean no disrespect to some of the causes and people who become road signage, but is this really the best way to honor and consider them?

There is a large "Control Noxious Weeds" sign on the road going into Camp Sherman, which might better say, "Control Noxious Signage."

Sometimes less is better.

Shane Lundgren

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To the Editor:

Thanks, Jim Cornelius, for seeking comments on your latest opinion piece. I agree anonymity is a bad way to influence change. The Times erred again in, as you state, "an effort to sow paranoia, rage and chaos" by publishing a tainted, unsigned insult. BUT, I also question how signing a piece containing phrases like "deep inside a troubled White House"; "rage tweets offering a clear picture of fitness for office"; "the White House is on a 'rat hunt'"; "resulting in a still more rage afflicted president" is productive or any less an "effort to sow paranoia, rage and chaos."

So be it. I appreciate your challenge and think I sense a positive motive.

As a contribution to the discussion, I suggest a possible alternative interpretation for our President's raison de faire in making a few wild, spontaneous statements.

It may be so simple as a personality quirk developed over years of experience in a lifestyle outside the beltway, or more broadly, urbane centers where folks prefer nuanced communication.

I grew up on a farm in Idaho in a family where Italian aunts and uncles loved to converse with exuberance.

They teased, challenged, ridiculed and sometimes mortified others just for the sake of doing so.

When it was time to milk the cows, they all hugged, said buona sera, and went home thinking about driving out to the farm next Sunday for another happy afternoon of wine and cheese.

Nothing more than that.

My years of schooling and experience in "polite society" failed to remove every stain of that ingrained life style. Some in the Sisters community will recall outbursts where I expressed myself with more verve than was acceptable to their ear. While it may have offended them, I attest that there was never any conscious or lasting intent to demean.

Buona sera.

David A. Asson

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To the Editor:

It is time to share what I have felt for so long in gratitude for our Sisters community! If you missed the wonderful Mexican Independence Day celebration Sunday, a collaboration of folks in the Hispanic community and several local groups and sponsors, then I hope it becomes an annual event for music, food, gathering and families! Hundreds of folks reveled in the mariachi musicians, the dancers and each other - a much-needed respite from the turmoil in our world!

This event was yet another instance of how volunteers make beautiful things happen here!

Do you smile every time you drive in from Bend at the delightful display on the elementary school fence of forest and stream inhabitants, all from volunteer efforts with kids; or celebrate the amazing artisans in our galleries, the quilt show and the Folk Festival or the energy surrounding the Rodeo? And how many of you made it to the truly breathtaking outdoor stone sculptor show at Suttle Lake recently, with international artists?

It is so easy for us to become complacent because we are so accustomed to all the happenings here, not to mention all the quiet acts of folks who don't get recognition, like the variety of school volunteers, the child mentors, the groups working in other countries and certainly neighbors helping neighbors. And of course the many learning opportunities in our library, Paulina Springs Books, the star gazers, photography club, parks and rec and the Science Club are all volunteer offerings, as are the variety of service organizations.

We are a special community, and I am deeply grateful to live here, so it was past time to speak up. The lightbulb goes on when I start explaining to out-of-town visitors what goes on here in our truly privileged environment, and it is an obligation for all of us to support and participate in maintaining our essence.

Wendie Vermillion