Letters to the Editor… 11/20/19

To the Editor:

About a month or so ago, after hearing about the criminal event where an individual broke into a home in our neighborhood, I visited the sheriff’s substation here in Sisters and talked to the admin lady at the counter, asking about the incident. Note this was about two days after the incident. She said she had not heard anything.

I told her at least three law enforcement cars were there and you have no information? Then I asked, do you furnish crime reports to the public/newspaper? She stated she does but she sometimes is a day or so behind (can’t remember the last time I saw this in The Nugget). Then I asked her if I could obtain a “crime statistics report,” not a crime log for the city of Sisters, since I had heard awhile ago, a report that there was a crime a day in and around the city of Sisters.

Her response was hard to believe. She stated “she could not furnish that information” to me. I said “what?” this is public information. She then stated that the only way to obtain that information was to get it from the Sisters City Council, that’s who they provided that information to. So why does the City Council not volunteer this information to the general public?

Are they not wanting the people of Sisters to be aware of how bad crime really is in Sisters? Do the realtors lobby against it so they can sell homes? We should be able to see how the stats break down on an ongoing basis throughout the year. This is not just a weekly crime log that is basic and vague. Let’s see what is really happening in our town of

Sisters.

Marvin Inman

To the editor:

A recent showing of the movie Saving the Dark by the Sisters Astronomy Club and a local chapter of the International Dark Sky Association showed how much of the dark skies we have lost due to light pollution.

As a result of this pollution, 80 percent of American school children have never seen the Milky Way. Also, the book entitled “The End of Night” goes to great length in giving an historical overview of how we have lost touch with the night sky during the past 100-plus years. Before then, people regularly observed the kind of night sky most of us now only see by visiting a planetarium.

Here in Sisters, I often go out at night in my front yard to view the constellations. On a clear night without the aid of a telescope and depending on the time of night and the season, I can see: the Big Dipper, Draco, the Corona Borealis, Cassiopeia, Orion, Taurus, the Pleiades and the Milky Way.

However, I find myself now thinking that there may soon come a time when such a view would not be possible if our nights become too light-polluted. Unlike global warming, this is an issue that every resident can solve through thoughtful use of night lighting.

Turn your porch lights on only when you need them; use shields, dimmers or motion detectors on other outdoor lights. Be considerate of how your lights may be affecting your neighbors. There is no proof that “security lights” provide any more security than much-dimmer lights or no light at all.

Our dark skies are something we need to honor as much as we honor our wildlife, mountains, rivers, lakes and trails. Although the City of Sisters has a dark skies ordinance, it’s really up to each of us to keep our night skies from becoming polluted with too much light by minimizing our own “light footprint” within our community.

Go “lightly” on the light!

Paul Bennett

To the Editor:

Having not listened to live Congressional testimonies at any length in my past, I decided to try it this last Wednesday and Friday during the Democrat Impeach Trump hearings. Finally open to public scrutiny, the obvious was telling in several ways. I now understand why Congress never gets anything done,; at least in a timely manner.

Adam Schiff should have started the proceedings and saved us all the nonsense and partisan squabble by just getting to the point:

“Distinguished Ambassador(s) welcome and thank you for your service to our country. At this time you have the floor, please provide this committee the clear evidence you have supporting the impeachment of the President as per the Constitution Article 2, Section 4.”

There was no impeachment evidence presented. What we witnessed was three government officials being used by the Democrats, much like they did to Judge Kavanaugh, to continue their Schiff on the Constitution and rule of law. There was clear evidence, however, that the witnesses had hurt feelings, spoke only from hearsay, and presented their resumes as though rightful owners of foreign policy. One thing all three agreed upon was that Trump did what Obama failed to do; provide needed weapons to Ukraine.

Bottom line: The President sets foreign policy, same as with all previous Presidents. Obama fired every single Bush appointee when he was elected. Never heard a peep from anyone on that.

In one week based on fake news reporting it seemed like an impeachable offense was downgraded from quid pro quo to obstruction to bribery to witness intimidation. What’s next, the President’s favorite color?

Jeff Mackey