Letters to the Editor 7/10/2024

Community garden

To the Editor:

I was dismayed to learn that the city is considering Clemens Park as one of the sites for the Community Garden. The park is one of the few expansive green spaces in the city and is used by many of us on a regular basis.

Perhaps they don’t realize how much the park is used for our children to run and play, for walking our dogs, the occasional neighborhood event, and just sitting and enjoying the outdoors. Removing a large portion of the beautiful lawn and surrounding the resulting dirt patch with a six-foot chain link fence to keep out the deer is the last thing we want to look at on a daily basis.

No insult to the gardeners intended, but I saw the Community Garden when it was near the airport and it was often unkempt and unattractive, even at the height of summer. I was glad it was in an out-of-the-way location, where it could be enjoyed by the few gardeners who used it, and still be out of sight.

And, as pointed out by Ms. McCormack in her July 3 letter, there is also the parking problem to be considered. Cars often park on East Park Place because of a lack of parking spaces even though No Parking signs are posted all along the street, causing issues for those who live there.

I implore the City to please leave our beautiful oasis as it is and choose a different location for the garden.

Mary Edson

To the Editor:

Last spring the Sisters Community Garden, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was informed by its sponsors that it was time to move to a new location. At that time the SCG began looking at private and public options for the move, including possible locations on Sisters School District as well as Sisters Park & Recreation District land. As these options were either too far out of town, unsuitable, unavailable for sale, or were slated for future development, SCG began exploring the 2023 Sisters Master Park Plan (PMP) with the Parks Advisory Board.

When considering changes to city parks, City staff relies on the PMP for guidance. The PMP supports the development of community gardens, recommends locations, and notes the need for community input for decision making.

This spring, after meetings and workshops with City management, City Council advised SGC to sound out the neighbors of Cliff Clemens Park, a 2.3-acre space, regarding the request to locate the garden to a 0.4-acre space within that park. The purpose of the first community meeting on June 29 was to exchange information with neighbors as well as residents of the city of Sisters, and to garner feedback about the possible proposal to site the garden at what City leaders and City Council consider an under-used park .

SCG thanks residents and friends who attended the meeting, signed in, and provided written and video feedback. This information will be forwarded to the City. We thank those who have taken the time to suggest alternate sites, as well as those who sent emails expressing support for a garden in the park idea. We also thank Sisters Library for providing space for the community to meet.

Mimi Schaefer

SCG President

Highway 242 project

To the Editor:

Kudos to Deschutes County/ODOT on McKenzie Pass re-paving project.

Rode July 5, day after July 4 opening. Fully re-paved from east side gate to top of the pass. Super smooth but not sure why they have a strip of sand/rock on the edge of both roadsides as these roads are narrow and the cars are already kicking significant stones into the roadway. They must have a reason.

The foliage growth since the fire is significant and nice to see. The bottom portion below the gate will be messy as they start removing the existing road layer until they repave that portion by the end of August. Some significant pot holes in the lower unpaved section to be careful of at high speeds.

Would love to see the County/ODOT allow a one-day race up the mountain in the future with roads closed to traffic similar to what Mt. Baker in Washington does in early September which I’m looking forward to doing but a long drive.

Anyone interested in pursuing the County let me know at cryanjr28@gmail.com.

Chuck Ryan

Thanks to letter writer

To the Editor:

Reading Terry Weygand’s comments on the direction of Steve Woodside’s letter in the June 19 edition, I want to thank Weygand for putting into words the very thoughts I had when I first read Woodside’s piece; the early thoughts of Woodside’s sounded unbiased (if not actually factual), until he stepped off into an alternate universe and threw Greta, LGBTQ, and “The Democrats” under the bus for “paying for protestors and being responsible for all the ills of our country and the world.”

His being in favor of the chaos of the previous administration should have been made clear by starting his opinion with “I’m a Republican and here are my thoughts on”... Terry rebutted every point with precision and facts and I’m glad to read it here in The Nugget.

Brad Earl

What If...

To the Editor:

To those of you (Terry Weygand, Diane Hodgson, etc.) who were disappointed with CNN for not treating Trump as poorly as the media has in the past (Chris Wallace, Meghan Kelly), I have one question for you: What if Donald Trump has been telling the truth all along?

Hummmmm.

Jayne Simmons

Misinformation

To the Editor:

In response to Diane Hodgson’s Letter to the Editor (The Nugget, July 3): You said that Former President Trump was saying nothing but lies in the debate, wrong. Everything he said was the truth and everything you have said is nothing but hogwash.

President Trump does not lie; check his record out when he was President for four years. The left was saying he was going to get us into World War III, wrong. Gas prices were much lower, heating oil was lower. Everything you have said is just the opposite with President Biden. Former President Trump kept us out of wars. How can President Biden stand there at the debate and say that no American soldier was killed in Afghanistan? Did he forget about the 13 soldiers who were killed there? No he didn’t forget, he’s just a liar, he lies about things when he doesn’t even have to lie.

Biden’s overall record as President:

Bidenomics — inflation up 19.3 percent.

Green energy — all energy up 35.6 percent.

New spending $7 trillion dollars.

Federal interest rate 5.25-5.50 percent.

Illegal border crossings 10 million-plus.

China surge in espionage activities.

You say that the stock market is blooming, I don’t think so. Our military is very weak right now. Our country is going down the toilet. No country respects us anymore, they laugh at us. When former President Trump was president our country was blooming, our military was strong, and Americans had some kind of hope for the future. Now we don’t.

May God Bless America,

George J. Paschalson

Project 2025

To the Editor:

Have you heard of Project 2025, the collection of MAGA policy proposals and power grabs crafted by the Heritage Foundation, other right-wing organizations, and Trump advisors? They intend to reshape the federal government and quickly impose these MAGA policy proposals if Trump wins.

The president of the Heritage Foundation, Kevin Roberts, hailed the Supreme Court decision in Trump v. U.S. that conferred immunity on the president for “official acts.” He boasted that that decision and Project 2025 are leading to a “second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be,” a clear threat to anyone who dares oppose it. Roberts is closely affiliated with Hungary’s authoritarian leader, Viktor Orban, who is a Putin ally.

Trump says that he wants to be a dictator on day 1. Project 2025 is the blueprint for him to do so.

Here are just a few of Project 2025’s lowlights, all fact-checked:

• Trump would overturn the civil service system, put in place over 100 years ago to stop corruption and cronyism, by reclassifying tens of thousands of merit-based federal civil service workers as political appointees. Trump would exact “retribution” against apolitical federal employees, who would be replaced by cronies willing to implement Trump’s demands, even if they are illegal! Trump already tried to do this in 2020, but his executive order was overturned by Biden when he took office. This time Trump would succeed.

• Trump could take partisan control of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This together with the Supreme Court immunity decision would enable Trump to implement an authoritarian, Christian nationalist plan to transform the United States into an autocracy, infusing the government with the tenets of Christianity.

• Trump could direct the now-subservient DOJ to misapply the zombie Comstock Act, which bans the transmission of “obscene” materials through the mails, to prohibit the delivery of abortion medication by mail.

• Project 2025 proposes sharply reducing environmental and climate change regulations to favor fossil fuel production even though the US is energy self-sufficient. Funding for climate research would be cut.

• It calls for more tax cuts to benefit the wealthiest while cutting social programs, including the VA.

• Project 2025 is larded throughout with divisive culture war language like “woke agenda,” “climate fanaticism,” “radical Left,” and “flyover country.”

• It would abolish the Department of Education for purely ideological reasons.

• It would remove legal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and terminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, as well as affirmative action.

• It would abolish the Federal Reserve.

Responding to recent harsh criticism of the extremist Project 2025, Trump has recently tried to disavow it. But his own allies and advisors participated in creating it, and it closely tracks his past statements. We can’t believe Trump because he lies about everything. Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer refused to answer my question about her position on Project 2025 at her so-called tele town hall on June 25.

Our democracy is now at great risk. We cannot put in power those who would destroy it.

Mary Chaffin

The 3 a.m. call

To the Editor:

On the news the other night we witnessed three Democrat governors declare “Joe has had our back, now we have Joe’s” based on fallout from the disastrous debate. What about the backs of “we the people,” or the safety of our country as this charade drags on? This incompetent administration and their reprobates in the mainstream press have intentionally lied or withheld the truth from “we the people” for the past 3-1/2 years.

I’m very concerned about the weakening of our military done by a senseless woke agenda without any accountability while our enemies see and hear as we all have. Is Hillary’s famous ad “the 3 a.m. phone call” worth talking about again? I believe it is. We live in very dangerous world.

It was about 50 years ago: My crew was back home from deployment in Southeast Asia, and round-the-clock operations in the Navy’s P3-Orion ASW (anti-submarine warfare) aircraft. It wasn’t long before being assigned the 24-hour Ready Alert. At 1 a.m. the call came from the duty office “we’re launching the ready alert come in ASAP.” Fifteen minutes later the assigned aircraft is powered up, final ordnance being loaded, fuel topped off, pilots getting weather briefing, navigator aligns inertial system/prepares charts, and as Mission Commander/Tactical Coordinator (TACCO) along with sensor operators we go for mission briefing. Off America’s coast beneath the surface intelligence reports a Soviet Yankee class Submarine carrying 20+ ballistic nuclear missiles is on patrol. After takeoff and arriving at search area a BT buoy is dropped to assess the water temperature profile, one engine is shut down to save fuel, all stations report that equipment is go, and the bomb bay doors checklist completed. Then ordnance prepares for the release of a search pattern of DIFAR buoys. Hours later Sensor Station #1: “TACCO I have contact on buoy 13, checking 12 and 14 now.” A FLASH TS message is prepared for transmission to appropriate levels. The “cat and mouse” hunt continued till we locate the sub’s physical position over 100 miles from our first buoy dropped, and our A/C is on top their submerged position. They now can hear us when we fly over them.

Flight calls back on the ICS: “TACCO, remaining fuel says we have 30 minutes max time left and will need to depart, what is your plan?”

Nothing requiring waking the president happened on this flight, but those who could make the call were in constant contact; thankfully peace through strength being a major deterrent at that time. We must not risk projecting grossly weak leadership where global conditions just might encourage action that necessitates the 3 a.m. phone call.

In 50 years, the global environment has changed dramatically as has the threat and development of weapon systems. What if on a similar mission today Sensor Station #1 calls out: “TACCO, sub is opening exterior hatches and flooding missile tubes”? Who do you want taking the 3 a.m. call?

Jeff Mackey