>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

We dog lovers need to start taking responsibility for our dog leavings.

Being a dog owner, we are responsible for what our dogs do — and that includes what they leave behind. I'm not sure how to word it, but I'll say it as nice as I can: Dog poop is being left in the cemetery when people walk their dogs there.

It does not take much to carry a plastic sack with you to pick it up with. I carry a sandwich bag, but I have carried empty bread sacks too.

Put your hand in the sack and pick it up and pull it into the sack. Very easy.

I'm afraid that one of these days the cemetery will not allow dogs in if we don't clean up after them now. We need to show respect for the loved ones buried there and the families that come to visit their loved ones.

I enjoy walking in the cemetery and so does my dog. The roads are well maintained and that means a lot to me since I shattered my leg a year ago. My walking does not come as easy as it used to. It is quiet and shady.

Please, dog lovers, start picking up after your dogs.

Shirley Johnson

La Grande

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Referring to Congress, columnist Rich Lowry basically says "Those who can't legislate, investigate." That's cute, but it distracts from a big reason for the new Congress' "failure": Democrats try to legislate what Americans want, but the GOP blocks their efforts.

If you're unable to complete an assigned task at work, do you try to find out why things aren't working? Democrats swept the vote in 2006 due to Bush's Iraq policies. Some Republican politicians speak out against Bush, but at voting time, the GOP ultimately circles the wagons and supports him. With elections upcoming, some of these politicians probably want to distance themselves from a very unpopular president. Whatever the motives of these Congressional Republicans, they are the ones keeping things from getting done.

Why does our attorney general make so many contradicting and evasive statements? If U.S. attorneys were fired because they refused to indict Democrats for spurious reasons before the 2006 elections, why is it wrong to ask who ordered the firings? If someone in the administration outed a CIA agent and Bush said whoever did it would be fired, why did we instead see a presidential pardon?

Asking "why" often leads to investigating. Why does the administration vehemently refuse subpoenas for information? What are they afraid of us finding out? The more they keep us uninformed, the easier it is for them to deceive us. I don't know about you, but I would like to know what they're up to. It's our country they're running, after all.

Democrats ask why while Republicans and their administration say "Don't ask questions." Forget what Mr. Lowry and the Republicans say, because being submissive is not representative of American values. Republicans decry investigations because they fear they'll lose power. We need to keep asking questions. That's the American way.

John Evans Jr.

La Grande

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The recent column by Rich Lowry was right on the mark.

The ineptitude of the Democratic-led Congress defies comprehension. They continue to play endless games of "gotcha" with the likes of Scooter Libby, Alberto Gonzales and others.

Meanwhile, important needs of the nation are ignored. The tragic bridge collapse in Minneapolis underscores our need for legislators to stop playing games and do the work we hired them to do.

Steve Boe

La Grande

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My family and I moved back to Cove a few years ago. We wanted a friendly and helpful community— a caring and safe place to raise our children away from big city life. People seem to care about others here. Or so I thought until July 29.

I went to the Great American Harvest to pick peas and to instill a sense of helping others in my children. I was not prepared for what we found. Not only was the turnout of 30 people or so appalling, but stories of how the community does not feel it is important to advertise the Great American Harvest or help those in need left a sick feeling in my stomach. After picking 12 pounds of vegetables in 45 minutes, I was tired and felt I hadn't even helped considering the work that still needed to be done.

Looking out over the fields later in the day, there were two people working away in the blazing sun. I wondered why there weren't more people helping.

We all enjoy the friendly smiles while out and about in our daily lives. I am sure I am not the only one that feels the sense of pride that comes with being part of this wonderful place.

Please take a minute to remember why you live here and the special people around you that make this place a home. More importantly, don't let this become a place where everyone gets too caught up in their own daily grind to remember to help those in need.

I would like to think that if I ever needed help from the community, they would be there for me and my family.

Jennifer Woodward

Cove

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Why doesn't the federal government have enough money to maintain our forest roads?

Consider these statistics: An average $252 billion federal deficit each year for the past seven years; a $3 trillion rise in our national debt; our yearly trade deficit has doubled to over $800 billion in the past six years; a $600 billion war in Iraq; a $1.35 trillion tax cut in 2001 plus a $318 billion tax cut in 2003 plus a $70 billion tax cut in 2006 — all for the "right people."

Gee, we can cut back on research to combat diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer's and cancer; reduce port and air security; cut senior drug benefits, education programs, county payments, food stamps, SCHIP, highways and drug and immigration enforcement. I'll bet our men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan wouldn't mind if we took away their body armor and IED-protected vehicles so we could all go four-wheeling in our national forests.

Signs in the yard, petitions, letters to the editor, talk show causes and above all, greed, have made the forest road-bellyachers an embarrassment to our country.

The next time you are upset about the Forest Service's need to maintain a budget, think, "When I filled in that ballot in 2000 and again in 2004, did I realize Bumbling Bush, Flip-Flop Smith and Rubber Stamp Walden were going to do this to me?"

Mike Farmer

Wallowa

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We were fortunate enough to be able to attend the first North Powder Huckleberry Festival on Aug. 4.

We had such a wonderful time watching the parade, prowling all the booths (and spending some money), listening to music, eating elephant ears and enjoying the Fireman's Barbecue at the end of a long, beautiful day.

We would like to congratulate the planning committee and all the

participants.

We sure hope that this year's festival will be the first of a long tradition.

Linda L. Sullivan

Carolyn H. Clapp

Portland

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I couldn't help but notice on Monday's front page, "Suit Aims to Block Timber Sales." Many eco-groups that cry foul on land use are usually claiming an esteemed lock on conservation that seemingly the rest of us don't share.

Have those groups physically looked at the biotic and abiotic components that ensure wise stewardship? Can they prove what they say, or just count on the warped definitions they provide to the courts?

These preservationist groups attack the very livelihoods that built the infrastructure, cities and roads they use on a daily basis. I'm curious how they (Hells Canyon Preservation Council) know about conservation when members of their staff hold degrees in political science and economics, commerce, agricultural economics, psychology and health and physical education. There's no mention of science degrees in range, forestry, biology, botany, etc., that would indicate principles and applications to land management based on quantitative data, rather than qualitative eco-emotionalism. With staff titles like "Restoration Coordinator" and "Ecosystem Conservation Coordinator," I find it amusing that they could make such claims to land management at all.

Those places they claim to save have provided many resources we all use on a daily basis. Everything we have on this planet came from growing, raising, harvesting or extracting. Decisions about how land is used belongs to the people that actually use the land in a sustainable manner to the benefit of all people for all uses — not only non-use.

We in natural resources also embrace solitude, wildlife and the experience of wilderness with an appreciation that runs as deep as any preservationist, but to discriminate against modern-day management on almost every front with a bias of emotion and ignorance in the real sciences is nothing more than hypocrisy in its truest form.

Think about preserving society sometime.

David Brock

La Grande

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We senior citizens, who depend on the forest for wood, cannot be site specific as there is no way we can know in advance when a tree we would need to access for wood will die. The fact that we cannot and do not patrol the same square mile of area every time we look for wood should not make our need to access the forest less important than the desire a vacationer has to access the same camping area time after time.

Closure of any roads, trails, skid roads or open access areas of any kind could make it almost impossible for some of us to harvest wood. A warm house is more important to a set of old bones than a good snowmobile ride is to a middle aged sportsman or sportswoman.

Fairness would dictate that as much credence be given this point as to any other reason to keep any part of the forest open.

A figure of 9,000 miles of road was mentioned to give the public the idea that one person can spend weeks out there and never drive all the roads. That is true, but to put it in perspective, 250 wood hunters need only drive 36 miles each to have explored all 9,000 miles of road and have exhausted the prospects of finding a load.

Gary Poole

Wallowa

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I just saw a news story on TV about men who are left behind during their wives' deployment in the service. They spend more time with the children and do a better job. I am very proud of those who do. These men have usually always been the bread winner, so they do not need to worry about losing their homes or trying to find a job (in a hurry) that will provide for the family, keep the bills paid and the children fed.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if our country and the people in it would realize that the whole family is involved in the war efforts? The spouse who stays at home should be able to qualify for GI Loans, complete with living expenses, so that he or she could get the education needed to keep their homes and their families together.

Most of the women who worked while their husbands were at war made a wonderful second income, but not enough to hold things together while their man was not there. Make that loan available to them without affecting the availability to the spouse that served our country so proudly.

Whether you support the war or not is irrelevant. The fact remains that we need to face the realities that come with serving our country. When our men and women return home, do they have one? Or is it only a memory?

Barbara Weeks

La Grande