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Opinion Letters Letters and comments for the week ending January 12, 2008
Letters and comments for the week ending January 12, 2008
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In the past several months, three displayed statues belonging to Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church have been damaged or destroyed. Late last Saturday or Sunday night, the Baby Jesus figure from the outdoor nativity scene at the church was taken and later found destroyed. As a member of the Our Lady of the Valley parish family and a proud member of the Christian faith family, I am hurt and bewildered at these malicious actions. If vandals are behind the destruction, I'd like to ask them to please stop. If it is being done by someone who has a problem with the Catholic Church, I invite them to contact me or the church and together we will work it out. I want to ask for these hurtful and thoughtless acts to please stop and as Jesus did, we forgive these people. Daniel Pokorney La Grande ________________________ Some time ago, La Grande Mayor Colleen Johnson wrote a Community Comment on the theme of how scary and hard change can be. Some in this valley feel otherwise. For many of us change is not only hoped for and welcomed but invited in the door. It looks like we'll be getting a healthy serving of change in 2008. The new La Grande city manager is coming on board in the middle of this month. Come next fall, the county commission will have at least one new member and with any luck the La Grande City Council will see some fresh faces. La Grande could surely use some new, vital leaders who not only advocate change but embrace, encourage, invite and allow it to happen. This past year has seen some old businesses go, but new, young ones have filled-in some of the gaps and the downtown could be on the brink of the renaissance many have been craving and working hard to bring to reality. Viva change! Josey Fast La Grande ________________________ After years of extracting oil, the world's finally seeing the effect of over-consumption. The United States alone is currently using more than 6 million barrels of oil every day, and most of it is being used by cars. There are so many ways to reduce the world's consumption of oil and also slow global warming. Because of the rising cost of gas, many companies are coming out with more energy-efficient cars and even some cars which use gas substitutes. My favorite gas substitute is hydrogen, which is profitable and easy to make but is highly explosive. GM has already made prototypes. In some areas, people are using biofuel, which would help cure the United States' dependency on foreign oil because it's made out of organic materials such as corn. There are many substitutes for gas, and some places are even using algae, cow poop and garbage. I urge everyone who's getting a new car to get a hybrid or hold on to your old car until better hybrids or cars that run on gas substitutes come out. Together we can stop or at least slow down global warming and save our planet for future generations. William Densmore, age 14 Boy Scouts Troop No. 415 ________________________ The past few days have shown Sen. Hillary Clinton as taking a small dip in the polls. This will probably be short-lived due to the need for a smooth transition into a new administration. Hillary has quoted Bill Clinton as saying this very same thing. Consider this: Sen. Clinton has lived in the White House, worked in the Oval Office and, for what it's worth, has probably slept in the Lincoln bedroom. So the way I see it, all Hillary needs to do is put Monica Lewinski back on the payroll, and it's business as usual. Jerry Byers Union ________________________ In a letter to the editor titled "Spreading Deception" printed Dec. 31 and written by Michael B. Farmer of Wallowa, the following statement was included: "David Mikkelson and his wife, Barbara, founders of the website, snopes.com, have stated that 80 percent of all erroneous political e-mail is created by right wing pundits." This was a statement that definitely needed checking out, so I decided to ask the Mikkelsons directly about Mr. Farmer's claim. Including it verbatim in my e-mail, I asked, "Is this true, an urban legend, or has this guy been sniffing glue?" They graciously responded immediately with an e-mail answer: "No, neither of us has ever made such a statement." Borrowing the last line of Mr. Farmer's letter: " ... followers willing to pass along anything that discredits anyone who might not fit their political, social or religious venue." Well, Mr. Farmer, it appears it is you who have been spreading deception and it's unfortunate, but your credibility is now in question.
Sheralyn Weller Elgin ________________________ I'm getting tired of all the Colleen MacLeod bashing going on in Union County. The mean-spirited diatribe recently printed in this newspaper has tipped me over the edge. I have known the MacLeods for over 30 years, and while I do not always share their politics, I have invariably found them to be well-intentioned, honorable and honest people — people with integrity. The allegations that Colleen and her spouse have misused or misappropriated public funds for personal gain are ludicrous. Colleen has worked hard for what she believed was the good of this community. If she was ever off the mark, it wasn't through the lack of care or effort. I don't think one can expect much more out of their elected officials. In a democracy, if you don't like the people you've elected, you can vote them off at the next election. There is something disturbing about a desire to tear them to shreds instead, especially after they have announced the intention of stepping down. Whenever this happens, it isn't Colleen who ends up looking bad. Polly Chartier Summerville |
