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

"Recently I received an e-mail"; "The liberal media would never report this"; "A good Christian friend gave me this information"; "Read this message and pass it on." Welcome to the world of urban legends!

Snopes.com, about.com, truthorfiction.com, BreaktheChain.org and hoaxkill.com are some of the websites that have been created to verify the validity of the thousands of e-mail messages communicated over the Internet. 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.

We are really disappointed that a WWII veteran (Nov. 29 letter to the editor) would unintentionally get sucked into an enabler's position in the Internet world.

Germany and Japan used the likes of Joseph Goebbles and Tokyo Rose to spread their messages of hate and deception. Just imagine how much more effective they would have been if they had resources like Fox News Channel or a Rush Limbaugh, and even better, a base of right-wing followers willing to pass along anything that discredits anyone who might not fit their own political, social or religious venue.

Michael B. Farmer

Wallowa

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I sent a check to cover the cost of a parking ticket that I received in November and a copy of this letter to the City of La Grande and the Downtown Merchants Association.

I find it absolutely fascinating that the city penalizes those who choose to spend their money with downtown merchants. I merely had an appointment with a hairdresser and ended up being there for 2 1/2 hours, spending $100 with the beautician and some additional dollars in another nearby business just before the appointment.

I want the Downtown Development Association to know that because of the city's actions, I made another choice. I chose not to spend my Christmas dollars downtown. Instead, I took them out to Wal-Mart and shopped online for whatever I couldn't get at Wal-Mart. The total not spent downtown this year came to a hair under $700.

I want downtown merchants and the association to know that I'm very sorry, but this is the cost of not working with the city to resolve the issue. I will continue to frequent businesses where I am not subject to parking tickets.

Here's an idea. What about giving personal service businesses a form or card they can fill out that can be sent to the city if their client gets a parking ticket?

Come on, City of La Grande, work with your downtown association!

Diane Johnston

Elgin

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Bravo to Lanetta Paul & Friends (Kiel Fauske, Leandro Espinosa, Jamie Jacobson, Mollie Ford, Cherlyne Allen and Teun Fetz) for an excellent concert in December at the United Methodist Church in La Grande.

The organ at the church is very impressive and Teun's marimba was a great addition. The selections and quality of the performers was the best I have heard this season. I hope Lanetta continues this impressive annual concert and expands it to include something in the spring.

Thanks again to all for the inspiring performance!

Joe Kresse

La Grande

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Several years ago, the businesses in downtown La Grande got together to get the parking along the north side of Jefferson Avenue changed from two-hour to 24-hour to give themselves and their employees parking, which was also convenient for many customers who could park on Jefferson and walk to several shops without moving their cars every two hours.

Over time, railroad employees found that without two-hour parking restrictions, they no longer had to park in the railroad parking lot and walk to the depot. Due to this turn of events, there are many days that there is no parking for the employees or customers along Jefferson Avenue, which makes me wonder how many customers have been unable to shop downtown as long as they would have liked.

Because I work across from the depot I see that the railroad workers leave the vehicles, sometimes, for several days at a time. I too am affected by them not using an empty railroad parking lot, as are many other people.

I spoke to a railroad representative earlier this year (and on more than one occasion), and was assured that he would speak to the employees and encourage the use of railroad parking. I have seen little to no results.

Would it not be in the best interest of all concerned for the employees of the railroad to park in their own designated parking and leave the public parking for the rest of us?

For a copy of the map showing the railroad parking, call the City of La Grande Public Works Office or go to www.ci.la-grande.or.us, click on "public works," "information section," then the downtown parking map.

Debra J. Koller

La Grande

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I think we need to have more drug- and alcohol-free activities like the "New Year's Lock-in" on Dec. 31.

If we had more, I think that it would have a greater effect on little kids because the activities are fun. The activities act like a role model for the kids. If the kids like the activities, maybe they won't want to do drugs. Illegal drugs are almost the leading cause of death in the United States. If we had no more illegal drugs, the world would be a better place.

Pets that live in drug users' homes don't get good care. I was watching the news the other night and I saw a dog that was so skinny it made me want to cry, and it was all because the owner was doing drugs. If people want to screw up their life by doing illegal drugs, let them. Just don't let them when they are high get close to other people.

People who are abusively doing illegal drugs can be suicidal or they can hurt somebody else. I don't think people should be able to use illegal drugs in the United States. That is my opinion.

Zach Howell, age 13

Boy Scout Troop 514

La Grande

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I was a little upset when one of my family members told me that her coach said that if her family didn't stop sideline-coaching, she would be benched.

Well, if I remember my history clear back to the Roman times, there has always been yelling and cheering from the sidelines. I always thought that sports were for kids who enjoyed playing, had a talent to show and to learn sportsmanship. If you want to coach, you teach the players and don't make them feel that their families shouldn't show up — they can't pick their families. Some are louder than others and in this case, our family is one of them, but don't take it out on the player.

Let's teach them the sport and show them what they need to learn and to enjoy it. Stop the politics and the favoritism and getting upset about the sideline-coaching. And stop saying negative things about an athlete's family in front of the other players or to that player. Not all coaches are like this, but I think that it should stop.

No one said that coaching was easy, but coaches take their jobs for one reason or another. Some kids need sports but most important, they look up to the people who are training them and they need that person to be there for support and understanding.

Dorthea Sutor

Union

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In O Henry's classic Christmas story, "The Gift of the Magi," he tells of a poor young couple who sacrificed their own self-interest to express love for each other.

The husband sells his gold watch to buy a set of expensive combs for his wife's hair which was very long and extraordinarily beautiful. In the meantime, she cuts her hair and sells it in order to buy a gold chain for his watch. On Christmas day, they surprise each other in unexpected ways when they exchange gifts.

This story was repeated in La Grande on New Year's Eve when our local Youth For Christ ministry, in concert with several area churches and support from local merchants, put on a 12-hour New Year's Eve party for Eastern Oregon teens.

For 12 hours, between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., more than 100 volunteers gave of their time to make this event happen and 300 teens gave their courtesy and respect in return.

O Henry reminds us at the end of his short story that the magi were "wise men who brought gifts to the babe in the manger." The characters and the gifts often change, but the gift of God's love is beautiful in every season.

If you would like to support the Youth for Christ ministry in La Grande, contact Kevin Rainey at 963-4190 or drop by the J House at 1001 Second St. to meet Kevin, our La Grande chapter director.

Terry Trudel

Island City

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A member of the La Grande community died recently. Betty Ragsdale was her name. She was a master teacher and retired from the La Grande school system a number of years ago. I read her obituary online and found no fault with it — it had all the facts. What it didn't have was a sense of what Betty meant to those of us who were her students.

My classmates and I were among her earliest students at La Grande High School in the late 1940s. She taught freshman English and a whole lot more. She had a way about her that inspired learning. The girls loved her. The boys adored her. She made Shakespeare come to life and made sentence structure an adventure. When interest flagged, she found a way to bring us back.

In those days there was no television (imagine!). But we had radio and during the 1948 World Series she turned on the radio for the class and we all listened to the final game. Hmmm, yes, daytime games (imagine!).

She and her late husband, Don, remained friends and mentors to many of us and we stayed in touch over the years and visited when we could. She leaves a void in our lives even after all this time. I'm sure there are many teachers today who influence their students beyond the classroom but Betty was one of a kind for us — in our time — and remained a strong influence in our lives.

Bon voyage, Betty, and thanks for all you gave us.

Carol (Weiss) Jones

Rehoboth Beach, Del.