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

"Animal abuser to leave county." Wow, now he can just take his little puppy mill and horse breeding abuser program to another town. As long as it's not in Wallowa County, everyone's happy.

Does anyone else see the absurdity in this sentence from the newspaper? For someone who has been charged twice with abusing animals, it is a pretty safe bet he will do it again. He clearly needs to be in jail or we will be reading about him again very soon.

I am sickened by the agreement and certainly hope some kind of monitoring will be done to prevent him from doing this again, wherever he ends up.

Rebecca Lester

La Grande

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On Sept. 13, former Oregon State Police Senior Trooper Larry Purdy pleaded no contest to official misconduct II amid other potentially chargeable crimes, effectively concluding his career in Oregon law enforcement. Mr. Mike Hovde's previous commentary suggested the investigation was driven by the "Rattling of personal sabers," unmistakably directed at the La Grande OSP management.

I would offer a statement intended to ease the mortification that Mr. Hovde must certainly be plagued with now that the matter is closed. Perhaps he actually thought that your Oregon State Police, arguably the finest law enforcement agency in the nation, would stand for such conduct on the part of their managers. It could also be that he failed to consider that the Oregon State Police Officers Association, a powerful labor union, may even take exception to the department conducting some sort of witch hunt versus a member that they represent.

Do troopers plead no contest to criminal charges, resign their commissions and discontinue employment on a whim?

Do Circuit Court justices order letters of apology to victims, hours of community service and bench probation without vigilant deliberation?

An objective evaluation of the facts, free of religious bias, might imply that just-cause may in fact have existed. Take it for what it's worth, just a novel notion offered for contemplation.

Reg W. Madsen

Retired OSP lieutenant

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I would like to thank Chris Baxter for the wonderful front page of the Outdoors section of The Observer on Sept. 21. It is so refreshing to see something so pleasant and beautiful as nature displayed in such an appealing way as he has done!

It reminds us that we need to take time to see the beauty in the world around us — even the places you would never imagine it to be!

Thanks again Chris and keep up the good work!

Bonnie Dunn

Union

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David Brock's latest letter confirmed that his venting against conservationists is based on preserving jobs — probably his own (Dr. Candler, I believe that my question was valid, in the spirit of disclosure).

Previously, he complained that the Hells Canyon Preservation Council employed economists. Now, he's demanding that they prove that the "wildlife biologists and scientists within the Forest Service, state agencies and private sector exist." Huh?

He continues to rant about people having a right to make their living off the land, something that I and most people would agree on, to a point — do they have a right to pollute streams while making their living?

He also makes the point (to which everyone must agree) that all we consume comes ultimately from the earth.

Therefore, I say, we must use it wisely so that it is renewable and benefits all our descendants, not just a few in our generation. That is the conservationists' message.

We all agree that the environment is a precious resource. We disagree about how much use will result in irreparable harm.

In the short term, some may be harmed economically by limiting some activities. However, we are all dependent on a healthy environment, so it is also true that all of us, as well as our descendants, will be harmed in the long run by any activities that cause irreparable damage to the environment. Therefore, it seems that we have our priorities backwards — instead of having to prove that an activity will damage the environment (in order to stop the activity of someone that will receive a short-term economic benefit), I believe that those who wish to conduct an activity should have to demonstrate that it will not cause environmental damage.

I have no illusion that my view will prevail, however — we are too short-sighted and greedy.

Tim Hoffnagle

La Grande

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The Music Over the Valley committee would like to express our appreciation to The Observer and especially to Jeff Petersen for all the publicity we have received over the past three summers and for all the help he's given us. Without Jeff's articles in Go Magazine, we would have had far fewer audience members coming out to Cove and the Ascension School to enjoy the concerts and we would have had a much harder time raising money for the performers.

Thank you, also, to all of you who have attended the concerts. Part of our goal has been to provide free entertainment for the people in the Grande Ronde Valley, as well as to provide a venue for up-and-coming performers and established groups. We hope you've liked what we've done so far. We intend to do even more in the future.

In closing, we'd like to remember Tina Petersen and her work for the community and The Observer by planting a tree in the Ascension School Memorial Garden in her name.

Thank you again for your support.

Kelly Anderson, Ruth Brandt and Sherry Hartley

Music Over the Valley

Cove

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On Sept. 10, The New York Times ran a $165,000 ad for MoveOn.org for $61,000 which called Gen. Petraeus "Gen. Betray Us."

This officer has 33 years of service and 21 service ribbons, one of which is the Purple Heart. Ask any veteran, especially a veteran who was wounded in battle, what that ribbon means to him or her. Thankfully, I never earned one.

Not one Democrat in the Senate stood up and condemned that blasphemous ad slandering this fine officer. Incidentally, these are the same Democrats who voted unanimously to approve his appointment (which included his plan) as commander of Iraq Forces and again unanimously approved his promotion to general (4 stars).

What if on June 5, 1944, a paper had run such an ad naming Gen. Eisenhower a betrayer of his country? What a storm of protest would have been raised!

Don't tell me my beloved country for which I fought in WW II hasn't gone to hell. But I still love this country with all my heart and would fight again if called to, though I'm 84 years old.

Roy Hills

Island City

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From Sept. 28 through Oct. 4, students from La Grande Middle School will be contacting friends, neighbors and relatives to offer them an opportunity to subscribe to a wide selection of over 750 magazines.

Each year LMS sponsors a magazine drive as its only fundraiser. Students earn prizes for selling and the school receives 40 percent of the proceeds to use for new equipment like computers. It is win-win for

everyone.

I have been told that some people prefer to donate money without purchasing a subscription. Others love to read magazines but would rather access the library's collection than accumulate stacks of them at home. But the library doesn't subscribe to every magazine that someone would want to read.

So last year, a new partner was added to the drive — Cook Memorial Library. As a result, the library added five new subscriptions to their shelves and LMS received a percentage of the cost. This year we have the opportunity to continue these five subscriptions and add some new ones.

Here's how if works. Go to Cook Memorial Library through Oct. 4 and look at the catalog of available magazines. Complete a special order form and leave the donation with the library. The process will permit people to order a specific magazine, make a donation to renew one of the magazines ordered last year or make a donation for the library's subscription of choice. The library would then complete the circle by placing an order with LMS.

This is in no way intended to interfere with the students and their sales. This fundraiser is designed to have the library partner with LMS and draw in new individuals who would not have otherwise participated in the drive.

Let's help everyone win!

Ginny Mammen

La Grande