ENOUGH OF THIS CRAP

I sympathize with the authors of "Inside Baseball" (Viewpoint, 3/6) about tearing down neat old buildings. Eugene definitely has a knack for tearing down neat old things. The sadder thing is that too often they replace them with crap. The courthouse is a great example as is the downtown mall killing a vibrant cityscape. Now we're on the verge of losing Civic Stadium and McArthur Court — two venues with so much history and personality and unique odors. The problem is, these two buildings no longer serve their purpose.

As exciting as it is, McArthur Court is a very uncomfortable place to watch a basketball game, especially if you have to go to the bathroom and/or are sitting behind a pillar. Civic Stadium, I have on good authority, is terribly difficult and expensive to maintain even to its current dilapidated condition. And I've heard the bathrooms are worse than at Mac Court.

So I say, tear down these old bastions if you must, Eugene. All hail new toilets and unobstructed sightlines, easy exit in case of fire, and concession stands that pass the health department. But please, please, please, don't replace them with crap!

Paul Roth, Springfield

TIME TO RUBBLE

When I started reading the Viewpoint (3/6), I thought we were nearing the end of civilization as we know it. Then I realized that the writers were talking about sports stadiums.

In fretting about the new UO/Ems stadium they wrote "It eviscerates our connection to legends of the past and demolishes our shared history." Oh my!

About the new basketball arena they worry "we lose not only a building, but also a vital connection to teams of the past, our communal moments of heartache and celebration. All of it gone."

Get a grip, guys.

Civic Stadium and Mac Court are aging, ugly, deteriorating, rat-infested eyesores. Just because they are old does not make them special. I attend games at Civic, and we are season ticket holders at Mac Court. I can't wait for their replacements. They have both outlived their usefulness to the teams and the community.

And who says new facilities have to be uninspiring? Tell the Baltimore Orioles or the Colorado Rockies that their new facilities are bland. Tell the Seattle Mariners or Seahawks that new stadiums somehow kill the connection to the past. What a bunch of hooey!

Anyone who pays attention knows that the UO builds terrific sports facilities. The new basketball arena and the new baseball stadium will be first-rate additions to our community.

Life will go on long after Civic Stadium and Mac Court are rubble. Go Ducks!

Randy Kolb, Eugene

FISH THE PIT

Regarding the perpetual pit across from the library downtown, why don't we fill it with water, stock it with trout, plant grass sod and shrubbery around the edge, install benches and hold a couple of fishing derbies for the kiddies?

Terry Heintz, Eugene

CLUELESS AD

Track Town USA has shown itself to be a real throwback to the era of its origins, the 1960s. Their latest TV ad promoting the Olympic Trials consists of the words "The Whole World Is Watching" flashed over and over to the canned audio of some protesting demonstrators somewhere chanting those words. The use of this iconography to sell a sporting event is obscene. I'm guessing that the originators are clueless as to what's wrong with appropriating that phrase.

"The Whole World Is Watching" originated at the Chicago police riots of 1968 — it resurfaced after the National Guard riot at Kent State in 1970 and again at the WTO police riots in Seattle a few years back. In fact, the whole world watching the abuse of our human and civil rights probably curtailed some of the repressive violence.

The UO had its head in the sand about Vietnam, and it looks like that's become their default position. They should withdraw the ad.

Paul Prensky, Eugene

CALLING US TRAITORS

A recent study conducted by two independent journalism watchdog groups revealed that the Bush administration spoke 935 lies during the ramp-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Bush himself uttered 259 deliberate lies.? For some of us at the time, this duplicity was as obvious as the naked emperor himself. Five years ago, I was part of a group of 15 or so who attempted to stop business as usual at the Federal Building in Eugene. It was a last-ditch effort to point out the lies, focus attention on what would be lost and persuade policymakers to call off the dogs of war.

For our stand that day we were, at times, vilified and threatened. A local school teacher entering the building speculated that we might be crazy and/or dangerous. An enraged visitor labeled me with expletives and expressed his desire to punch my face in. (The ever-professional Homeland Security officer on the scene quickly took him for a walk.)?

We were called traitors that day, but such "patriotic fervor" is no substitute for reasoned judgment. In this year of frenetic elections campaigning, all Americans would best serve their nation by reflecting for a while on our collective propensity for gullibility. Why was it so easy to sell this madman's scheme which has wrought so much death, misery, and loss of world respect? And why were the mainstream media so eager to help with the sales job??

Top Nazi Hermann Goering had it figured when he observed, during his trial at Nuremberg: "Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, a parliament or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."?

When will we ever learn?

Vip B. Short, Eugene

DOUBLE STANDARD

Once again, the U.S. has flaunted international law. In a precedent-setting move, the U.S. encouraged Kosovo Albanians to proclaim independence from Serbia and then recognized it in violation of U.N. Security Council's resolution #1244. That resolution recognized Serbia's claim to Kosovo and brought in international administrators to govern.

This has become a familiar pattern used by the U.S. government: Support international law when it suits your interests but violate it when it doesn't. In 1991, the U.S. justified its attack on Iraq by claiming to uphold the U.N. charter, which states that borders cannot be changed by force without the consent of all parties involved. Then last week, after violating that principle in Kosovo, it supported Turkey in its move across an international border to attack Kurdish rebels fighting for independent Kurdistan.

Why allow Albanians in Kosovo to secede from Serbia but not allow Kurdish independence from Turkey? Why can't Serbs in Republica Srpska secede from Bosnia as Croatia did from Yugoslavia? Why ask the U.N. to uphold the rule of "international law" in the aftermath of the attack on the U.S. embassy in Belgrade but ignore the U.N. when you unilaterally invade Iraq or bomb Serbia?

The answer is simple. Albanian Kosovars will allow the U.S. to keep a huge military base in Kosovo (Camp Bondsteel), and Serbs won't. Croatia will allow U.S. warships to use its ports in the Adriatic while Yugoslavia wouldn't. Turkey is our NATO ally while the Bosnian Serbs aren't.

So much for the "rule of law."

Pete Mandrapa, Eugene

FEED THE NETWORK

I've been following the Eugene Police Department's frequent request for more expensive officers, and it occurs to me that law enforcement is only one aspect of the crisis network. Some other aspects are crisis intervention and de-escalation, drug and alcohol treatment, rape crisis counseling, safe houses for battered women and hunger prevention.

A few of the organizations doing this work are White Bird/Cahoots, Buckley House, Sexual Assault Support Services, Womenspace and FOOD for Lane County. While the presence of the Eugene police can be needed in violent crime and in traffic related crisis, they can't be expected to manage all aspects of crisis nor are they qualified to. When it comes to distributing funds, it could be effective to strengthen the entire crisis network rather than lean too heavily on one specialized part.

Kari Johnson, Eugene

WAL-MART SAVING TIME

Thanks to the feds, we changed our clocks to Daylight Saving Time March 9 this year. They don't go back 'til Nov 2. This means Standard Time is no longer "standard." It's barely four months. What's the use? Some people like the "extra" daylight, but I say to them, "Wake up earlier."

Screwing with the clocks was considered a great idea by the retail lobby. Congress and the Senate bought it. The thought is that more people will want to run out and go shopping if there's daylight. I don't see the Pavlovian connection. Ugh. Thanks, D.C.

While we're at it, let's change the name of the new hour to "Wal-Mart Saving Time." I mean, go all the way if you're gonna go at all.

Glenn Leonard, Eugene

PAINFUL REALITY

It is a big job to raise a child these days, even more so as we try to combat the onslaught of hazardous items that come our way. The scandals of lead-tainted toys and toxic baby bottles shocked many of us. Camilla Mortensen's Feb. 28 cover story, "Small Town, Big Clearcut," brought another painful reality to light: Our children are exposed to harmful pesticides.

Two billion pounds of pesticides are used each year in the U.S. That includes pesticides used by homeowners; it includes pesticides sprayed around schools and parks; and it includes pesticides sprayed on our food. Pesticides do not stay where they are applied. They find their way into our air, our water and even our bodies.

A recent study of Seattle-area children found that eating organic food protects children from harmful pesticides. Researchers consistently found signs of insecticides in the urine of children who ate conventional food. When those same children switched to a mostly organic diet, the researchers could not detect the presence of the chemicals.

While concerned parents are acting wisely to rid pesticides outside school buildings, the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives (NCAP) to Pesticides is also working to eliminate pesticides inside the school cafeteria. By serving organic food, schools will reduce children's exposure to pesticides, provide students with more nutritious food and help create a sustainable world for the future. It is time to recognize the hazards of pesticides and do what we can to support alternatives. Eating organic is part of that effort.

Aimee Code, NCAP, Eugene

LOCAL REPRESENTATION

In a recent letter to the R-G (3/3), Senator Bill Morrisette praises the Springfield practice of having councilors voted on by the whole city, rather than being elected by ward, as is the case in fumbling, incompetent Eugene. None of that pesky minority representation of the far side of I-5. What a great idea!

But he doesn't go far enough. Why not have Lane Commissioners selected by the entire county? That way we wouldn't be bothered by all those rural concerns; those voters only make up about a third of the population anyway.

And what about in at the state level? Much better to have senators and representatives for all, not just for local districts. Of course, Morrisette may have a harder time getting elected then, but what the heck? Gotta have that Portland-area majority check on minority input.

Matter of fact, let's extend this to the whole country! Wouldn't you love to have your "local" rep chosen in large part by folks from California, New York and Texas? Call it "getting the nation's act together."

Sarcasm aside, it's members like Bill Morrisette who have helped push me away from the Democrat Party. But I'm sure the Chamber of Commerce still loves him. That little group always seems to be well-represented.

Bill Smee, Springfield

WINTER OLYMPICS

Mark Robinowitz (2/28) is as frustrated as I am with mainstream antiwar groups. We're in Year Eight of the Bush dictatorship, and American delusionaries are still using minimal effort and useless routines to stop the march of The Empire's global conquest. Perhaps these people are living in a state of denial over the real reasons behind 9/11. Perhaps they're fearful of arrest.

Delusionaries are probably stressed out trying to decide which corporate-controlled, minority candidate would best represent their interests as president.

Maybe they should take a break from politics. A working vacation might be in order. I hear there's plenty of job openings in British Columbia. The multi-billion dollar, corporate-sponsored Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver and Whistler in 2010. Huge facilities for the games, resort/condo construction and highway projects are paving the way toward sustainable games.

An American could go up there and work as an illegal alien and see how it feels. At least they speak English.

The native peoples of the area — Coast Salish, St'at'imc and Squamish — are complaining about the extensive destruction of their traditional homelands, but the only people listening to their protests are police in riot gear.

During a recent visit to Vancouver, International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge declared "Sport can act as an agent of change. Hosting the Olympics is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to showcase the celebration of environmental and social legacies that can change a community and its citizens forever." Mr. Rogge is trilingual — speaking French, English and Orwellian.

Robert Simms, Corvallis

THE REAL EASTSIDE

I am a 9-year-old fourth grade Eastside student, and I disagree with Katelyn Best's judgment about Eastside students being elitist (2/28). My experience here (having been here for four years) has been very, very good. And I get the free-and-reduced lunch sometimes, because it is hard for my parents to afford school lunches. I'd like to know the Parker kids more and would like to be friends with them — everybody at Eastside would — but I don't have the chance. I have seen Parker students only four times during school.

One of my best friends goes to Fox Hollow, and I got really mad when you called her a "Frenchie." I hate it when people call other people names, especially for no good reason. I also have lots of friends at other schools, too.

At least once every month at Eastside we have a discussion about bullying just to see if anyone has seen bullying. Only one person has seen something even close to bullying this year. Sometimes school is my favorite part of the day because Eastside is a very fun kid-friendly school. Sometimes the parents even come in just to tell stories or to sing! Anyway, I was very confused when I read your message.

Sadie Willow Palatnick, Eugene

CONSIDER MERKLEY

I was puzzled that EW found it appropriate to include in its Feb. 14 "News" section an article about Pete Sorenson's recent endorsement of an U.S. Senate candidate and not mention any of Democratic candidate Jeff Merkley's endorsements. The many local leaders endorsing Jeff include Phil Barnhart, Paul Holvey, Floyd Prozanski and Kitty Piercy. A healthy and growing list of labor unions also back Merkley, including the Oregon AFL-CIO, Oregon Nurses Association & the American Federation of Teachers-Oregon.

Like his endorsers, progressives have many reasons to support Merkley. As speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, Merkley used his leadership this past year to help pass legislation legalizing domestic partnerships, investing in alternative energy, and expanding funding for Head Start and education. He did so with a razor-thin majority while representing West Linn, requiring skill, guts and consensus building. Merkley also brings a wealth of community, federal and international experience to the table.

My guess is that Merkley might not have had a lot of time to meet people for beer this past month because he was busy serving Oregonians in Salem during the legislative session. I hope that voters won't hold this against him and support Jeff because he offers us the opportunity to elect someone with progressive values and who has the experience and background to defeat Gordon Smith.

Jennifer Geller, Eugene

NO INDUSTRIAL SOLUTIONS

I'd like to thank John Zerzan (1/31) for his input regarding a light rail system and how any industrial solution is not good for Eugene. In the coming months I encourage John to host a symposium demonstrating how he has converted his home to harness wind and solar power, his gray water and rain collection system as well as his ability to grow all his food and harvest all of life's essentials from the natural environment.

I hope the symposium will include information on how to be a profitable writer without using a computer and how these ideas can be implemented in cities such as Oakland, Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia and New York City. Keep up the good work, and thank you for your input.

Peter Griffin, Eugene

TOBACCO AD OFFENSIVE

Did I really see a full page color advertisement in the EW a few weeks back for TOBACCO? Did the EW advertising staff know that tobacco is a product which, when used as intended, kills the user and those in close proximity? Is EW that hard up for advertising dollars? It seemed so … I don't know, un-EW-like to see a full page color ad for something that kills. Was the "natural" label on the tobacco supposed to make it more acceptable? Come on, folks. Get it together.

Christy Sherman, Eugene

GM DANGERS

In response to Camilla Mortensen's Feb. 21 article "Ready for Roundup Ready Sugar?," please watch Debora Koons Garcia's excellent documentary The Future of Food as soon as you can. The film provides stunning information about unlabeled, genetically modified crops making their way into our bodies and our environment with little or no testing.

Even more, after farmers' fields in Canada were allegedly accidentally cross-pollinated with Monsanto's Roundup Ready varieties, Monsanto demanded patent usage fees from the farmers because the patent follows the GM gene. That's right. If the gene is in the plant, the company who owns the gene can demand payment for its usage. It doesn't matter how it got there.

Since most of the farmers did not have the financial means to fight, they settled out of court and are forbidden to discuss their settlements. One farmer fought — and lost. Canadian judges supported Monsanto's patent usage claims, and the farmer was forced to pay up. What a precedent!

The implications for Oregon's sugar beet farmers? If cross-pollination occurs, they not only can lose their naturally developed seeds, but they can also be asked to pay patent usage fees on the GM variety that invaded their fields. Shouldn't the farmers be suing the GM crop-producing companies for the destruction of their naturally developed seed?

Labeling of GM foods is law in European Union (EU) member countries. Why is the U.S. dragging its feet on this issue? Without proper labeling of GM foods, health effects cannot be monitored and health effect databases cannot be compiled. Without this basic information, it's much more difficult for people to avoid GM foods on physical, mental, spiritual or moral grounds. And there is no accountability for companies if adverse health effects are linked to their GM products.

According to the film, Monsanto has patented over 11,000 seeds, many of them not even genetically modified. Visit thefutureoffood.com for more information. And thank you, Camilla, for your informative article.

David Moody, Eugene

HOLY COW PIE

Ohhhh, the pain of one's pride being injured. And so mine is for finding out that my strong reaction to the news of Holy Cow's closing was not based in fact but assumption, and for having unfairly impugned the UO decision-makers about the decision to not renew Holy Cow's contract (quote from my Feb. 8 letter: "I wonder if any one of them has ever eaten at Holy Cow. Something tells me no.") I'M SORRY. I'm sorry for making a judgment about you. May my pride never ever elevate itself above anyone for any reason. If it should, I think some pie in my face is well-deserved.

Molly Sirois, Eugene

MCCAIN'S RECORD APPALLING

I was appalled to lean that John McCain was the only senator who two weeks ago chose to skip a crucial vote on the future of clean energy in America — dooming the measure to fail by just a single vote.

Now I am even more appalled to learn that this is a pattern with McCain. On the League of Conservation Voters scorecard he received a zero for missing the 15 most important environmental votes in 2007. McCain's score is lower than members of Congress who died last year.

John McCain's LCV score exposes the real record behind the rhetoric: a lifetime pattern of voting with polluters and special interests and ducking the important votes.

Rita Castillo, Springfield

IDIOTS KNOW ALL

I came across an interesting quote last week that's really got me thinking. It's from Garret Keizer:

"This pretense of not knowing what every idiot knows has increasingly come to define our national discourse."

You know, like speaking in grave tones about bringing our warriors home even as we build permanent bases for them. (Don't you think the soldiers know?) Like waiting for someone to tell us whether waterboarding, extreme temperatures, sleep deprivation and such are torture or not. (As if they can't tell.) Like forgetting that anti-war voices told us about the civil war, the lack of WMDs, the fierce resistance and the prolonged occupation — before the war ever started. Since those people were right on all counts, how come no one asks them about the best way forward? Like pretending that the cost and availability of American health care aren't affected by the insurance racket and the unregulated drug companies. Like flogging the schools for not doing their work well even as we nickel-and-dime them to death.

Like focusing on the cult of personality in the presidential "race" and taking no notice that the last election was stolen. Like clinging to the notion that we are a nation of laws and a Constitution even as the president publicly exempts himself from every law passed by Congress.

Like that.

Candidates, pundits, reporters and news-passers all hide in a confederation of ignorance that perpetuate human suffering. Some people would call it a crime. We can't solve problems if no one will admit that they exist.

Let's talk.

William (Chico) Schwall, Eugene

DON'T BE FOOLED AGAIN

When the candidate who promises "shared prosperity and shared sacrifice" meets in secret with coal industry lobbyists, we know he means shared prosperity for the rich and shared sacrifice for the poor.

When the candidate who promises "change" votes "present" rather than admit he opposes progressive legislation, we know we're heading into a swamp.

When we hear a long list of promises but no list of how to pay from them, we are hearing echoes of Huey Long and "a chicken in every pot," not John F. Kennedy and "Ask not what your country can do for you."

We do not hear, "I have been to the mountain top," but rather, "I've been talking to my buddies in industry, and they don't want to be regulated. We need to get all parties together on this, so we'd better not do anything yet."

If you have a mansion, a fat portfolio and a dozen automobiles, by all means vote for your candidate, Barack Obama. Those of us living down in the flatlands better get smart fast or we're gonna be fooled again.

Ann Tattersall, Eugene

RACE BEFORE GENDER

Black males received the vote in 1870 when the 15th Amendment was ratified. Women didn't receive the vote until 1920 with the 19th Amendment. In light of that, the way the Democratic primaries are playing out shouldn't be so surprising. Hopefully, it won't be 50 years before a woman can run for president without spending the whole time trying to prove herself.

Steve Downey, Eugene

CORPORATE FASCISM

Once again Bush resorts to putting on his faux wolf's clothing to try and scare the American "sheeple" back into his fear monger's corral. After Congress let FISA, his domestic eavesdropping bill, lapse, the president again threatened us with horror stories of future terrorist's attacks.

The shoveled-over truth is that this NSA initiative, code-named "Pioneer Groundbreaker," was put into place seven months before we were attacked on 9/11. The Feds had asked Qwest to eavesdrop on their network soon after Bush was sworn in.

The former Qwest chief executive, Joe Nacchio, refused their request, citing the need for a warrant. The feds in retaliation dropped several lucrative contracts to Qwest and took Nacchio to court for insider trading, sealing his testimony against them.

To paraphrase Jeff Foxworthy, you know your leader might be a fascist when he uses powerful and continuing nationalism, disdain for the recognition of human rights, identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause, supremacy of the military, rampant sexism, controlled mass media, obsession with national security, intertwining of religion and government, protecting corporate power, suppressing labor power, disdaining intellectuals and the arts, obsession with crime and punishment, rampant cronyism corruption and fraudulent elections to rule and stay in power.

Mussolini defined fascism as "the merger of corporate and government power."

Is this why our president is so adamant in protecting the telecom corporations from lawsuits?

Michael T. Hinojosa, Drain

BIOFUEL'S IMPACT

Do you want to raise food prices worldwide and cause millions of people to go hungry and even starve to death?

Do you want to speed global warming so that much of planet Earth becomes uninhabitable?

Do you want to burn down the "lungs of the world," the tropical rainforests?

Do you want to erode topsoil around the world and cause accelerated desertification of the planet?

Do you want to increase the federal budget deficit?

Do you want to pay even more for fuel at the pump? Do you want to cause political instability and wars around the world?

If your answer is "yes" to these questions, then biofuels are the product for you, because biofuel production does or will do all of these things!

See "The biofuel hoax is causing a world food crisis!" at: home.att.net/~meditation/bio-fuel-hoax.html

Christopher Calder, Eugene

PROPERTY TAX FRAUD

I have heard numerous people complain about substantial increases in their property taxes, thinking that there is a legal limit. There is. It is a series of laws and measures including HJR 85 section 11(1)(b) which limits increases in assessed valuation to 3 percent with a few stipulations. A property owner is allowed to expend $10,000 a year for two years or $25,000 value in five years for repairs without nullifying the limit. This is an 11-year-old law with no provision for inflation. Inflation will eventually dilute this provision after which the government can increase property taxes beyond the three percent.

Here is the very big loophole in all of this. Oregon has a private property appraiser certification and licensing system (ORS 674 and OAR 161) that complies with state and federal laws and guidelines including a code of conduct. However, in a slick move the Oregon Department of Revenue and Department of Administrative Services created a separate government appraiser certification system (ORS 308.010) which has no standards of practice or code of conduct.

In fact, ORS 308.015 waivers the requirements for education and experience for government appraisers. This may explain why a county appraiser can't count the number of rooms or tell the difference between wood and cement in a property. Try to complain to the licensing authority, and they will either laugh at you or plead ignorance.

Of course you can appeal a tax increase. But try to get the Lane County Assessor to make full disclosure with supporting documentation of a contested appraisal. If you persevere you may find total nonsense.

What to do? Call your legislators requesting them to repeal ORS 674 and OAR 161. The county assessor is an elected official. The recourse here is a recall petition. Maybe some legal eagle out there can tell us if there's criminal fraud involved.

I can be contacted at taxfraud@siuslaw-independent.com

George Goldstein, Swisshome

LIES CAUSE SUFFERING

Shouldn't we be enraged and embarrassed?

"Study says Bush misled public before Iraq war" (Register-Guard 1/23) tells us President Bush and his cohorts, including Vice President Dick Cheney, lied to the American public 435 times to get the war in Iraq started. Now we have him traveling to foreign countries, making promises, attempting to convince the world of his goodness and sincerity and encourage support for his wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Though the world seems to know, there's hardly a peep from the American public.

As a little kid, I got a spanking from my father for lying about eating a candy bar. As an American president who has lied hundreds of times and continues to lie after getting more than 4000 of our sons and daughters killed and over 100,000 crippled and injured, President Bush will leave office unpunished.

Is that fair?

Jerry Copeland, Florence

LOVE REDEFINED

At a Unitarian conference in 1974, I courageously stood up in front of about 300 people, addressing a social phenomenon that seemed prevalent at the time with raw feeling. It was well received with tears and a standing ovation. Even though many things have improved since then, I still have a need at times to address this issue. Even though it is more convoluted now.

Occasionally, I still see misconceptions floating around (some of my intentions misread) in all circles — conservative, progressive, "New Age," pagan or whatever. Most of us grew up in a culture that overrates lusty sex over people genuinely regarding, loving and respecting each other as whole fellow human beings. I have nothing against healthy sexual partnerships; however, I want to live in a world where the love and bonds of affection are beyond all roles and meat market mentality. I don't wish to live up to anyone else's standards. I only wish to know the ME in who I am. I want to live in a world where platonic love and friendship is also cherished regardless of gender. During this time I feel lots of gratitude for the lasting precious platonic friendships I have. We still have a ways to go yet.

Ceila (Starshine) Levine, Eugene

COPS, MAPS AND ACRONYMS

In the Feb. 21 issue Alan Pittman mentions officer Roger Magaña once again. And once again I wonder why the Oregon State Police didn't take over the Magaña investigation. They had the authority, and they had jurisdiction.

Perhaps it's time to fire all the sheriffs and chief of police in Oregon and put the OSP in charge of managing all law enforcement in Oregon. We could then have one law enforcement auditor for the whole state. And we could use the existing state auditor's office to do this. All citizens of Oregon would have the same protection.

Also in the same issue there are references to Morse Ranch, Park Blocks, DeFazio Bike Bridge, Courthouse District and EWEB site. Perhaps it's time to have a map on your website so as to be able to find these and other locations.

Your paper also uses a tremendous number of abbreviations. Perhaps your paper should stop using abbreviations, prepare a list that readers could refer to or refer readers to your website or some other website for an explanation of what abbreviations mean.

Frank Skipton, Springfield

POLICE AREN'T DOGS

Springfield Animal Control fails to respond to a robbery. How could anyone be so irresponsible, especially Animal Control?

Does the above statement sound ludicrous? It is just as ludicrous as the article Jan. 24 titled "Catch and Release" by Camilla Mortensen. In this article Mortensen blames the police for irresponsibly allowing dogs to run at large.

A patrol officer responds to calls for service based upon the seriousness and immediacy of a threat to human life or property. An animal control officer handles calls for service related to dogs.

Police are not responsible for animals roaming the streets just as AC is not responsible for responding to robberies. However, SPD makes every attempt to assist. First, patrol responds if a dog displays vicious behavior. Second, patrol responds if a dog poses a traffic hazard that may result in an accident. Third, if the dog has a SPD tag, every attempt will be made to contact the owner.

SPD also maintains a joint database with AC for all lost, found and dogs at large. After hours SPD requests citizens temporarily house a dog at large until AC is available the following business day. If unable, SPD usually asks if a friend, family member or neighbor would be able to instead; then detailed information is obtained so if the owner of the dog is located, they can be reunited.

Ultimately the owner is responsible for the dog being at large. While it is sad to see dogs at large, police cannot deter from crimes to rescue a dog.

Leahanna Natalie Reid, Eugene