LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Blue Mountain wasn't a `waste'

Imagine being a 16-year-old girl looking forward to a summer filled with swimming, Bohemia Mining Days and camping.

That is what I was doing when I received a phone call telling me that my precious school, Blue Mountain, was being taken away from me - and not just from me, but from all my friends. How did they feel when they heard the devastating news? That their lives were about to change for the worse?

I have spent more than half of my life happily riding on the bus up the hill to my second home. When the last day of school comes, everyone is sad and cries knowing that we won't be at school for a while. How many kids can say that?

Four people at the South Lane School Board meeting made the decision to shut down the school. I wonder if we should have videotaped our classes for them. Would that have been enough? Did all the colleges I visited this year and am excited to explore for my future mean nothing?

What about my best friends who graduated this year? Do their past experiences mean nothing? I cried to see them go, but knew they were ready and can do anything they set their minds to do. One already loves summer classes at Lane Community College. How can that mean nothing to the school board?

Some of the board members referred to my school as a "waste" of taxpayers' money. I can't imagine what they are expecting me to do without my school, my second home, my extended family - or were they thinking of me at all?

NICOLE COMPTON

Cottage Grove 

What's fringe now will be norm

Bob Welch was quick to criticize Maitreya Ecovillage's appearance on "Wifeswap."

Yes, I'll agree that this kind of programming is a tasteless embarrassment. However, it reaches the homes of millions of Americans who might not know anything about lessening our carbon footprint on our precious planet.

While the presentation might lack integrity, I trust that somewhere in this country a pocket of Americans was intrigued in some small way. This initial spark may lead to insight, which is the precursor to change.

Reaching people on their turf may be the most effective means of providing alternatives. As our environment becomes increasingly polluted by toxic chemicals and politicians alike, moving toward more sustainable practices will be more normal. What appears "fringe" now will be customary in a short period of time.

It is easy to mock what we don't understand. It's even easier to sling insults at those who we don't even make an effort to know.

Tiersa Turner

Eugene

Fiesta Bowl instant replay

What does the editor mean, "after watching the Ducksthrashthe Boise State Broncos" (Register-Guard, Aug. 9)? Did the writer miss the Fiesta Bowl?

Bill Tonkin

BARBARA TONKIN

Florence

Be civil when criticizing Bush

If you are communicating with people and trying to make a point, you surely know you won't win them over by slamming them and their ideals. If you want them to consider your points, you won't use adjectives that belittle their principles.

Such belittling is frequently printed in The Register-Guard, that bastion of fairness, whether in a letter or an editorial, when someone is showing their dislike of President Bush. I support the president, and will listen to other statements, but only when people are civil in their discourse.

When they call the president "stupid," "having surreal visions," "divinely inspired policies," "a flight-suit poser who never fired a shot while shaking in his boots," "making stupid choices," "despot," "arrogant and insane," "war maniac" and many others, all gleaned from The Register-Guard, they are telling more about themselves than about President Bush.

No one with an open mind wants to hear from a stupid, arrogant, close-minded, moronic despot. Get my point? Now try to be civil.

Dale R. Dickson

Eugene

Portland event was left out

I finally got around to reading part of The Register-Guard's new "Healthy Living" magazine insert.

Because I bicycle quite a bit, I was drawn to the magazine by the section devoted to cycling. The glaring omission in the article, especially on the "Ready to Ride" page, was no mention of Oregon's premier bicycling event held last Sunday in Portland called the Bridge Pedal.

It's one of the largest events of its kind in the country, and I think the largest on the West Coast. Tens of thousands of people of all ages participate in three different lengths of rides to cross Portland's bridges.

Sections of interstate highways are shut down, including I-5 north through Portland, so they can be used by cyclists. Because this is a fun ride and not a race, the lines of bikes stretch for miles and are a sight to behold. There was a huge gathering on top of Portland's highest bridge - the Freemont Bridge.

Someone writing about bicycles and bicycling events should be a little more well-versed in what's happening around the state.

Ted Chudy

Eugene

Iraq obscures Bush damage here

I listened to a CBS news report describing how President Bush's medical bill to supposedly "help seniors" was passed into law by Congress, but the bill instead cruelly limits medical assistance to seniors and dramatically increases the cost to seniors for medical care.

This new law does, however, give insurance companies many millions of our tax dollars. This is just another example of how Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and their cohorts have, during the past six years, helped themselves to billions of dollars of our money.

Through arrogance, incompetence and greed, Bush and his people have undermined the structure and intent of our programs for veterans, health care, science, the legal system, civil and human rights, education, the environment, Social Security and child welfare. Of course, Congress, paid off by lobbyists, and the Supreme Court with the lesser courts, skewed with Bush appointees, have aided in furthering these travesties.

The media focus on Bush's terrible Iraq war that has cost tens of thousands of lives, devastation, more billions of dollars, and has promoted terrorism against America round the world. There's little media attention paid to the devastation these Bush officials have done to the social, financial and technological structure in this country.

In a little more than a year, Bush, Cheney, Rove and company will steal away, without penalty or punishment, from their seat of power - and leave us with the consequences of their actions for generations to come. We need to wake up now!

Robert Rubinstein

Eugene

Pride event flouts family values 

It is ironic how an event supposedly committed to diversity can show how, at heart, the liberal movement is determined to suppress those who do not agree with them.

Mayor Kitty Piercy, who ran as a mayor for "all" Eugene, has continued her anti-family agenda by being the opening speaker at The Pride Festival. Conservatives who are concerned about their First Amendment rights being protected have very good reason to be since the Eugene Police Department is on the Pride Web site as sponsoring the event, something it has no business doing. What would be the response if the Eugene Police Department sponsored "Family Values Day"?

"Hate speech"- a euphemism for any anti-homosexual protesting - can be monitored and disciplined by the Eugene Human Rights Commission at this event. The HRC has power to propose legislation and to monitor activity out of all proportion to its place in the community.

Oregon Community Credit Union, one of the largest local credit unions, is listed as a sponsor. I encourage everyone concerned about traditional family values and the tolerance for Christians in Lane County to explore the Web site for this event at www.eugenepride.org.

It should be a wake-up call to the Christian community that our town welcomes us only as long as we keep our mouths shut and our heads in the sand. We need to act before it is too late and our civil rights have disappeared.

Sara Stewart 

Eugene

Portland event was left out

I finally got around to reading part of The Register-Guard's new "Healthy Living" magazine insert.

Because I bicycle quite a bit, I was drawn to the magazine by the section devoted to cycling. The glaring omission in the article, especially on the "Ready to Ride" page, was no mention of Oregon's premier bicycling event held last Sunday in Portland called the Bridge Pedal.

It's one of the largest events of its kind in the country, and I think the largest on the West Coast. Tens of thousands of people of all ages participate in three different lengths of rides to cross Portland's bridges.

Sections of interstate highways are shut down, including I-5 north through Portland, so they can be used by cyclists. Because this is a fun ride and not a race, the lines of bikes stretch for miles and are a sight to behold. There was a huge gathering on top of Portland's highest bridge - the Freemont Bridge.

Someone writing about bicycles and bicycling events should be a little more well-versed in what's happening around the state.

Ted Chudy

Eugene

Buses could use railroad tracks

I read Jeff Wright's article in the Aug. 8 Register-Guard with interest. It would be perfectly feasible to put flanged wheels on small buses (like school buses) and run them between Eugene and Florence on the seldom-used rail line that goes between those points.

I inquired about the task of making flanged wheels for a small bus and was told by a competent machine shop that it could produce good wheels for about $700 per wheel on a sample basis.

The buses would run on the rails using the same car-detection scheme presently in force. A loading platform siding would be required at the point the rail line crosses the Siuslaw River just north of the Three Rivers Casino. The Rhody express would meet the flanged wheel buses on a regular schedule and distribute passengers throughout Florence on its usual route.

Advantages of the proposed system: a nearly level roadbed open all year around, no need for traversing the curvy Highway 126 route by a vehicle running on rubber, a smooth ride, low-cost buses, low fuel use with no steep hills, faster travel.

Car detection requires simply the connection together electrically of the front wheel disks. Radio service would be required, just as it is on trains. The system could be extended down the coast. I would like to see some discussion in The Register-Guard of my proposal.

Robert Boden

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