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LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.


Byline: The Register-Guard

Tax all the energy wasters

We have a world environmental crisis with ensuing en·sue  
intr.v. en·sued, en·su·ing, en·sues
1. To follow as a consequence or result. See Synonyms at follow.

2. To take place subsequently.
 health risks, rising energy costs and a county revenue problem. Lane County can attack all these issues at once.

A tax on energy waste would be appropriate. This would be a tax on both consumers and manufacturers. Considerable energy is wasted in everything from junk mailings to oversized o·ver·size  
n.
1. A size that is larger than usual.

2. An oversize article or object.

adj. o·ver·size also o·ver·sized
Larger in size than usual or necessary.
 vehicles to oversized homes. This stuff should probably be banned altogether, but we don't have the common sense for that.

A stiff and progressive tax can provide badly needed revenue for the county, set an example for environmental care and take the pressure off of rising energy costs. There would be economic impact to the sources of the energy-wasting products, but ultimately that's going to happen anyway.

Let the builders of mini-mansions, SUVs, power boats, RVs and ATVs convert to the manufacture of solar panels, windmills The List of windmills is a link page for any windmill or windpump. Collections
  • Mill database with over 15000 mills from all over Europe
  • Mill database for Lincolnshire
By country
Canada
  • Folmar Windmill, Bayfield, Ontario
 and the like. Let's take meaningful steps now to save ourselves and give technology the time to come up with viable solutions. The emphasis here is on waste. People who live in 2,000-square-foot homes and drive high-gas-mileage cars or maybe even a hybrid SUV would not be taxed. Establish reasonable standards and exempt taxes on all things within those standards.

The taxes should be high enough to inhibit the wealthy from ignoring the issue. There would be no bartering or any other loopholes. We've been greedy, spoiled and selfish for so long that this idea may sound radical to many. But then maybe it's just prudent.

TOM HAHN

Eugene

Waiver exempts seat belt use

I have been a licensed driver in Oregon since before the seat belt law was enacted.

When I bought my old truck, I never thought it would need seat belts. It is quite a burden on me to use a seat belt anyway, so after a little bit of hassle, I got an endorsement on my license that allows me to ignore the law.

Now it turns out that some people don't think I should be exempt from wearing my seat belt, and others think they should be exempt also, even though they haven't been driving for 35 years as I have. So, we have reached a compromise.

I agreed to drive only two of my other cars without a seat belt or go through a little more hassle to get a waiver for the rest. In return, I get to sell my cars without having to install seat belts first.

Not only that, but the new owners now also get to drive without seat belts, as long as they don't install them within 10 years. What a deal!

GWEN GWEN Guild Wars: Eye of the North (computer game)
GWEN Ground Wave Emergency Network (USAF) 
 FARNSWORTH

Dexter

Road to hospital site crowded

From the intersection of Belt Line Road and Delta Highway The Delta Highway is a short limited-access freeway in Eugene, Oregon, United States, linking downtown Eugene with the Beltline Highway, northern Eugene and the Riverridge golf course to the north. , there are 15 driveways and one narrow bridge along the only straight route to McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center's proposed new location - a distance of 0.9 of a mile.

One of the driveways is an entrance to Home Depot The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services.

Headquartered in Vinings, just outside Atlanta in unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia, Home Depot employs more than 355,000 people and operates 2,164 big-box
 and a car wash. Three are entrances to manufactured home parks, two lead to Lane County Public Works public works
pl.n.
Construction projects, such as highways or dams, financed by public funds and constructed by a government for the benefit or use of the general public.

Noun 1.
 lots and the rest serve several businesses, which means many cars and trucks in and out of these driveways every day.

The two-lane bridge, which was rebuilt just three or four years ago, is 150 feet south of Ayres Road. A traffic light at Ayres Road and Delta Highway would cause traffic to be backed up past the only driveway into a manufactured home park, 100 feet south of the bridge. A lot of expense went into rebuilding this section of Delta Highway three or four years ago, at which time overhead lights, a bike lane bike lane ncarril m de bicicleta; carril m bici

bike lane bike npiste f cyclable

bike lane 
, a sidewalk A Microsoft service that was launched in 1997 to provide online arts and entertainment guides on the Web for major cities worldwide. In 1999, Microsoft sold Sidewalk to Ticketmaster, which continued to provide guides, ticketing and other information to the MSN network.  and a center island were installed with two traffic lanes and no lanes for passing.

If the hospital is built as proposed, traffic on Delta could become deadlocked dead·lock  
n.
1. A standstill resulting from the opposition of two unrelenting forces or factions.

2. Sports A tied score.

3.
 at times. Imagine yourself having a medical emergency and trying to get to this hospital in an ambulance.

O. E. LROY

Eugene

Support plastic bottle recycling

I am a fourth grade student from Hillside International School. I'm concerned with the number of plastic bottles that litter our beautiful state.

About 180 million plastic bottles are used by Oregonians every year but only 60 million are recycled. I believe that the Senate Bill 707 upgrade is the way to go. I hope other people feel the same as me and support the SB 707 upgrade.

ROSE ANDERSON

Eugene

Wyden's help made a difference

Due to severe health issues (end stage renal disease Renal disease
Kidney disease.

Mentioned in: Glycogen Storage Diseases

hypertension High blood pressure Cardiovascular disease An abnormal ↑ systemic arterial pressure, corresponding to a systolic BP of > 160 mm Hg
), my father recently moved here from California to be closer to family.

His Veterans Affairs Veterans Affairs is a term of the business that deals with the relation between a government and its veteran communities, usually administered by the designated government agency.  doctor in California instructed him to get in to see a VA doctor immediately once he got here. He needed to start dialysis, and he had several prescriptions (for heart and kidneys) that he was nearly out of that needed to be refilled.

I tried for two weeks to get an appointment set up with the VA clinic in Eugene. The earliest appointment I could get for him was not until June, even though his condition was dire and he was days away from running out of his meds.

Frustrated frus·trate  
tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates
1.
a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart:
 with the bureaucratic bu·reau·crat  
n.
1. An official of a bureaucracy.

2. An official who is rigidly devoted to the details of administrative procedure.



bu
 maze I found myself in and frantic for my father's health, I contacted Sen. Ron Wyden's office for help. Within 24 hours, Wyden's staff had an appointment for my father with the Eugene VA clinic. The clinic filled his prescriptions and made arrangements for my father to be seen at the VA hospital in Portland to start the dialysis.

My heartfelt gratitude goes out to Senator Wyden and his staff for their assistance. Without their help in getting the medical attention he desperately needed, it is likely that my father would not be alive today.

CATE CATE - Computer Aided Test Engineering.  DUKE

Eugene

Recycling burdens retailers

Once again our beloved legislators have passed their version of an "enhanced bottle bill."

Once again the the burden of dealing with people's trash falls upon retail businesses. The man-hours dedicated to handling the returns and the designation of an area for storage - not to mention the filth Filth
See also Dirtiness.

Augean stables

held 3,000 oxen, uncleaned for 30 years; Hercules’ fifth labor: washes out dung by diverting a river. [Gk. and Rom. Myth.
 factor in a supposedly clean store environment - add up to a heck of a lot more than just a deposit. The consumer gets to pay for it.

Since our state is so concerned with bottle returns, why doesn't it set up recycling centers like the rest of our country and reap the so-rewarding benefits of handling our recyclable trash? Maybe the legislators that pass all this fine legislation could roll up their sleeves and pitch in!

EARL ANDREWS

Eugene

Measure 37 doesn't need fixing

It's inane to think that The Register-Guard's editors and the Oregon Legislature would propose to fix something that isn't broken and overturn key provisions in Measure 37, which was passed by 60 percent of the voters.

Their basic argument is that voters were somehow hoodwinked in 2004 by unscrupulous developers. Nothing could be further from the truth. To buy into this argument, you must believe that voters are stupid and unable to understand what they are voting on. The measure was very clear and concise as to what was proposed - if the government wishes to control and regulate private property, it must pay for the privilege.

This basically comes down to our state and local governments not wanting to give up their control of private property. They tried to do this via the courts and, after getting swatted by the Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. , they are back with House Bill 3540.

Once again, our elected leaders are subverting the will of the people. This will continue until the electorate holds them accountable.

QUINCY POWERS

Eugene

VA hospitals were excellent

With much bad press about military and Veterans Affairs hospitals, I want to speak to the other side of the coin.

I spent eight months in a military hospital several years ago as a patient. I had excellent service in an immaculately clean environment. More recently, I have used the services of a VA clinic several times and the services of the Roseburg VA hospital - again with superb results and a great environment. Friends of mine have experienced excellent care in the Portland VA hospital.

I am not questioning the legitimate complaints of others about Walter Reed Noun 1. Walter Reed - United States physician who proved that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes (1851-1902)
Reed
 Medical Center. Just know that we appreciate the care and clean environment in the facilities we have used. Our thanks to VA personnel.

FRED ANDERSON Fred Anderson is the name of a number of notable people, including:
  • Fred Anderson (baseball player) – Boston Red Sox All-Time Roster
  • Fred Anderson (football player)
  • Fred Anderson (historian)
 

Coos Bay Coos Bay (ks), city (1990 pop. 15,076), Coos co., SW Oreg., a port of entry on Coos Bay; founded 1854 as Marshfield, inc. 1874, renamed 1944.  

Measure 11 is unfair to youth

On May 5, Claudia Hardwick wrote to The Register-Guard, "Measure 11 is an inflexible sentencing guideline that imposes long, mandatory sentences. ... We are learning that Measure 11 is expensive, leaving less money to spend on other goals, such as education." I couldn't agree more.

In 1995, my son, then 17, was arrested for arson. He and a friend thought it would be funny to set some boards on fire and "then the people would come the next morning and wonder what happened to them." The fire got out of hand and burned a whole building.

He was tried as an adult, which, to me, makes as much sense as trying an adult as a child. Lucky for us, the lawmakers had forgotten to put arson on the list of Measure 11 crimes. My son spent three years incarcerated incarcerated /in·car·cer·at·ed/ (in-kahr´ser-at?ed) imprisoned; constricted; subjected to incarceration.

in·car·cer·at·ed
adj.
Confined or trapped, as a hernia.
. In his young eyes it seemed like an eon.

Because he did not have a mandatory sentence, he was able to use his time for education and will graduate from the University of Oregon The University of Oregon is a public university located in Eugene, Oregon. The university was founded in 1876, graduating its first class two years later. The University of Oregon is one of 60 members of the Association of American Universities.  in June. This was much more beneficial to my son and way less expensive to taxpayers.

Incidentally, because he was tried as an adult, the label of felon An individual who commits a crime of a serious nature, such as Burglary or murder. A person who commits a felony.


felon n. a person who has been convicted of a felony, which is a crime punishable by death or a term in state or federal prison.
 will be on his record forever, making it extremely difficult to get a job.

I believe that Measure 11 is an expensive, unfair and ineffective way to sentence children.

ELINOR SILVIS

Eugene
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Title Annotation:Letters
Publication:The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR)
Article Type:Letter to the editor
Date:May 16, 2007
Words:1636
Previous Article:Legislators jump on predicted surplus.(Legislature)(Education, public safety and other programs could benefit, as well as taxpayers awaiting kicker...
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