LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Bush has many achievements

Doc Crawford (letters, Aug. 25) neglects to mention that our current president of the United States, George Bush, earned a bachelor's degree from Yale in 1968, learned to fly an F-102 jet fighter, earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1975, ran for governor of the state of Texas in 1994 and won, went on to run for president of the United States in 2000 and was re-elected in 2004. Not exactly insignificant accomplishments.

Lloyd Mutinsky

Sweet Home

Osprey eviction unwarranted

I frequent the parking area to the southeast of Autzen Stadium, near the dog park and canal.

Last Wednesday, I noticed the men in the boom lift destroying the osprey nest on the platform that was put there for that purpose. I read in The Register-Guard the next day that it was removed because of a fire hazard. Had to be gone by game day.

I think it's pretty pathetic that a nesting platform installed for an osprey to nest in is torn out to meet a football schedule. The bird is not on the same schedule.

I realize that osprey go south for the winter, but this one hasn't yet. It sits up there and screeches for hours at a time. I have seen it and heard it every afternoon since the nest was removed. The undue stress put on the bird is nothing but cruel. I hope it survives.

I do not know who makes such decisions at the University of Oregon, but shame on them for destroying a nest before it is abandoned. Why have the platform there in the first place? If falling debris can catch on fire in the lights, then build a 90-degree turn at the top of the pole and mount the platform out and away 5 feet or 6 feet from above the lights. That way, the bird could live there throughout its cycle and the UO could do something good for the bird community instead of sending early eviction notices.

As far as expense for the work to change the platform, I think the university can afford it now.

Doug Snyder

Eugene

`Cutesy' writing isn't for news

The Aug. 27 newspaper hit the recycling box about five minutes after it arrived.

On the front page was a story that the moon glows. I had to wade through two cutesy paragraphs before I could find the time of the eclipse. Then it was back to more cutesy observations that I don't find so cutesy in a newspaper. Move on to Section D.

On the road: The first paragraph starts out "don't worry." I don't need the newspaper telling me what to worry about. That's followed by more cutesy drivel instead of a newspaper format.

Skip that. Go down the page to "Pubic input sought." More of the same. A "news" article starts out "Tired of train horns near downtown Eugene?"

Third time and the paper is out the door to the recycling bin. And did you notice that I am sitting in front of a computer with Internet access? Who needs a news "paper" anyway?

Charlotte Koepke

Coos Bay

Hospital plan a dead end idea

It is time to get real and listen to the Eugene Planning Commission and forget about McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center's plan for a new hospital on North Delta Highway.

Do I need to repeat what the planning commission said? This proposal is a dead end idea! It is time to get real and work on getting the hospital on the other side of the Willamette River where it belongs. Not only would this take care of the traffic problems at the intersection of North Delta and Belt Line Road, it also would mitigate the problem of emergency aid when the great quake arrives and all of the bridges over the Willamette River are gone.

The majority of Eugene citizens and voters do not want this hospital at the proposed location. The Eugene City Council needs to do the right thing and vote no.

Zall Villanueva

Eugene