LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Voter fraud still possible

A May 18 editorial in The Register-Guard stated that the state's establishment of a computerized voter registration system linking all 36 counties virtually eliminates the possibility of an election day registration fraud ever succeeding - as occurred in 1986 by followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in Wasco County.

Unfortunately, that statement is not entirely accurate.

The statewide voter registration system would not provide any assistance to avoid voter fraud for last-minute registration by individuals not previously registered in our state. The statewide system does track every voter who moves from county to county within Oregon. It does not apply for voters who move into Oregon from other states.

In 1986, voters were bused across state lines to register on election day. A change back to election day registration could allow that situation to occur again, which the statewide system would not catch.

Registered voters in Oregon can request a ballot up to 8 p.m. on Election Day if they have a change in their registration. Only individuals who recently have moved to our state or aren't registered currently somewhere in Oregon need to meet the 21-day advance deadline.

The statewide voter registration system helps to ensure against duplicate registration. Improvement is likely to continue and may expand to include sharing registration data between states.

Oregon residents are encouraged to contact their local elections office with any questions regarding voter registration.

ANNETTE K. NEWINGHAM

Director, Lane County

Elections Department

Eugene

Nonvoting sends a message

"The will of the people." That catchy, tired and overused phrase has become meaningless.

With only 44.4 percent voter participation in the May 15 election, it isn't the will of the people that speaks anymore, but the won't: Those who won't vote because they are too apathetic, ignorant or lazy to acknowledge that even their nonvote sends a collectively significant message.

They don't want to participate in a decision-making process where they can't have a major influence on the outcome. So why do they continue buying lottery tickets?

JAN TATALA

Eugene

Locally grown food is freshest

If you are skeptical about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's assurances regarding the safety of consuming meat and eggs from animals fed on melamine-contaminated products, becoming vegetarian is not your only alternative.

Here in Lane County we are blessed with many wonderful meat and egg producers, and their products can be found every Saturday at the Lane County Farmers' Market, as well as at local markets such as the Kiva, New Frontier and Red Barn.

Not only are these local, grass-fed meats and eggs free of melamine, hormones and antibiotics, they are incredibly fresh and delicious when compared to their grocery store counterparts, which have been shipped from hundreds or thousands of miles away and stored for weeks before purchase. The satisfaction of being able to speak face to face with the person who produced your food and to be able to ask questions regarding the feeding, care and processing of the animals is impossible to achieve at any grocery.

When you buy local, your food dollars stay in our community, helping local farmers to stay in business. The animals enjoy a quality of life that you can feel good about, and the oil consumption and resulting pollution created by the transport of goods is a tiny fraction of what is created by the corporate food chain.

If fantastic fruits and vegetables haven't been enough to get you down to the Farmers' Market, this is yet another reason to start buying local! After all, "you are what you eat" - so eat well.

JULIE MARIE 

Eugene

Critic misunderstands forestry

Michelle D'Amico's May 21 letter shows a real anti-business attitude that seems somewhat prevalent in some parts of Oregon.

This is the attitude that has resulted in decreased local funding of our schools and public safety services as extremist environmentalists have been successful in locking up more and more public land, shrinking our local tax base.

D'Amico's attitude toward forestry shows a real ignorance. Her attitude would be analogous to going to the Midwest and condemning farmers for harvesting and replanting their crops - a cycle similar to that of professional forestry in Oregon. She probably would be laughed out of those states for her urban attitude.

I would recommend that D'Amico broaden her education by ordering some professional forestry books online. Amazon.com has fantastic prices for used books.

In the meantime, D'Amico's diatribes show her misunderstanding about forestry in general and how harvesting trees is part of nature's cycle. We can and have regenerated logged areas for future use for housing for people and for revenues for local schools and public safety ser- vices.

To D'Amico and her friends I would reply: Hug a logger - you'll never go back to trees.

SANDRA MATTSON

Eugene

Springfield should sever all ties

Now that Springfield's efforts to force unfunded mandates on Eugene are about to be rewarded, it makes sense for Springfield to pursue full severance. Let me suggest some priorities.

First and foremost, the city should get its own comprehensive plan. The Metro Plan is not a Springfield Plan, doesn't represent a developer's vision and is based on a shared urban growth boundary, which is moot with approval of Springfield's special interest legislation. The Chamber of Commerce and the Home Builders Association could fund the new plan - status quo funding sources, status quo process.

Secondly, Springfield needs its own transportation plan. I am tired of uninformed citizens who decry Eugene's desire to not build a highway through Eugene (not Springfield). Springfield critics accuse Eugene officials of trying to stop "all other projects" - an uninformed lie.

If Springfield televised city council meetings (as Eugene and Lane County do), citizens would have the opportunity to hear the truth. In any case, Springfield should practice what it preaches and cease butting into other jurisdictions' business.

Finally, drop the "partners" spin. Springfield's partners are developers who build roads in exchange for zone, code and plan amendments the city delivers. Springfield should aid and abet all the development it desires. Approvals of incompatible development in established neighborhoods and conversion of residential and industrial lands for commercial developers is Springfield's business alone.

Good luck.

PAULINE HUTSON

Eugene

Readers need to know history

I think it would be a public service if The Register-Guard would provide a retelling of history - not ancient history but a record of U.S. initiatives in the Middle East in the past decade or so.

A recent reader spoke of President Bill Clinton's missile attack on Iraq, but weren't the cruise missiles launched against al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan? George Tenet, late of CIA fame, wanted to know how was he to know there weren't weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. But didn't Hans Blix report, just before Colin Powell contradicted him, that his large team of United Nations inspectors had been unable to find anything at all - even though they'd inspected thousands of sites of their choosing without prior consent or warning in advance?

Some readers seem to suppose the situation in Iraq is Clinton's fault, which I have difficulty comprehending. Weren't the present administration's war powers granted immediately after Sept. 11 and meant to authorize action against Afghanistan rather than from concern over the ability of Iraq to attack the United States?

In the interest of informed public debate, how about providing a timetable of recent events in the Middle East in which the United States has been directly involved?

LLOYD GORDON

Eugene

Falwell editorial proves point

In The Register-Guard's May 17 editorial "Falwell, the divider," the narrow perspective from which the far left views life is clearly pictured in the editors' rush to demonize the late Rev. Jerry Falwell.

The very reason the Rev. Falwell was able to unite and mobilize millions of U.S. citizens from every corner of our country was because of this same uncanny ability the far left has for marginalizing the belief system of millions and the readiness to revise obvious historical truths to fit into their closed minority view.

Written only hours after Falwell's death, the editorial describes Falwell's attempts to unite people as corrosive and divisive, while millions in America have embraced his efforts as refreshing and empowering.

The final zinger was to reframe the Rev. Falwell's unifying ministry as one of ultimate failure. Remember, these editors only offer us their opinions, not necessarily the truth.

MICHAEL CRISWELL

Eugene

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