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| 7/9 Letters to the Editor |
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| *How do we pay for all of this?*Don't believe rec center scare tactics*Memorial deserves show of respect*Baseball team thanks community*Let voters decide rec center issue*Republican tactics concern voter*Have a say in campaign issues |
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Don't believe rec
center scare tactics
The flurry of letters in the July 2 edition opposing a possible Monmouth-Independence recreation facility are all aimed the same way: Don't trust the voters to decide the issue in the November general election, the writers say.
They ask to reject the petitions that would let Monmouth and Independence voters decide once and for all whether they want and are willing to pay for a full-service recreation facility that would serve the entire community.
The letters contain false assertions and assumptions.
First, the YMCA has no lock on operating the proposed facility. The decision would be made by an independent M-I Recreation District board elected by the public to review bids from interested nonprofits.
The facility would not operate at a loss. The contract would require the operator to make up any deficits and would allow it to keep any profits.
The 2004 PARC study ordered by the Independence City Council on funding a community recreation center was neither a secret nor a plot.
It is a public document that recommended a government-owned facility much like the ones in Sherwood and in Caldwell, Idaho. Both are successful, and "competing" local fitness businesses have in fact flourished, probably because of enhanced community health consciousness.
Please ignore the scare tactics, sign the petitions, study the material on both sides of the issue, and vote as you see fit in November. Reject the pitch of those who would take away your right to be heard at the ballot box.
Dave Martin
Independence
How do we pay
for all of this?
I need help. Would someone tell me where we are suppose to come up with enough money to meet everyone's "wish list?"
We are already paying for the LaCreole Bridge, ambulance garage, a bond for remodeling the high school, the Polk County road improvements, the Chemeketa bond, the Dallas Aquatic Center, the Polk County Jail, and Lord only knows what else.
Now we are asked to come up with $60 million to $90 million for a new high school, there is a $36 million school budget for the coming year, a $6.9 million bond for the Dallas Fire Department, a Dallas city budget of $44 million (which only gets us cuts in services), a Polk County budget of $52 million and an increase in the garbage rate.
Seniors have worked their tails off trying to raise money for a new senior center. Now it is thrown in with a new community center and is on the ballot with all these other millions.
With gas costing about $4.29 per gallon gas, cost of groceries going through the roof, health insurance killing us, utilities to increase at least 30 percent, a $4 increase in water and sewer rates and people losing their homes, I'm wondering what the "powers-that-be" are thinking. The school bond alone would raise our property taxes from $1.60 per $1,000 to $4.10 per $1,000, not to mention the added burden of all the other bonds. This information was relegated to Page 9 in the Itemizer-Observer last week. Why?
I'm not a mathematician and I don't claim to be too smart, but I am a product of the Depression days and I believe in making do with what you have unless you can afford what you want. I don't see how we can afford to pay for all this with jobs going down the drain.
Gladys F. Henson
Dallas
Memorial deserves
show of respect
The Fourth of July is a celebration for the independence of our country. During this time we think of all the men and women who have made and still make this freedom possible.
We celebrate with good times, close families and friends, and a display of fireworks all around the country. Usually respect is given to the fallen service members and those currently serving.
Unfortunately, this is not so for everyone. While in Independence for the celebrations I noticed a young woman and two children at the veteran's memorial on Main Street. The young woman was putting her children on top of the memorial to take pictures of her children. The children were climbing on this memorial as if it was a jungle gym.
After watching this for awhile I went and asked the woman, politely, not to do that. I explained to her that my husband died due to Vietnam and found that her and her children's behavior was upsetting and disrespectful. I asked her not to let the children climb on the memorial. She was polite and after having her boy pose for a couple more pictures removed him from the top of the memorial.
I had to ask myself where was the respect for all those people who gave their lives and are still dealing with the effects of their service for us? Why was she not teaching her children about their sacrifices instead of disrespect for them?
It is sad to see such a thing and quite upsetting to those of us who have been most affected by the sacrifices of our veterans. To us, these memorials are an acknowledgment for our veterans and all they gave for us. For some, this is all of the "thank you" they have ever received.
Do the memorials and what they represent not have meaning anymore? Do they not require some respect? I really have to wonder.
Ann Evans
Independence
Baseball team
thanks community
I would like to give a huge thank you to Hayward Ford, Mak Metals and Hofenbredl Logging for sponsoring my all-star baseball team. Our uniforms looked dashing with the names on the back.
Thanks also to Colleen Kibbey for making the nice quilt for the raffle.
We had an excellent time at the aquatic center for our end-of-the-season party.
I am especially grateful for our coaches Tim Kiel, Thomas Hatley and Ryan Miller, who volunteered their time to train us.
Cody Bibler
Dallas
Let voters decide
rec center issue
In response to the orchestrated letters in last week's edition of the Itemizer-Observer, please consider the following:
* Monmouth and Independence city councils and the Central School Board unanimously adopted resolutions in support of a recreation district.
* A recreation district would serve the greater needs of the community, not the special interests of a few; it would not exclude anyone based upon age, gender or ability to pay.
* The petitions now being circulated merely ask to put the measures on the ballot. Why not let the voters decide?
For more information, or to lend support, please visit mirecreation.net or call 503-606-4977.
Joseph Penna
Monmouth
Have a say in
campaign issues
Polk County Caf‚ Commons will be hitting the streets for freedom and democracy in the coming months, knocking on doors and conducting a brief survey to ask our neighbors what they think about some of the crucial issues facing our nation in this election period.
A lot is at stake in 2008. We won't just be electing a new president, we will be setting a tone here in Oregon, in the United States, and in our local communities about what democracy will mean from here on out.
Will it mean that we torture prisoners? Allow our phones to be tapped? Detain anyone, citizen or not, without due process? Or do we stand up before Election Day to make sure that voters and candidates hear from us, not just about vital issues like the economy and health care, but about our demand for justice and peace in the wars at home and abroad?
You are invited to join the Freedom Voter Campaign kickoff taking place at the Independence Farmers Market.
After a briefing about the campaign, participants will be taking a stroll through the market and in several neighborhoods conducting the survey.
It will be an opportunity to discover all the different ways to be involved with neighbor-to-neighbor community building and local organizing.
Campaign kickoffs are scheduled around the state for the month of July.
Polk County's kickoff will be at 10 a.m. on July 12 at the Independence Farmers Market in the Sterling Bank parking lot, 302 S. Main St.
For more information: Steve Milligan, 503-606-9039 or milligan@viser.net; Kari Koch, 503-543-8417 or kari@rop.org. To learn more about the campaign, visit www.FreedomVoters.com.
Steve Milligan
Monmouth
Republican tactics
concern voter
I am writing a letter to the editor for the first time in my life as my sense of urgency compels me to do so.
I have grave concerns over the conduct of the Republican tactics during this election year. Is there any truth at all in the party's message?
What worries me is John McCain, with this hard uphill battle he has with Barack Obama, might create a fictitious and an unsubstantiated attack on the United States. God forbid if the voters should fall for such a ploy.
Oh, the fear will be there, but I doubt the facts will be.
Darci Kuglar
Dallas
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