Missed the point
Saturday, April 12, 2008 1:20 AM PDT
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Perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough. I never intended to imply that none of the released sex offenders may be dangerous still. Of course, some of them are. But that doesn't mean all, or most, or many ... some.
LaDell Hollenbeck claims that "they do release sex offenders that they know will reoffend" in her April 7 letter. Maybe it's just me that isn't clairvoyant, but I believe the term we're after is "might," or "may." No one knows for sure what these offenders will do with a second chance, if we let them have one. I do agree with the majority, though, that they should be under close supervision.
The main point I'm trying to get through is that some of these boys are not bad people at all. They are not "sick" and there is help for them. What, really, is wrong with a 19-year-old boy having relations with a 16-year-old girl? Some of the 16-year-old girls I've met are more mature and responsible than many 25-year-old boys. And I don't think anyone is in a position to cast the first stone at a 19-year-old who wants to get back together with his girlfriend; yes, he's likely to reoffend.
I know when I screw up I like to be given a second chance, most people do. Some of these sex offenders, admittedly not all, deserve a second chance.
Amy Childs
Castle Rock
Office needs changes
I would like for all my friends, neighbors and fellow citizens of Columbia County to know why I support Jeff Dickerson for sheriff. My entire 30 years of law enforcement experience was with Columbia County Sheriff's Office. I know Gerry Simmons very well, and I will say that he is a hard-working individual.
So why don't I support him for the sheriff's position? I believe he is a good candidate, but the county and its citizens deserve more than just a good, hard-working person to fill the role of sheriff. To date I have not seen or heard anything about Simmons' goals or visions for the Sheriff's Office, except for the short, one-line statement on his campaign Web page. I agree with many citizens who have voiced their opinions that the Sheriff's Office needs to make some changes and not just keep using the excuse that there aren't enough funds.
I believe it is time for someone with fresh ideas and a different perspective. Dickerson has the necessary law enforcement experience and his business experience is an absolute plus, given the fact that the sheriff is ultimately responsible for preparing and managing two budgets (jail and patrol), totaling roughly $5 million. His degree and experience in journalism is icing on the cake, as the Sheriff's Office policies and procedures are in need of revision. The sheriff must be a great communicator.
Jim Gibson
Clatskanie
A most expensive hoax
Alan Howard (April 6 letter) is using the liberals' practice of claiming their opponent is employing a tactic that actually they are using. The entire global warming case is based on anecdotal events, yet Howard claims that Cowlitz County weather is a meaningless statistic.
CBS evening news (March 27) went to the eastern coast of England to report that "some areas of coastline being deemed indefensible are being abandoned."
An adviser to former Britain PM Margaret Thatcher has already stated that: "This story is nonsense from start to finish. As a result of continuing isostatic recovery following the end of the last ice age (about 9,000 years ago), the western half of the U.K. has been rising and the eastern half has been falling."
That same night NBC went all the way to Antarctica to find a story.
"There is a clear attempt to establish truth, not by scientific methods, but by perpetual repetition," said Richard Lindzen, professor of meteorology at MIT.
This will prove to be the most expensive hoax in the history of the world.
Don Cullen
Kelso
Gillnetting is non-selective
I guess what should have been said is that the Columbia River is the last "major" river in the United States that allows commercial gillnetting. Kent O. Martin (Feb. 27 letter) mentions that gillnetting is also allowed on the Naselle, Chehalis and Humptulips rivers. I wasn't aware these rivers were gillnetted commercially. I would think that these rivers will be looked into as a future problem.
Martin also mentions Willapa Bay, Puget sound and various coastal areas. Sorry, but these are not "rivers." Alaska? The Alaska Department of Fish and Game states: Commercial fisheries for all species of Pacific salmon occur in marine waters within the jurisdiction of the state of Alaska. With two exceptions, the Kuskowin and Yukon Rivers. This fishery is done by local native peoples and mostly for subsistence. I would hardly call this a commercial fishery by any set of standards.
Our biggest concern is not hatchery funding. With 27 of the 52 Pacific Northwest salmon and steelhead runs ESA listed, our biggest concern is saving these fisheries now and for the future. Bottom line? I do not support Martin's non-selective methods of fishing. He can call it "salmon harvest technology," if he will. It is still gillnetting and it's non-selective. The nets do not recognize or discriminate one species of fish from another.
Rick Nelson
Rainier
Easy targets
Those branded notorious are easy targets. Knowing exactly what I did to become infamous, I have become so conceited that, when someone not an impressive pimple on my rump looks down his nose at me, I am delighted.
For seven years I picketed California growers for cheating farm workers. For maybe five years I have picketed Wal-Mart for sending our jobs to China.
In the age of fear, I was one of only 200 U-Dub students who protested when the university banned Oppenheimer as a security risk, I killed a loyalty oath, stomped on Longview in the Ninth Circuit.
Only Bernie Altman and I publicly defended a black minister under racist attack (1967).
As ACLU chairman, I considered suing Kelso for expelling a boy with a mustache, the sheriff for permitting no beards in jail, Longview for expelling a pregnant student, Weyerhaeuser for discriminating against older executives, a theater harassing Jehovah's Witnesses. In two dozen incidents, I fought the forces of darkness - churches, Birchers, Nixon and Longview Schools - until overrun.
When Longview concocted a scheme to ease me out with a condom, on world-wide television, this Sixth Fleet shore patrolman crammed the condom down its throat.
I am so darn conceited that I think I am one of the more useful people in town.
L.S. Wagle
Longview
Editors note: Wagle's letter was written about four days before the letter of Bill Staples was printed on April 7. Staples' letter is in no way the target of Wagle's letter.
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