Sept. 10 Letters to the Editor

It’s not a county issue

I am sure Cowlitz County Commissioner Axel Swanson has good intentions, but to think that having a pool might have saved the recent drowning victims is quite a stretch.

Adults that do not know how to swim should take responsibility for themselves and learn how, or wear a life jacket. Additionally, it is the parents’ responsibility to monitor their children when they are near water. This is not a county issue, this is a personal responsibility issue.

Those that need to swim in a safer environment can pay the nominal fee and go to the Y. There, problem solved without using taxpayer money. A weird concept for some.

Chris Fry

Kelso

If my body were a car …

If my body were a car, this is the time I would be thinking about trading it in for a newer model. I’ve got bumps and dents and scratches in my finish and my paint job is getting a little dull, but that’s not the worst of it.

My headlights are out of focus and especially hard to see things up close.

My traction is not as graceful as it once was. I slip and slide and bump into things, even in the best of weather.

My whitewalls are stained with varicose veins.

It takes me hours to reach my maximum speed.

My fuel burns inefficiently.

But here’s the worst of it. Almost every time I sneeze, cough or sputter, either my radiator leaks or my exhaust backfires.

Jean Marx

Longview

Scamming elderly

On Aug. 1, my elderly mother was approached at her home by a father-son team of what we believe to be door-to-door scammers offering driveway sealing services. She agreed to a price of $700. During the work, the men noted some cracked concrete near her garage and offered to fix it. Three $10 bags of concrete later and the bill jumped to $1,849.

They left that evening with her check and the promise of “we’ll be back in the morning to finish it.” Needless to say, they did not return. Her check was cashed that evening. A local contractor later bid $450 to do the same job. These men were driving an older pick-up pulling trailer. Local police say we need more victims to charge these people with a crime.

Please, if you have recently had your driveway sealed by these men and feel you have been taken, contact me at 274-7584. Beware. They are still in the area.

Sharon Kotera

Castle Rock

Consider the previous president

A few days ago The Daily News published a letter from a woman indicating that all the problems in the country are the fault of the Democrats and Brian Baird. Some of her ridiculous statements included the comment that Baird, in particular, and the Democratic Party is trying to destroy our country.

This lady needs to look at the history of the last president, George W. Bush, a Republican. When he took office, our country was left in the black big time by President Clinton. It only took Bush approximately one year to use up all that money and then continue a steady downhill descent into the red figures for the next eight years. He left office being one of the worst presidents in our history — proven fact.

This lady expects the Democratic Party to be able, with a wave of their hand, to wipe away all the debt of the country and fix Medicare, Social Security, etc. The problem in fixing health care is something that will take a lot of close thought, careful discussion and much hard work by both parties.

The Republicans need to step up to the plate and come forth with some good ideas, not just bash everything the Democrats are trying to do. The Democrats know that it will be impossible to solve things in a way that would suit all citizens of the United States, but come on, give them a fair length of time to at least try.

Molly Beaird

Longview

A word of warning

I happened across an (Aug. 26) article on the proposal to build a biomass plant near Longview. I am familiar with a similar effort in Estancia, N.M., and will pass on a few insights.

The (likely unstated) goal of any biomass plant is to secure a long-term, reliable source of real fuel and, in the case of the Estancia plant and probably your proposed plant, that means real live trees from the national forest. The proposal to burn “slash” is a front — there is not enough heat value in slash to generate electricity and there certainly is no economic basis for handling and trucking unwieldy slash to a central generating plant.

The economic viability of these proposals depends on big subsidies (federal, state and local) and on low-ball estimates of emissions in order to avoid air quality controls. Imagine living next door to a couple hundred thousand wood burning stoves — that is the future with a biomass plant. Fight hard and good luck.

Mary Davis

Tijeras, N.M.