Spread the word
Dear Editor:
Thanks for the comments on prostate cancer (Sept. 18). It was emailed to me by a friend in the Methow Valley who was recently diagnosed. I went through it in 2005. I have never been able to understand how any medical professional or patient could think that ignorance is preferable to knowledge. The PSA test is cheap and harmless and informative. What decisions one makes with the results is where the need for sound judgment comes in. Keep spreading your words of superior wisdom.
Geoffrey Braden, Seattle
Working against domestic violence
Dear Editor:
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month is a time for advocates, survivors and their families to remember those that have lost their lives to domestic violence, to celebrate and support those that have survived, and to connect with others in a way that re-energizes us to continue working to end violence and abuse in intimate relationships.
One woman is victimized by an intimate partner every 52 seconds; one man is similarly assaulted every three-and-a-half minutes. Antonio Novello, the former surgeon general of the United States, has estimated that domestic violence kills 58,000 people every five years, the same number lost in the Vietnam War.
Abuse by an intimate partner is called domestic violence, and domestic violence affects everyone, regardless of personal involvement. Consider the effect of domestic violence on children. Children may experience multiple types of exposure to domestic violence, with nearly all children being direct eyewitnesses to at least some of the violence in the home and sometimes as victims. Also consider the cost to society. Nationally, estimates of the medical costs for women ages 18 and older within the first 12 months after victimization, range from $2.3 billion to $7 billion annually.
Help for victims is available locally for all Okanogan County residents through The Support Center. The center provides crisis intervention, emergency transportation and shelter, medical and legal advocacy, information and referral, individual and group counseling. All services are free of charge and confidential. There is a 24-hour crisis line and toll free hotline with advocates available 24 hours every day.
Other services include outreach to the surrounding areas, training, and prevention/education. For more information, help for you or someone else, call (509) 826-3221 or toll free 1-888-826-3221. All inquiries are confidential. Information can also be found on the website www.thesupportcenter.org and Facebook. Please join us for “Take Back the Night” open house on Oct. 23 to honor survivors of domestic, dating and sexual violence and mourn those who died as a result of such violence. The time is 4:30-6:30 p.m. at The Support Center offices, 613 First Ave. S. in Okanogan.
Glenda Freel, Director of Services, The Support Center, Okanogan
Tell Monsanto no
Dear Editor:
The first material from the corporate lies campaign about Initiative 522 arrived in my mailbox last week. The second installment came this week. Our best defense is the Internet, since we obviously can’t compete with their money. After all, they are the 1 percent!
OrganicConsumers.org displays the truth that Monsanto wants to keep you from learning, by out-spending us.
This issue is bigger than our little state: thousands of farmers in India committing suicide, small organic farms in North America being forced to quit by discriminatory financial and regulatory bullying by government agencies under the thumb of the big chemical agriculture giants, obesity epidemic, and contaminated crops turned back from European markets by GMO contamination.
Please, don’t let us continue to be the laughing stock of our European neighbors. If GMOs are so great, they should be proud to label them. Support I-522 any way you can.
Eric Burr, Mazama
Pass it along
Dear Editor:
The Methow Valley Sport Trails Association (MVSTA) has added a new pass that will be beneficial to local residents. The passes for 2013-14 include a weekday pass for $199. The pass is valid Monday through Friday but it is not valid on weekends or Dec. 23 to Jan. 3. The pass will be available during the preseason or through Nov. 2.
The senior pass was lost in 2012 but it was limited to age 65 and older. The weekday pass is beneficial to all seniors, retirees, part-time workers, seasonal workers and other local residents who could not afford the season pass. If you are working full-time, the price allows you to ski for 30 minutes or more on work days. In addition, trails are less used on weekdays.
MVSTA Executive Director James DeSalvo has worked hard to get this pass. The local residents in the Methow Valley and adjacent communities need to give full support to MVSTA. Ginger and I have gotten our passes.
Over the years, we have surveyed local skiers who are “poachers.” They ski on the trails without a pass. I have shared with them the idea of a weekday pass for $200 or less. So far, we have received a 100 percent reply that they would purchase such a pass rather than “poach.” The poachers need to purchase their weekday pass and support MVSTA.
Finally, please tell others in the valley and adjacent communities about the weekday pass that MVSTA has made available for cross-country skiers. We are so lucky to be living in the Methow Valley.
Don and Ginger Reddington, Twisp
Thank you, Methow Valley
Dear Editor:
Forty years ago today a 25-year-old semi-long-haired guy with two dogs, a girlfriend, a canoe and some camping gear in an old Chevy Suburban rolled through the Methow Valley to visit Carolyn Sullivan (she had a different name then). It’s been an amazing ride. I just wanted to thank all of you in this beautiful valley for helping to raise this kid from Southern California. I love my community, what it’s done for me and what I’ve been able to give back. Hoping for another 25 years or so of living the good life with you all.
Barry Stromberger, Twisp
