Killing hope
Dear Editor:
On April 15 I will be traveling to Vietnam for a two-week tour of the ongoing impacts of the Vietnam War on that country. The trip is sponsored by VFP (Veterans for Peace — vets who fought in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan and now work for peace instead of war), and is guided by American Vietnam vets who now live in Vietnam, trying to undo the damage they did to other human beings and the planet during that war.
In addition to the cost of the trip, every trip member is required to donate $1,000 to the VFP chapter 160 in Vietnam to help care for the multitudes of children who are born genetically malformed as a result of U.S. spraying of Agent Orange (3 million since the war ended), and people crippled by unexploded ordinance (about 250,000). Anyone wishing to contribute to this fund can contact me at 997-9011, or dana@methownet.com.
It is important to remember that there was no reason for this war, which killed nearly 4 million people and devastated vast swaths of the good earth — your home.
I bring this up because the problem persists today. I have been to Iraq four times in the past 10 years and I can tell you it is a destroyed country. As with Vietnam, there was no reason for our war on the Iraqi people. I have also been to Afghanistan, and after 14 years of U.S.-led war there and $1 trillion spent, the country is a wasteland of poverty and ruin. As Martin Luther King observed, “the United States is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today,” killing hope around the world.
Dana Visalli, Twisp
A plan for bear lovers
Dear Editor:
People who like bears as much as I do should face facts. Many people in this region feel queasy about releasing bears into the North Cascades wilderness. They may have selfish concerns about their personal safety or the safety of their children, I don’t know. To get the grizzly release conversation really going, I have a four-point plan:
• Address head-on the issue of bear activity that results in human dysfunction. Make a list, like the one on Wikipedia, “List of fatal bear attacks in North America,” but show how every incident was caused by the human either stumbling upon the bear unexpectedly or stepping into the bear’s path.
• Use statistics. Since 1970, wild grizzly bears in North America killed 50 people. Over the same period, black bears killed 43. See? Depredation of humans by grizzlies is not much worse than depredation by black bears, which most people already accept.
• There are presently 600,000 black bears in North America, but only 1,800 grizzlies. Yet, the two groups slay roughly equal numbers of humans. Apparently, your average grizzly is much more lethal than a black bear — about 387 times more so, according to the numbers. Someone clever with statistics might point out that the planned release of 500 grizzlies in the North Cascades would damage the human herd as much as the release of 193,000 black bears. Avoid this subject.
• The optics of putting grizzly bears near children may cause some to doubt your plan. It is one thing to release bears way out in the woods of Canada or Alaska, but quite another to release them near a major metropolitan area. You must spin a good story about how you will keep the grizzlies in their designated wilderness areas and out of suburbs that are within easy walking range for the bear and where edible food units are widely and easily accessible in parks and playgrounds.
Thank you for your consideration. I hope these comments help the public better understand what you intend to do.
Howie Johnson, Twisp
The right thing
Dear Editor:
I beg every Methow Valley voter to inform themselves about the need for the school district levies. When I toured our school facilities in association with this process, I was appalled and embarrassed by some of the conditions our students, educators and facilities and transportation staff must deal with.
We currently pay the lowest assessment rate for the care of our students, staff and facilities of any district in Okanogan County, and of any district in the state with similar property values. We’ve fallen behind in our responsibility to our education community concerning the maintenance and improvement of our community assets, and we need to catch up. Thrift is a virtue, and critical in our lean economy, but deferring maintenance and needed improvements is foolish.
This diverse task force of 20-plus volunteers dedicated many, many hours to making the most informed and prudent decisions on behalf of our school and taxpaying communities and has trimmed all the fat. We can and should take pride in the academic and athletic achievements of our schools, but we must also do our part to earn the right to share in that pride. The books on this process are open. Ask questions, get informed. If you do, I believe you’ll agree a vote in favor of both levies is the right thing to do.
Travis Thornton, Winthrop
Recycled to Room One
Dear Editor:
In response to last summer’s catastrophic events, Methow Recycles initiated a collaboration with local contractors and our metal-drive partner, Cascade Concrete, to generate funds for recovery through collection of the metal remaining after the fire.
Eleven households took this opportunity to help others. The total value of the metal recovered from their lost structures was $1,963.40. Many other households took advantage of this opportunity to lessen their site cleanup costs, and we are so glad to have been able to help them a little.
Earlier this month the Methow Recycles board of directors unanimously agreed that the best way to meet the wishes of these “fire metal” donors was to give this fund to Room One. This gift is for the purpose of assisting those impacted by the 2014 fires and floods with site clean-up, and reflects our confidence that Room One is in the best position to distribute these funds where they can do the most good.
Thank you to all who directed the value of their fire metal to assist their neighbors!
Methow Recycles’ regular 2015 metal drive is scheduled for May 2 and 3 at Cascade Concrete. Please stay tuned for details!
Betsy Cushman, Executive Director, Methow Recycles
