Our readers’ views - Sept. 17

Editorial was a smear

The Sept. 11 editorial, “Removing stains,” attacking Officer Navin Sharma’s fellow officers, is an odious smear. As the attorney for the Vancouver Police Officers Guild, I have worked closely with the Vancouver Police Department for 16 years.

After Sharma’s initial dispute years ago, he was fully reintegrated, working closely with officers throughout the department (including officers whom he once thought had discriminated against him.) It appeared he would be allowed to finish his distinguished career at the department. Sadly this was not to be.

His recent lawsuit arose not because of the actions of his fellow officers, but because the city of Vancouver chose to fire him. His fellow officers supported him and their guild was fully prepared to defend him against the city’s patently frivolous allegations.
Casting blame on officers allows those at the top of the police department and city government to escape responsibility for their $1.6 million decision to fire Sharma for transparently pretextual reasons.

David A. Snyder
Portland

Remove McDonnell

The Columbian did a fairly good job of expressing its opinion Sept. 11, “Removing stains,” about the mess at city hall and Vancouver Police Department. I agreed with most of it. However, it missed a huge point. It blamed the front-line officers for the “shame” rather than City Manager Pat McDonnell and City Attorney Ted Gathe. It appears to me that McDonnell has done an excellent job of pretending he had no clue about the ongoing nasty stuff happening at the city government. He talks about having an independent source help him understand problems at the police department. This sounds like a joke to me.

What we need is help from the state and federal justice departments. Careers and reputations of good people have been destroyed. I wish the council members were more responsible to the residents of Vancouver. It’s time for McDonnell to resign. He has done enough damage.

Quan Tran
Brush Prairie

People ignore the obvious

There are those who say the economy is fine, employment is up, people are safe, everything is OK, etc. Then there are those who really scare me, those who believe it. It amazes me how people can ignore the obvious.

George Vartanian
Ridgefield

Roads are for fast wheels

In response to Linda Brant’s Sept. 10 letter, “Sidewalks are unused,” I agree with her that bicyclists should stick to riding on sidewalks, particularly those with training wheels and ridden by small kids For the majority of us, though, who ride a bike to work, to shop, or for exercise and who typically cruise at 10-20 mph, riding on a sidewalk is impractical, unsafe, in some jurisdictions illegal, and would be equivalent to driving your automobile on a street with massive potholes, boulders and the like.

Or would she contend that we ought to be relegated to the sidewalk and be required to ride at no more that 3-4 mph — the velocity of a fast walk? Of course this also assumes there are sidewalks along each and every roadway.

David McBride
Vancouver

Outlaw fireworks

Now that the fireworks show has no funding, it is time for Vancouver to join the other larger cities in the state and outlaw fireworks once and for all.

The city could allow fireworks (legal) on the Fourth for a couple of years. Enforce the law against fireworks on other days with stiff fines and penalties. Eventually outlaw fireworks for all times. It is time for Vancouver to move into the 21st century

Len Morrison
Vancouver

Fanciful plans nab funds

The Sept. 9 story, “Vancouver running short of money for roads,” further evidences the city’s “leadership” in attempting to emulate the federal government’s wasteful ways.

“Roads” are merely another vital part of the infrastructure denied in order to “invest” in fanciful things such as giving away the old police station and other city properties at “distressed” prices, subsidies for commercial facilities surrounding parks, items such as the new complexes, condos, apartments, commercial facilities surrounding the library, Hilton Vancouver Washington, plans for the Boise Cascade property, a glorious new bridge, light-rail extension, significant funds fighting the proposed Cowlitz Casino (many miles north of the city limits), et al. The list goes on and on.

Other than egos and legacy, why?

If these are such great opportunities, why have not the many private investors been storming the barricades? What’s next? Total funding of the Fourth of July celebration ?

George Young
Vancouver

Little to choose from

As my liberal friends like to say, John McCain will be George Bush’s third term.
Unfortunately, Barack Obama will be Jimmy Carter’s second term. With McCain picking Gov. Sarah Palin he has shown his decision-making skills are lacking. But then Obama, the so-called voice of change, picks Sen. Joe Biden, the windbag of all Washington, D.C., insiders. If these four are the best America has to offer, then God help us. Not since 1928 when Herbert Hoover ran against Al Smith have we the people had so little to choose from.

Darel Maden
Vancouver

Why do ‘pigs’ make news?

How many voters know that Sen. John McCain himself has used the phrase regarding “lipstick and a pig” at least twice since late last year? This topic is all about nothing, but the media have to play it up to the empty minds of the MTV crowd.

We face so many crucial issues at this time and all we are hearing lately is about phony knee-jerk reactions about a pig’s face. How about the media help us focus on where this nation’s next president is going to take us? The latest coverage was enough to make me grunt, squeal and perhaps croak.

Patrick Mogan
Vancouver