Stand behind Mielke’s call for vote
I applaud Clark Commissioner Tom Mielke’s stand on the Interstate 5 Bridge replacement, his thoughts on light rail, and his call for a public advisory vote (April 8 Columbian story, “Mielke calls for bridge advisory vote”). It’s a shame that other commissioners don’t stand with Mielke on this.
Tens of thousands of Clark residents work in Oregon, paying a 9 percent income tax. Adding the cost of a $3.6 billion bridge on the backs of working commuters via a toll, plus a sales tax increase, is especially outrageous when it includes a $750 million light rail component that will serve less than 5 percent of commuters, many who already do or could ride C-Tran.
Instead, leaders should use the more than $1 million per month in bridge planning costs and other funding to recruit companies to locate manufacturing and other industries that pay family wage jobs to Clark County. In comparison, $4 million in incentives helped BMW to decide to locate a parts factory in Moses Lake. I say why not here in Clark County? Putting thousands of citizens to work here instead of Oregon would reduce our 14.5 percent unemployment rate, give workers a 9 percent raise and eliminate the need for a replacement bridge.
Chris Forzano
La Center
Important reasons to build bridge
The more I see on the new Interstate 5 Bridge politics, the more I have to laugh. Everyone seems to forget three things about the existing bridge and new design.
One, the current bridge is obsolete and could collapse or be severely damaged in an earthquake, causing total havoc with transportation for months. (Note the I-35W bridge collapse in Minnesota and impact/loss of life). Two, the DOT engineers and technical leaders have studied the situation exhaustively and created a workable design for a new bridge. We hire them because they are the experts; we need to listen to them. Three, there is no longer a free lunch in this country for road projects and we need to help pay for them locally.
I commute to Portland every weekday, so the cost will impact me, but it needs to get built before we lose the existing bridge and create a huge negative effect on everyone’s daily life. We can keep bickering or we can get it done.
Wes Cartwright
Vancouver
It shouldn’t be a dog’s world
The world has gone to the dogs. I will not attend the Vancouver Farmers Market because of all the dogs (April 12 Columbian story, “Doggie Debate: Canines at market breed concerns”). When did everything become about dogs? They are animals; they are not your children. They don’t belong in markets; they don’t belong at hardware stores. Other than to help the blind, they especially don’t belong on airplanes. How many times have we heard the line, the dog never bit anyone before? It only takes one time to maul a child, then it is too late.
Dogs belong in big yards and dog parks. Please do the right thing and leave your dogs at home.
Curt Ross
Washougal
Trash is an unwelcome industry
I am fascinated with the state of Washington’s preoccupation with garbage. Seems like the people of this state will take anybody’s trash without concern for the people already here.
First, they took the nuclear waste that nobody else wanted. The result was the mess at Hanford. Now they want to take Hawaii’s garbage (April 8 Columbian story. “Tons of Hawaiian trash await OK on shipment plan to Washington dump”). When I moved out here, I really didn’t know I was moving to a state whose ambition was to become the world’s largest landfill. I really have no ambition to live on a landfill. Why do the natives want to?
Barbara Mills
Vancouver
Help revive Kevin’s Law
Regarding the April 10 story, “E. coli infection kills boy; 3 recover,” I encourage people to contact their senators and Congressmen asking that Kevin’s Law be passed. Kevin is another little boy who died in 2001 from E. coli traced to hamburger. Watch the DVD documentary “Food, Inc.,” which was nominated for an Academy Award where Kevin’s mother, Barbara Kowalcyk, explains her quest.
We all need to start buying grass-fed beef and get the cattle out of the feed lots where E. coli bacteria are more prevalent. The stomachs of cattle are not made to be fed corn; cattle are supposed to eat grass. That’s one of the reasons they are given antibiotics; they get sick from eating corn. My condolences to the stricken families.
Gwyne Griffin
Vancouver
System works against fathers
As we come out of the season of Lent and Easter, we are reminded about the ultimate sacrifice made on behalf of us and the hope that arises from that action. Unfortunately, there are many among us who choose to disregard the lessons of the season.
We live in a society where our children are used as weapons by one spouse against the other spouse. The tragedy of this fills me with an emotion I cannot fully express. So for fathers — who perhaps like me only did their best to do the duty that was entrusted to them, not by the state Washington, but by God alone — we need to vocalize our discontent against those who would destroy our rights as fathers.
The system is unfairly set against us; a new form of sexism has taken root, and we need to start speaking out. We owe this not to some misguided sense of revenge or pride, but to our children.
We need to stand our ground and fight for our children. Though the road ahead may be filled with strife, we must find comfort in the knowledge that our children will one day know that their daddies never stopped fighting to be active fathers in their lives.
Christopher E. Eger
Vancouver
It’s a duty to pay your share
Look, I don’t like the IRS any more than the next guy. But what’s with all the TV and radio ads telling people how to get out of paying the income tax they owe? Hardworking people don’t enjoy having to give up a chunk of their pay but most do so honestly. Why should some deadbeat who owes $10,000 or more in back taxes not have to pay their share? Pompous voices on the commercials say they are trying to protect their customers from paying money to the IRS. Well, the money doesn’t go to the IRS. It goes to the U.S. treasury and, even though the government often spends too much in places we argue about, the money also allows our country to take care of vital business at home and around the world.
I’m tired of these fake defenders of bogus victims making a living (probably a good one) on making the rest of us cover for their delinquency.
Bill Mumley
Vancouver
