Park patrols are a start
Those of us who live around Esther Short Park are very glad to see the police cracking down on the disgusting and homeless people who hang out in the park. But if the city officials really want to put a stop to what’s going on in the park, there are two things they should do.
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Put an attractive but removable fence around the center stage area.
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Tear down the restrooms and rebuild them using some common sense. If you don’t understand how to build a public restroom, stop at any rest area along I-5 and copy that design. We call the restrooms at Esther Park one-room condos for homeless people. There is drug dealing and prostitution going on in these restrooms.
The way I see it there are two kinds of idiots in this world. You have the garden variety like me, then you have what I call college-educated idiots. The design of the restrooms at the park is a good example of what college-educated idiots can do.
Pat Coleman
Vancouver
Integrity lost without full disclosure
When The Columbian uses “online comments” on its front page and in the letters to the editor section of the newspaper, integrity is lost. The March 4 article “Federal officials praise CRC plan” was well-written, but why would The Columbian choose to use four online comments on the front page of a paper copy newspaper? Online comments are not legitimized with real names or locations, and yet the words “traitor” and “sucker” are written on the front page without the author showing ownership to the newspaper reader.
When online comments are included on the letters to the editor page, journalistic integrity is also lost. No one can even submit a letter to the editor without name, address, and telephone number. When I read the news and letters, I want to see the reporters’ names and the authors’ names and residence cities if it is a letter. Online anonymous comments belong online where the authors hide and can be ignored. The Columbian is a hard-copy paper; where are its editors?
Paquita Rupp
Vancouver
Special treatment for casino isn’t fair
The new Cowlitz Tribe gambling casino proposed for the La Center area is completely without merit. If Native Americans want to establish a casino for their own tribal members it would be OK but there are few Native Americans living at the proposed site. It is a completely bogus situation just so Native Americans can supply gambling to non-Indian society.
There are also zoning issues. The proposed site is in a rural area where commercial development should not be allowed. Clark County took great efforts to get everything right for the amphitheater so that the surrounding rural community would not be destroyed. The proposed casino is a much larger commercial operation than the amphitheater and would be put in an even more rural area. It is outrageous that Native Americans do not have to respect any of the regulations that non-Indians must adhere to.
The new casino is a clear-cut case of reverse discrimination. Minorities such as Native Americans do not have the right to receive special treatment. They should be bound by the same laws that non-Indians must adhere to when their operations extend into non-Indian society.
Stephen Franklin White
Vancouver
Crossing can take a time out
I’ve lived in west Vancouver for eight years. The first time I traveled south into Oregon on I-5 I had to slow down. The last two ramps entering I-5 are too close to the bridge. Have they ever closed ramps on a test to see if that helps slow down the traffic?
Can’t they control the times of day when they raise the bridge? I’ve seen very little large ship traffic east of the bridge. The ships have radios; they could be informed of the hours available for raising the bridge.
Our nation is facing some of the hardest times of our lives. We don’t know how long this crisis is going to last. I-5 is a federal highway. If the bridge has been maintained there is no real problem at this time.
Can’t people in control see that we are in crisis mode? Please use common sense and put this new bridge on hold, only until we have overcome the problem of unemployment, housing and trust in our financial systems.
Vern Moyer
Vancouver
GOP strategy hurts economy
To make a tiny dent in the federal budget deficit the Republicans in Congress have voted to eliminate 800,000 federal jobs. Their vote to torpedo our fragile economic recovery is either criminally shortsighted or the GOP wants to deliberately damage our economy so they can then blame the mess on President Obama. Neat trick, but they can’t shoot down the economy without shooting down our country in the process.
In 2008-09 radio entertainers such as Rush Limbaugh railed against any government effort to stop the economic free fall we were experiencing. The radicals publicly wished that the American economy would collapse, a disaster for which the GOP could then blame the Dems. A depression would sink the Democrats and the GOP would be poised to step in and save the day.
Today, in a time of war, the GOP’s House of Representatives is willing to risk our country by firing a huge number of workers, “starve the beast” they call it, to make political hay.
A loss of 800,000 paychecks will devastate local businesses that depend on consumers, triggering an additional wave of layoffs. The resulting loss of tax revenues will cause yet more layoffs of teachers, police officers and firemen, putting us in a downward spiral to disaster.
Bill Martin
Vancouver
Analyze reasons for dropping out
A school district dropout rate of more than zero percent means at least one student encountered at least one problem that prevented him/her from graduating. Areas to check to see if the school district is all that it can be are:
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Every class period should include a confidence-building interaction between potentially all students and teacher.
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For this to occur properly the student curriculum must contain two sets of reading material and exercises, one providing for greater understanding of that day’s interaction and the other preparing for participation in the next day’s interaction.
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The curriculum guide should prepare the teacher for the variety of questions that will be asked.
