To the editor — I am here for my grandmother’s funeral. These articles I have read about Sunnyside’s Sytsma Dairy buying land on Pumphouse Road near the Toppenish Creek Federal Wildlife Refuge, (wetlands) to put a new dairy in are very disturbing. Why would the Sytsma Dairy move here without asking if is was OK to put a dairy in first? Why spend the money? Why would you move? No clean water left? Makes me wonder. Maybe people got tired of the polluntants and stench. If the operation was truly “state of the art technology,” wouldn’t Sunnyside welcome them and the so-called “boost” to the economy?
What were you thinking? Buy property on the reservation, maybe the Indians won’t figure it out until it’s too late? Sytsma Dairy, if I decide to come home to the Yakima Valley to live, I don’t want you in my backyard! Stay in Sunnyside.
TINA (OHMS) COOPER
Sioux Falls, S.D.
Time for real health-care reform
To the editor — On July 15, I attended a health-care caucus sponsored by the Healthy Washington Coalition designed to get the input of our state citizens that will determine how our Legislature will reform health care.
We all know what a nightmare and a failure our health-care system is. The real problem with our health-care system as I see it, however, is that it is a system based on disease management. It is one whose focus is to take care of us after we get sick. That is important, and you can bet that would be my preference if I was in a car accident and needed emergency attention. But the majority of our health-care costs are not this kind of care. And it doesn’t take a wise person to realize that keeping people well and healthy is more cost-effective than treating them after they get sick. It’s just plain common sense.
There is strong scientific evidence that a healthy lifestyle prevents many diseases. And yes, it is hard to change eating and lifestyle habits, and it is work. True, most of us want it easy. We want to take a pill or have a procedure that will magically make it all go away. Unfortunately, often these things don’t work, have risks, and are extremely expensive. This way of taking care of our health is hurting our economy, our personal wealth, and worst of all, our health. We need a health-care system that is dedicated to teaching and giving us the tools to be healthy. Without it, whatever system we have will continue to struggle to under the high costs of treating our sick. And most importantly, we need to personally be responsible for our own health.
We cannot afford to maintain the status quo of health care. It’s time for a commitment to prevention. It’s time for real health-care reform.
DOREEN SOLIMAN
Yakima
Biased news article?
To the editor — Re: The Associated Press article I read online July 12, “Bush tries to blame Congress for high energy costs,” by Terrence Hunt, AP White House correspondent.
With the headline and the biased way the story is written, it would be more appropriate as an Opinion editorial rather than being passed off as an unbiased news item.
In your requirements for letter to the editor you state, “Letter should be .... in good taste; letters that defame individuals ... or that contain significant factual errors will not be published.”
I believe this same standard should be applied to items published as news.
LEE ARNETT
Selah
EDITOR’S NOTE: Associated Press articles on yakimaherald.com come directly from the news cooperative and are not edited by Yakima Herald-Republic news staff.
The best candidate
To the editor -- In a few weeks we will have the opportunity to select a new state representative for the 14th District. We have been blessed by Mary Skinner's dedicated representation for many years.
There is a candidate who has been a devoted public servant for most of his life. His career has been in education, where he and his wife have gone the extra distance to help make people of all ages and backgrounds succeed. His name is Bob McLaughlin.
My family has directly benefited from McLaughlin's commitment to helping people succeed. We know Bob McLaughlin to be honest and honorable, a positive person that listens and an advocate for life-long learning. He would represent us well.
While some politicians were arguing about banners and flags, Bob McLaughlin and his wife were quietly changing lives for the better. Bob McLaughlin is the type of person we need to have working for us in Olympia.
Please take the time to meet Bob McLaughlin. You will discover a person committed to making every life in the 14th District better. Bob McLaughlin is the best choice to represent us in Olympia.
KATHI HENDRIX
Selah
Replace culvert
To the editor -- If the channel of the Naches River can be changed without damage to the fish habitat, why can't they replace one culvert on the road above Bumping Lake to allow people access to the trailhead at the end of the road? I paid to use that trail- head for years.
ALVIDO BERNIER Selah
Yard sign sanity
To the editor -- I am a political junkie and I love the campaign speeches, the strategies, the forums and the advertising. I find the myriad of colors and designs on the campaign logos and yard signs most interesting.
The growth of campaign Web sites has made it easier to access more information than ever. The Public Disclosure Commission Web site has more information than you can shake the proverbial stick at, and looking at contributors and expenses is fascinating reading, at least for a crazy like me.
But what I hate about election season is the exponential growth of campaign signs on public right of ways. Campaign signs belong on your own property to show your support. Recently, there were 16 campaign signs on one corner. One had been there for a week and the other 15 were new, all from the same candidate. I wonder why this candidate feels that he must inundate us "stupid" voters with his name and the logic behind this "brainwashing" and the lack of financial responsibility. I don't single out any one candidate as many do this, but I would much rather have meat and potatoes instead of fluff. Let's get back to where yard signs mean something.
PETER DELL
Yakima
Iran's role in Iraq
To the editor -- In a July 14 letter to the editor titled "We've lost our way," the writer claims Iran is minding its own business and feels America and Israel are somehow the bad guys here. In 2006, coalition forces found proof that Iran is aiding the insurgents in Iraq. Senior defense officials reported coalition forces seized Iranian-made weapons and munitions that included advanced IEDs designed to pierce armor and anti-tank weapons.
On Oct. 23, 2007, there was a rocket attack on a U.S. base southeast of Baghdad, and according to the military, the 107 mm rocket fired was made in Iran sometime in March 2006. It was the 40th Iranian manufactured rocket that soldiers had captured. (See http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,305686,00.html?sPage=fnc/world/iran) Does this sound like a country that is just sitting back minding its own business? I think this writer is more angry than informed.
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