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Letters to the Editor: A fan of Bush When I saw the "shock and awe" in Baghdad on TV I was so thrilled I almost cried. At last, a man in the White House with some cojones. There seems to be an epidemic of Bush hate in Ashland. Some of the symptoms are shock and denial about the liberation of Iraq, and paranoia about civil liberties. George W. Bush may not be the Messiah, but I am pretty sure he is not the Antichrist. At least he is not a pacifist wimp. God bless you, Dubya. I love you, man. Rob Carter, Ashland Right on, Reger I would like to comment on Jerry Reger's guest forum (Tidings 4-23-03) concerning the anti-war protesters. Right on, Jerry. I only wish I had written it! I take some comfort in knowing there are at least a few other non-liberals living in this community. Garry L. Powell, Ashland Thanks for the stuffed toys The women of St. Gabriel Orthodox Church in Ashland would like to express their gratitude to the community for their generous response to their sponsored Easter Drive to collect stuffed animals for the Children's Advocacy Center in Medford. These animals are used by the Advocacy Center to give to children from troubled families who need something soft and cuddly to help them through their difficult moments. Over 1,250 stuffed toys were donated. Thank you from the kids and the women of St. Gabriel Orthodox Church. Helen Trew, Medford Boosting street safety: hooray! "Where there is a will, there is a way." Crosswalks at some of the busiest spots in town are being made more visible. Pedestrians are being further protected by education and traffic law enforcement campaigns. I want to commend The Daily Tidings and particularly former editor Larry Berteau for keeping the issue of pedestrian safety in print. Thank you to the citizen volunteers of the Siskiyou Blvd. Design Committee, The Downtown Plan Committee, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission and the Traffic Safety Commission for listening and mustering the will to recommend changes. Thank you to councilors Hartzell and Morrison and the Ashland city staff, notably Paula Brown and Jim Olson, for finding the ways to implement these changes and pay for them. The APD has found state funding for innovative enforcement projects. This upgrading of pedestrian safety in our town is a successful cooperative effort for the benefit of us all. Hooray! Zane Jones, Ashland Election Letters: Youth activities benefit all kids I'm writing to offer my support of an important levy, due to be voted on in May, the Ashland Youth Activities Levy. The Youth Activities Levy funds vital programs in Ashland's public schools, including music, athletics, drama, and speech and debate, to name a few. The activities benefit all Ashland students, from elementary age through high school. My two children, a kindergartner and second grader at Briscoe Elementary, directly benefited from the levy this year with the outstanding musical instruction of Pam Vellutini and the fun and healthy physical education instruction of Coach Ken Lumsden, both paid for by the Youth Activities Levy. With the cuts in the state's budget, our schools have lost nearly 20 percent of their funding over the last two years, and now is not the time to cut back on more of our children's education and activities. A yes vote will continue the activities currently funded by the levy for an additional five years, without increasing the current level of property tax. Please join me in voting yes on the Ashland Youth Activities Levy. Nancy Bestor, Ashland Dollars for our public schools Think of it this way. The fact that you live in this state means your overall tax burden is significantly lower than if you lived just about anywhere else in the country. A percentage of the money you don't pay in state tax is the money that doesn't reach our public schools. Won't you then support a local tax levy that enables you to contribute a portion of those dollars to support Ashland public schools? Our kids deserve at least that much (and more). Vote for the Ashland Youth Activities Levy for better schools and - it follows - a better community. Jon Lange, Ashland Yes vote - for now, the future If we want the children of Ashland to be thoughtful, creative, collaborative and contributing community members - now and when they reach adulthood - then we must provide them with opportunities to use their ideas and energies in positive, participatory ways. The Ashland Youth Activities Levy supports PE classes and athletic teams, music and drama programs, the debate team, and a host of other organized clubs and activities, all of which encourage responsibility and constructive engagement in the world. Please join me in voting "yes" on the levy next month - for our community now and in the future. Amy C. Cuddy, Ashland Lipski best bet for board post Sheryl Lipski, a person with depth, vision, and multi-dimensional perspectives, is an excellent candidate for the Ashland School Board. Her understanding of education is knowledgeable and insightful because of her experience as a teacher, an administrator and a parent. Through her teaching of children and adults she has developed a powerful ability to listen and communicate with others. She gives respect to all points of view and encourages community involvement. Sheryl demonstrates her strengths consistently, devoting her time, talents, and abilities to the community, friends, and family. She is an enlightened individual with a strong belief in the public school system and its value to our society. Sheryl Lipski is a highly qualified person to serve on the Ashland School Board. Donna Morrison, Ashland Pass the levy As a teacher at Ashland Middle School for the last 11 years, I have had the pleasure of getting to know a good number of you and your children. I have always appreciated the wonderful support that the community in general and parents in particular have shown for our schools. It is time to ask for your help once again. As you know, the schools cannot provide the same programs and experiences as we have in the past with the amount of money we are now receiving from the state budget. Governor Kulongoski just announced that the upcoming budget will be one billion dollars short of what schools need. Therefore, I am asking that you once again vote in favor of the cultural and recreation levy. If the levy passes we will be able to continue providing the activities that motivate many children to attend school with enthusiasm. Susan Frey, Phoenix Thivierge has the leadership skills Be it college placement, dropout rates, SAT scores or extracurricular success, the students of the Ashland School District set a standard by which the rest of the state is measured. This level of excellence is the product of a special bond between a community that values education and teachers dedicated to extracting the best from their students. Nurturing that bond is the role of the school board. It requires leadership that is both strong and collaborative. Having served with Ellie Thivierge for the six month existence of the School Closure Committee, I can attest to her possession of those leadership traits. It's with confidence that I endorse Ellie for my school board seat. John G. Maurer, Chair, Ashland School Board, Ashland Guest Forum: Violence creates a separation By Jessica Baker and Chelsea Cotton Ashland We are writing this letter with concerns about recent destructive activities that have taken place in our town in regards to the war. We are two students from the Wilderness Charter School and have played a big part in the recent actions towards generating peace. We have a true passion for standing up for what one believes in, no matter what that might be. The actions that took place prior to the war were presented in a nonviolent and peaceful manner, but since the war started we feel there is a separation in what the peace movement was, and what it is becoming. We started going to peace rallies to take a step up and change the direction we saw our country going, however, after many experiences and nothing changing we came to the realization that it wasn't about change but rather putting peaceful and loving energy out into the world. When we were at the rallies we were filled with such power and inspiration. We felt the atmosphere that we were surrounded by was a step in the right direction for the peace movement. Since the war has started we have felt a growing disconnection between the people of this country. We also have felt a division between the members of the peace movement in Ashland. There has been some vandalism and other destructive and violent actions in our community that have been done by people who want to speak out for what they believe is right. If we truly want peace within our world we also need to have peace in ourselves and in our community. By participating in these violent actions we create separation. Our hope is to build a society where a diverse group of people can express how they feel in a peaceful manner. In order to do this, we need to come from the heart, and expand that feeling outward into the community. As Gandhi stated, "We must become the change we want to see." 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