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Letters to the Editor: What did Dubya do in the war, daddy? As George W. Bush piously observed Veterans Day, media pundits somehow restrained themselves from pointing to the irony that the U.S. Commander-in-Chief, who's sometimes referred to as a "former fighter pilot" has an embarrassing military past. His records show that for months at a time during the Vietnam War, Bush could be classified as, at best, "absent without leave" (AWOL) or, at worst, as an Army deserter. Favoritism is a sore point among those who actually went to war, including U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. As Powell wrote in his autobiography: "I am angry that so many of the sons of the powerful and well-placed � managed to wangle slots in Reserve and National Guard units � Of the many tragedies of Vietnam, this raw class discrimination strikes me as the most damaging to the ideal that all Americans are created equal �" - from the Toronto Star Al Bodin, Ashland Overcoming the gun-nut paranoia I feel obligated to respond to Mr. Farmer's letter (January 23rd, guest forum) about guns and doctors. Mr. Farmer uses radical right-wing talk show host-type logic (Rush would be proud). After reading the statistics he gives us (which are, let's admit, very scary), and now knowing that doctors are 9,000 times more dangerous than guns, I come to the only logical conclusion: Next time I have a sore throat, a sprained ankle, or even cancer, I should (I WILL!) rush to my favorite arms dealer, and purchase a fully loaded M-16, then barricade myself into my home, for fear that some liberal, leftist, socialist, crook doctor might try and heal me. Maybe a better solution would be to request that surgeons carry a weapon while in the operating room. Mr. Farmer's look at the statistics is twisted, and dishonest. Fortunately, we can choose to look at them in another way: Why don't we try and find out how often weapons used AGAINST people actually kill them? After all, doctors can only kill patients if they come in contact with them, and therefore the comparison will be more fair. I will let Mr. Farmer check out those statistics (although I doubt he will find them on one of his favorite Web sites), and come back to us with a revisited look at the relative dangers of guns and doctors. I would also like to suggest that if Mr. Farmer feels safer in Paisley he might want to move there. Ashland IS a dangerous place to live, since so many citizens do not own a weapon, and the crime rate here is mind-numbing. Those who don't like the tone or content of my letter can feel free to use me for target practice. Should I get hit, I trust my doctor will do a fine job bringing me back to health. In the meantime, I refuse to fall into the gun-nut paranoid trap. (I am saying "gun-nut" not "gun owner" because I know that not all of them are nuts, and some of them are even doctors.) Therefore, I don't live in fear of my neighbors, and I don't teach fear to my children. Is that so wrong? Thierry Chouard, Ashland Guest forum: Proposal for the south side of Mount Ashland By Douglas Volk, Ashland An effort to enhance the backcountry experience on the southern aspect of Mt. Ashland is being jointly proposed by Ski Ashland and The USFS Ashland Ranger district. A recent USFS meeting focused on the needs of recreational users of Mt. Ashland's "South Side." The area of concern encompasses the USFS road No. 20 from the back parking lot on Mt. Ashland to the point where it makes a "Y" to access the summit of Mt. Ashland. The activities of concern include a perceived excessive use of signage, snowmobile use, and the presence of ski area personnel. Over the years Ski Ashland has made an effort to prevent unwary backcountry users from becoming the focus of a search and rescue. Several extended searches have been necessary originating from the area of road #20 just beyond the back parking lot of Mt. Ashland. The signs, and the necessary manpower and machines for the required maintenance were a proactive attempt to keep winter travelers from descending below gravity access back to Mt. Ashland's parking lot. Placing a sign line on the 20 road was a sincere effort to help keep an unprepared skier from getting lost. The safety of all personnel involved in a search and rescue is also a prime concern of Ski Ashland. Ski Ashland values the input of our community and respects the need for a less obtrusive presence on the southern aspect of Mt. Ashland. It has been articulated by several local skiers, that a "Southside" experience reminiscent of those times prior to Ski Ashland's signage program would contribute to a more genuine backcountry experience. In an effort to address the concerns of Mt. Ashland's backcountry users, the impact of signage and its maintenance will be greatly reduced this 2002-2003 winter. The entirety of proactive measures on road 20 will be limited to a snow cat road to the summit that will be cut after any significant snowfall. In addition, signage will be limited to advisory signs located at the Windsor and Ariel Summits and the gate at the back of Ski Ashland's parking lot. There will be no signage outside of Ski Ashland's permit boundaries. Please remember that areas beyond the ski area boundary are unpatrolled and unmaintained. Ski Ashland assumes no responsibility for the safety and welfare of skiers going beyond the ski area boundary. Skiers are solely responsible for their own safety beyond our boundaries. The USFS and Ski Ashland hope that this less intrusive approach to managing USFS road No. 20 on Mt. Ashland's southern aspect will meet the needs and expectations of Mt. Ashland's backcountry community. Douglas Volk is director of the Mt. Ashland Ski Patrol. A voice from the front By Russell Howe, U.S. Army Editor's note: Russell Howe supervises repair of computer boards for the Apache helicopter. He grew up in Ashland and is 22 years old. Sometimes having the feelings and voice of a person we are sending into danger can make us more cautious. I hope this can personalize our attitude toward a police action in Iraq. - Anna Howe On July 19, 1999 I joined the Army. It has been a long experience, often arduous, and just as the end is in sight, I find that it is becoming even tougher. However, I know that I have dramatically changed for the better. I have been in for almost three and a half years and am still just beginning to realize the changes I have gone through. Now, with half a year to go, I find myself not in a peacetime army anymore but an army ready to go to war. I am not a typical soldier. I was raised in a very liberal family and lived in a liberal community. I never dreamed of one day joining the Army, and am actually still sometimes surprised that I did. My personality is much more passive than aggressive, and I have never owned even one G.I. Joe. All the same, I did join. I simply did not want to go straight to college. Basic training was tedious yet surprisingly easy. My electronics job training, which followed, was much worse. It was just as tedious as basic, except it lasted 13 months. Thirteen months of being yelled at by some power crazed drill sergeant. Thirteen months of continually keeping my clothes hangars exactly two inches apart, of rolling my T-shirts six inches long, of barely keeping my sanity. I learned more patience there than I had my whole life. After those dreadful 13 months I was shipped off to Germany where I have been ever since. Living in Germany has given me opportunities I could never have gotten anywhere else; it almost makes up for that horrible time in training. I have been everywhere from the Eiffel Tower to Dachau. I have gone snowboarding in the Alps, and boat riding through the canals of Copenhagen. (If I was incredibly pretentious I might call myself "continental.") I also, surprisingly, have adjusted somewhat to the Army. I am now a sergeant, and am in charge of an electronic repair shop. I have more responsibilities and duties now than ever before, and I find I am less carefree because of this. Maturity comes with a price. Regardless of all that I've gained from the Army, I can't wait to get out. I've done my time, gained my experiences, and am now ready to move on. College has always been a goal of mine, and I finally feel ready. So it is with a huge sense of irony that I find myself getting ready to deploy to Kuwait at just the time when I thought I was almost done. Even after all I've been through, and even though I have already learned so much, I see now my army experience might actually be about to begin, not end. 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