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Letters to the editor: Mt. Ashland: City Council is Responsible As a concerned season pass holder I was sorry to read in the July 30 Tidings' article that some of our city council members are uneasy about holding discussions on the Mt. Ashland expansion. Certain expansion decisions pose environmental and financial risks to the city of Ashland. Delegating authority to the Mt. Ashland Assoc. (MAA) does not preclude the City Council from providing direction and guidance that reflect the best interests of our community. The MAA has demonstrated a strong pro-development / anti-environment bias. For example, I sent a letter to the MAA board members expressing my concerns about the financial and environmental impacts of the expansion and board member Kurt Austermann replied with the following response: "It's unfortunate you seem to have been convinced by the continuous falsehoods and innuendo propagated by the Rogue Group Sierra Club." Mr. Austermann's reply demonstrates no propensity for compromise and a total lack of concern for the environmental impact of their expansion plans. The Mt. Ashland Association was charged with making operational decisions concerning the ski area, however they were apparently not charged with making decisions that are in the best interests of our watershed or our city's financial health. Such issues are clearly the responsibility of our City Council! Ken Crocker, Ashland Bush should worry about his own log George W. Bush, our President-select and expert on warfare, the economy, the environment and everything else he read an Internet article on, has now become our moral conscience and flatly states that marriage is a bond between a man and a woman. He also openly says that homosexuals are "sinners," but hey, he says, "we all sin." (Unless your name is Clinton, then you commit an impeachable act.) I wonder if he's told VP Cheney's lesbian daughter about his feelings. In the meantime, the economy continues to sink, the war that was declared a victory still takes American lives and has left a nation in ruin, schools are closing, and we live in constant fear of airplane hijackings, terrorist attacks, $500 billion deficits and now, the coup de grace, homosexual marriages. I would suggest that our pseudo-warrior remove the log the size of Iraq in his own eye. Or could it be that WMD really means "weapons of mass distraction?" Doug Mitchell, Ashland Guest forum: Fun is still a priority: Let them swing By Ara Johnson Ashland It has come to my attention that there is a controversy regarding the rope swing at the reservoir at upper Lithia Park. Apparently, every evening the Parks Department cuts the rope. Every day the young people who enjoy our swimming hole put it up again. I feel the Parks Department's cutting of the rope to be an act of vandalism. I am a mother of two, a local homeowner, and I feel I am a very responsible parent. My children enjoy the rope swing, and every day that it is cut, the make-shift patching of it makes it more dangerous. Life is full of tragedies that we try to prevent - we buckle-up our kids, make sure they have helmets when they bicycle and skateboard, know where they are and who they are with. But a part of the joys of childhood is having a local swimming hole, with a rope swing! Let us have this be a part of Ashland's legacy to our youth. A rope swing, a swimming hole, the joys of summer! A sign making it clear that it is at each swimmer's responsibility will clear the City of it's fear of litigation. Let's put up a rope that is strong and keep it there. I have spoken to many young adults who are willing to remove rocks to make it as safe as can be. And let our kids be kids. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -