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Letters: Talent Wal-Mart provided security for many people I was upset/disappointed by one woman's letter regarding the closing of Wal-Mart in Talent. I do not shop there, don't own stock in the company, but I do know that the store provided two vital functions: offered company employment for a considerable number of people who are now unemployed and gave a low-cost option for buying food/clothing/sundries to the people who live in the area. Now they must travel to an inconveniently located Wal-Mart on the outskirts of eastern Medford. In addition to those two concerns, I was most struck by her ugly glee in the closure. It smacked of pettiness that went beyond reason. I was disappointed that someone who lives in the area would express herself in such an unpleasant way. Chloe Winston Redding, Calif. *** A pound of pot is worth more than 3 sex offenders The arrest last week of three men in Merlin on numerous counts of child sex abuse has pointed out to me that something is seriously wrong with the Jackson County justice system. This crime was even more heinous than usual, the victim was bound and gagged and her life threatened. When the officers went to the address with arrest warrants, they found one of the men in bed with a 4-year-old girl. At least one of the accused is a registered sex offender. The child welfare worker said she'd never seen such heinous abuse and no bail could be too high. Why then did the judge set bails of $100,000, $200,000, and $300,000? Why was a registered sex offender released at all? Maybe you think several hundred thousand dollars is a pretty high bail. In reading the police log this spring, there was a young man caught with a pound of marijuana - his bail was $1 million. Does this make sense to you? Is a pound of pot really that much more dangerous to our society than these three men who brutalize and destroy children? We give a lot of lip service to kids in this country, and very little else - especially if they're not our own. We really need to get our priorities straight. Children are helpless: We're all they have. Where are we? Stephanie Thomson Talent 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 -