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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us December 8, 2005 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Meals an issue for soldiers, too A grandson of mine was among the very first Marines into Iraq and spent two years there, going from private to sergeant in the process — i.e., he was loyal, competent, certainly valuable and recognized as such. The letter to the editor from M. Cahn, “Homeless need a daily hot meal” brings back to me a story he told of meals there. They had to pay extra for a hot meal. It was deducted from their pay and so of course whether they got the hot meal or not, and they didn’t always, they paid for it. How Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld could let this happen, or why a cabal of generals who must have been aware of this did not step forward to correct it, is w-a-a-y beyond me. Guess it wasn’t a juicy enough item for our vaunted TV networks since it seems never to have been reported by any of them, either. Sic transit the gloria of the United States. Dick Trout Ashland Market provides fair housing The Fordyce Street Cohousing Project is an excellent example of why a real estate transfer tax is not needed in Ashland to provide affordable housing. Through a combination of shared resources and significant sweat equity, members of this project are on their way towards realizing their dream of home ownership. Perhaps this concept should be used as a prototype for those who feel that more affordable housing is needed rather than another entitlement program. Let’s put the responsibility for home ownership where it belongs — in the hands of those who stand to benefit from it, not the taxpayers. Michelle Phillips Ashland School board is open to options To the school board: I was unable to attend or watch your Nov. 14 meeting, but the report in the Medford Mail Tribune of your decision to negotiate a lease with Plexis Healthcare Systems is excellent news. Congratulations! The decision to not lease to the Siskiyou School was a difficult one I’m sure, but their spokesperson expressed appreciation for your openness and collaborative efforts. As you negotiate with Plexis, might it be possible for that company to partner with you to teach a class related to their business in the Lincoln building? Would that satisfy the requirement of having students in the building to maintain your ability to use it in the future as a school without the safety upgrades? Actually, I’d highly recommend the safety upgrades and bring the building up to current building codes. If you reopen a school that was chosen for closure in part for safety reasons, the district could be liable if anything were to happen. There was one error in the reporting. According to Ashland’s Municipal Code, Chapter 18, public schools are a permitted use in the R-2 zone. A Conditional Use Permit should not be required for a public school in that zone. The restrictions on use come from the building code, not the planning code. I am pleased to see that the school board is looking at the whole district and not just one building. The additional revenue from the lease will enable you to improve and enhance programs for all students and maintain smaller class sizes. Thank you all for serving. Chuck Keil Ashland Mt. A expansion just goes too far The Tidings apparently has a new editorial position unequivocally supporting expansion of the ski park on Mount Ashland (Nov. 23). Like you, I appreciate the park’s positive social and economic benefits. Like many, I stopped visiting out of concern that its planned expansion goes too far. Many of us who have supported the Mt. Ashland Association proposed alternatives that would improve facilities and expand terrain while avoiding damage to our watershed. We were dismissed by the MAA and told to go away. I hope that when the U.S. Forest Service is compelled to revisit its whitewash of expansion impacts, the MAA board of directors will be more open to community involvement in shaping the park’s future. Jay Lininger Ashland The Tidings gives priority to letters on local and regional topics of current interest. It seeks to encourage thoughtful, well-reasoned letters and to discourage personal attacks, repetitive messages and personal disputes. Form letters are not published in the Tidings, nor are letters identified as having been published in other publications. Contributions to the Opinion page should be e-mailed in text-only format to [email protected]. Please include your address and a daytime phone number where you can be reached for confirmation. Letters are limited to 250 words. At Length submissions are limited to 400 words. Submissions may be edited for length, content and clarity. See www.dailytidings.com for our expanded letters and opinion section. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. 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