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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Annual AAUW holiday party ... Santa Dash set for Saturday ... State fines city for testing protocol violation ... Annual AAUW holiday party ... Santa Dash set for Saturday ... State fines city for testing protocol violation ... LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the Editor, Dec. 18 DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Dec. 18, 2015 @ 12:01 am Posted Dec. 18, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2324,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Contracts are not equal I was disappointed to read the Tidings’ endorsement of the SOU administration’s position that faculty compensation should be tied to student enrollment numbers. The editor writes that the link “… would be an acknowledgement that all employees are in the same boat and would benefit by rowing in the same direction.” But that logic would only hold if the contracts of all university employees were structured similarly. They are not. The administration has already awarded itself a 3 percent retroactive raise, and classified employees received 2.25 percent this year, with no contingency for enrollment gains or losses. Meanwhile the Saigo administration holds that the faculty, on whose backs the budget was balanced during the past two years, should be grateful to settle for an additional 2 percent this year. So much for putting “all school employees in the same boat.” Meanwhile, over the past three years the total cost of employing faculty has decreased by 10.5 percent, while the cost of employing administrators has increased by 5 percent. In this light, it’s difficult to justify the administration’s proposal. Dustin Walcher, associate professor Medford 'Gather' is unworkable The sculpture planned for the Gateway Island, "Gather," is profoundly unworkable on several levels: 1. It likely can't be built as shown in the renderings, so say those with engineering experience who have looked at the plans — meaning it may have to be structurally altered into a significantly different looking work of art, possibly needing supportive posts, guy wires, reinforced base, etc. These modifications, if necessary, are deeply unfair to the 60-plus other entries whose artwork competed for selection on the basis of their original appearance. 2. The selection process was "flawed," so say the all the historic commissioners, one of whom is also on the selection commission: The PAC itself decided, without consulting any other commission or the public, that a "contemporary," meaning "modern," artwork was to be the theme, and after receiving 60-plus submissions, did not even bother to show the other entries to the public for comment. Why should five people on the PAC assume sole discretion, with no constraints or limitations on their decisions, of the style, form, content and artistic quality of all Ashland's public art? As George Kramer said, the only thing "public" about this artwork process appears to be the fact that the public is required to pay for it! 3. Almost everyone polled by Sneak Preview does not like "Gather." Comments have been running 20 to 1 against "Gather" on the Ashland Plaza Restoration Project Facebook page. 4. The PAC wants "Gather" to become an "iconic" image, and has begun comparing the controversy over this piece to the controversy surrounding the original plans for the Eiffel tower — Ridiculous! Ashland is iconic enough in its own right without needing to add yet another $100,000.00 "iconic work" of art! David Sherr Ashland Black Friday, indeed I see from a recent article in the Tidings (Dec. 16) that the number of firearms sold on Black Friday in California were four times the number sold on the average November day. That was even before the massacre in San Bernardino, in preparation for which the shooters obtained their assault weapons "legally." And California is reported in that same article to have "some of the nation's strictest gun laws." I know I'm not alone in thinking that the nation's gun laws are woefully short of keeping up with the times. Black Friday thus serves as yet another reminder that the easy access to firearms in America continues to yield a deadly harvest — far, far worse than in the other advanced democracies in the world. John Kloetzel Ashland DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Dec. 18, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Terms of Service /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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