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Letters to the Editor: Thanks for the civil rights proposal to council Thank you Cate Hartzell and the Ashland Patriots Group for introducing the civil rights proposal. Now we will see who we really are as a city. Will we stand alongside the 23 other brave communities nationwide that have passed such a resolution? Or will we choose to remain passive, apathetic, "good burghers" while our beloved country sinks increasingly into fascism? In these dark times, let us all keep the faith - because eventually, the light shines through. Jonah Blue, Ashland ICCA patron is blessed by the community Thank you Ashland. Your help has blessed many that are unable to help themselves and provided a healthy environment for those of us who are hurting and confused. To be whole and find balance is a wish we all feel. Thanks to you - it is possible and to this love we surrender. Ocean Curliss, Ashland Ski expansion poses a problem for fire planning I am concerned that Mayor Alan DeBoer's push to expand the Mt. Ashland Ski Area is harming the ability of the U.S. Forest Service to reduce fire danger in the Ashland Watershed. The USFS manages most of the Watershed above Reeder Reservoir on behalf of the public. Its local staff is down to five people. Most of their time and energy is now spent on ski expansion planning. Relatively few resources have been devoted to planning for wildfires. Some civic leaders liken the Watershed's condition to a "time bomb," yet they fail to demand that the USFS stop playing around with recreational development and get serious about improving the forest's resilience to fire. The trade-off will only worsen as the USFS and City Council get sucked deeper into the extreme controversy over ski expansion. Federal and city fuel reduction efforts to date are important steps in reducing fire hazard in our wildland-urban interface. But we must improve our knowledge of the entire Watershed's vegetation and needs for restoration, and fast. The clock is ticking. The city is empowered by a Memorandum of Understanding with the USFS to set priorities for managing the Watershed. Fire planning should be the only priority until it is done. Jay Lininger, Ashland Patriot proposal is 'ridiculous' After September 11, The Patriot Act was passed overwhelmingly by Congress and the Senate to begin tightening the security of our country against further potential acts of terrorism against the United States of America. Unfortunately, we are already at war since the attack of September 11. Now our country is determined to keep the citizens safe and secure from any other future attack. When I read in the paper that Councilor Cate Hartzell and others who call themselves the Ashland Patriots are bringing to the council a resolution to remind federal agencies and city workers about protection rights, etc. because of "fears about frivolous, unfounded witch hunts, etc." is absolutely ridiculous. Our city government and citizens of Ashland should be supporting our federal government's actions to stop terrorism and not waste city resources and time. I strongly oppose any such resolution. Many times I feel that our wonderful City of Ashland acts as if it were four square miles surrounded by reality. This action is much to do about nothing and should have no attention whatsoever from the council other than to vote NO. Barbara Field, Ashland Guest forums - It's time again to make Oregon a priority By Alexander C. Krach, Ashland The history of State of Oregon is a proud history. Full of the vision and the pride of those that came before us. Leaders that stood up and invested in one of the country's greatest State Park Systems. A governor that had the courage to fight to maintain the entire Oregon Coast as a public resource, forever accessible by people just like you and me. A citizenry that valued public education, and with their hands and their hearts built a strong university system that produced great thinkers and great minds. Individuals that valued their neighbors and their children. Through their words and their actions, they said boldly, "I will protect you, I will not let you fall!" Oregonians are famous for their individuality - but also for their compassion. The Oregon Trail once led proud and strong people to this land. True pioneers in search of the promise of a future. They built the foundation upon which the history of Oregon stands. It must be preserved. We have strayed from the vision of those who came before us. There is a reason that we have been so completely successful in our past. There was a time when we stood as one. One citizen, one town, one Oregon. There was a time when we understood the value of helping those in need, whether it was our own child or a stranger. Both of those people are Oregon. Both will create our future. There was a time when we would not consider cutting the funding for the education of our own child. Our own blood, our family, our future. We have done so numerous times, and now Oregon schools have some of the fewest class days in America. What will become of our future? Already, companies that once lined up to come to Oregon are nowhere to be found. How can we expect others to invest in an Oregon that does not invest in itself? There was a time when our neighbors mattered. When did we stop caring that a senior citizen would have someone on which to depend? Someone that brought food or medical care. When did it become okay for us to let them suffer alone? When did we first allow those that were mentally ill to be thrown out on the street? When did it become tolerable to have scores of citizens without health coverage resort to using an emergency room for care that costs ten times as much as a doctor's office? The future is now. We are here. We have the power-the power to bring Oregon back from the path of its striking de-evolution. There is a reason that states like Vermont cover 100 percent of their children in need with health insurance. There is a reason that they have low unemployment. Their citizens are a priority. It is time to make Oregon a priority. Every citizen, every child must be our priority. You have a choice this month. You have power. Do not continue down this dark road. In the spirit of those that have come before us, let us again begin to build our Oregon. Measure 28 will help us to reduce the damage that we have done to ourselves. It will help us to recognize again our responsibility, our commitment to ourselves, our children, our future. Homeland Security for seniors and the disabled By Michael Koester, Ashland Some Oregonians who are choosing to vote no on Measure 28 show a dismaying lack of compassion and awareness regarding the value of our seniors and disabled, not to mention our schools and public safety. This is burning our future to warm the home of today's greed - made possible by inequities in our tax system. This is the fallout from years of poor decisions concerning the taxation of property, income and consumption. I am not qualified to address the education or public safety issues regarding Measure 28. Others will do that. I can discuss the impact of Measure 28 on In-Home care for seniors and the disabled. I am a disabled adult with a progressive disease and currently receive In-Home Care assistance. My SS income is enough to pay for my housing expenses but not the In-Home Care. My home is completely wheelchair accessible and provides a safe environment for my care; Senior and Disabled Services encourages In-Home Care because it saves, compared to the cost of nursing homes, millions of dollars annually. Upon my death the law demands that my estate and home go to the State of Oregon to defray the cost of my care. That's a fair deal that I accept. If Measure 28 fails and I am cut from the program, I will be forced to use all my SS income to replace that care. Which will leave nothing for living expenses and housing. My situation is not unique. Opponents of Measure 28 are vocal about no new taxes." Where are the voices of the 63,300 Jackson County residents who receive Department of Human Services assistance and stand to lose necessary services should the measure fail. This constituency is not a visible one. The elderly who receive home care are often homebound. The developmentally disabled cannot grasp the budget complexities. Our stories are not about success as much as they are about survival, and to survive many of us need help with the ordinary tasks of daily living. These are not the normal headlines of "Homeland Security." However, this is about home and security. Are any of those who vote against Measure 28 planning to assist the disabled personally? Will they be able to delicately balance with us as we move our awkward bodies in and out of bed, and bathe us without reservation or repulsion as to our shape or sex? Can they help with toileting needs, doing what our hands cannot? Will they share with us the struggle of dressing and who will cut up our dinner so we don't choke? Isn't this enough? Will these "new volunteers" be willing to do this personal caring for free? Will they as our neighbors be the first to assist us? The reality of caring for someone is hard to accept. Trained caregivers receive under $8.50 an hour from the State. This "homeland security" is beyond being a bargain. I encourage all Oregonians to vote in favor of Measure 28 and ask their legislators to be courageous and find the ongoing funds for Senior and Disability Services, especially programs like In-Home Care. These programs are successful in keeping seniors and the disabled integrated with their communities at a fraction of the cost of nursing facilities. Keeping these members of our society at home keeps our communities whole. Funding these programs is a lifesaving act for our elders and the disabled. I believe passage of Measure 28 will necessitate a compassionate awareness in my fellow Oregonians. Its failure may threaten the viability of our society, and at the very least we risk our ability to care for each other. 'Shocked' at the editor calling Measure 28 expensive By Susan Brook, Ashland I was shocked to learn that the editor of Ashland's only newspaper would call Measure 28 "expensive." To whom is it expensive? The rich? Given the breakdown on the levies according to income level, Measure 28 seems more than fair. For people who earn between $10,000 and $20,000 a year it will only be $16.61 per year. The tax only goes up to $107.07 per year when one earns over $40,000 per year. After that it continues to go up sharply for wealthy people who make over $200,000 per year. Given that the wealthy are being given every tax break nationally, it seems like a pittance that we should pay to try to keep some minimal human services in our state. I have worked at Jackson County Mental Health for the past 10 years. In that time, I have seen services to the poor - including protection for abused children, foster care, mental health, dental care, education for single mothers, education for people trying to get jobs and get off welfare, and many other programs cut back or out entirely. I work with teenage girls and have watched many find their way to the streets because there are few homes, little help, and no hope. There is a client who had been middle class, but fell into poverty due to multiple losses and major depression. She can hardly pay her rent and gets penalized every time she manages to earn a few dollars. She was denied job training and OHP for the same reason. Many adult clients will be denied mental health services and may need to go to the Emergency Room to get psychiatric care. While The Tidings calls Measure 28 "expensive," have you published what will happen to seniors who will lose help in their apartments and homes so that they can remain independent? Then where will the state house our seniors? Have you published that foster parents will receive 7.5 to 10 percent less money than what already barely covers expenses? One family alone who have provided care for the past twenty years to some of the neediest children in the state will lose $600 per month. I chose to move to Ashland because I wanted to live in a place where people treated each other better than I saw elsewhere. I am proud that my fellow Ashlanders have levied our own taxes to support our schools and libraries. But I expect us to always come up to the highest mark and be leaders in doing the right thing. Given what is happening nationally to the poor and working classes, we must all make our voices heard on January 28th. We must all spend the next two weeks getting out votes to send a message that people matter. A late Mt. A holiday wish list By Derek Volkart, Ashland 1) I wish Mt. Ashland Ski Area (MASA) had more employees to handle the workload and employees were paid better. 2) I wish that when MASA receives 30 inches of snow in a 24-hour period, like they did on December 23 and 24 Mount Ashland Association (MAA) would have staff on the mountain clearing the snow so they could open on New Year's Eve, rather than closing down. Mt. Bachelor received 29.5 inches of snow in the same 24-hour period and they opened on New Year's Eve. 3) In the event of a closing, I wish that on the following day, MASA would have Aerial chairlift ready to go rather than having it closed and without employees clearing snow to get it running. 4) I wish that MASA staff would clear the snow off the parking lot so that arriving skiers and snowboarders did not get stuck, backing traffic up. 5) I wish that when the MASA snow phone reports the access road being plowed and sanded, it would REALLY be plowed and sanded and safe for people to go to the mountain. 6) I wish for improvements on the MASA lodge so that skiers and snowboarders can be comfortable and have better services in the existing lodge. 7) I wish that skiers and snowboarders did not have to walk 18 minutes up to the lodge to pick up a snow park permit only to return to their car to put it in the window. How about an employee selling a handful of permits lower down and a shuttle moving folks up to the lodge? 8) I wish that, rather than advocating and lobbying on community-splitting, volatile expansion proposals, MAA would take care of the basics, proving to the community that they are competent enough to handle expansion. 9) After establishing their competence, I wish MAA would ask the public what they want from expansion, and then consider it. After all, the ski area is "publicly owned." Then, perhaps MAA will consider, without knee-jerk rejection, A Community Alternative Expansion Plan that skiers, snowboarders, and past MASA employees have worked up to provide a compromise. Is this asking too much? LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. 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