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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Obituaries Weather Archive Hot Topics Forum Photo Gallery Past Readers Polls Revels Etcetera Backpage O-Zone Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Online Games Movie Preview October 21, 2006 Letters To The Editor Letter Submissions Letters 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. The Tidings gives priority to letters on local and regional topics of current interest. It seeks to encourage thoughtful, well-reasoned leters 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. Support for school bond In your Oct. 14 article regarding the Ashland School Facilities Bond, Michael Hayes states: "There's no crisis ... none of them are going to fall down in the next two years." That's precisely why we're renovating now. If we learned nothing else from recent national events, it's that it is cheaper (and safer) for us to fix things before they break than to address the crisis after a disaster. Carol Bavis Ashland Facts unclear on Navickas' past Let Neti Best (Oct. 6) come up with some hard facts about Eric Navickas or cease this unfair accusation by innuendo. Does she have proof that he cemented flagpoles? Can she prove he dumped dirt at a Mt. Ashland board meeting? This is slandering by innuendo and I am surprised that the editor let this sloppy kind of accusation be printed. Hey, maybe he was the one who pulled Lincoln's head off and messed up the fountains also? Why not add a few more innuendos? Let's hear the truth. These words are unfair tactics. Wendy Eppinger Ashland Support for Eric Navickas If you've bought produce from his stand at the Farmer's Market, you know Eric Navickas is a businessman. If you've heard him speak, you know he's well informed, sharp and clear. If you've been on a hike with him, you've enjoyed his vigorous energy and been touched by his deep concern for our water, air, mountains and forests and his understanding of the factors that affect them. You know who Eric is, you know where he stands and you know he's committed to creating a sustainable future for Ashland. Bring him on to the city council on Nov. 7. Let him work for you. Selene Aitken Ashland Support for Kate Jackson I would like to express my strong support for Kate Jackson in her bid for re-election to the Ashland City Council. While I respect the commitment of the other candidates running for her place on the Council, I believe that we cannot afford to lose Kate Jackson from the city council at this time. If re-elected, Kate will continue to contribute much-needed experience to the council. With this experience she brings an understanding of the role of the city council, recognizing the need to provide direction to the city administration while allowing that administration reasonable autonomy in management of city affairs. Kate has a self-effacing style, always looking for compromise while still willing to take courageous positions when she feels it to be in the best interest of Ashland. I appreciate all that Kate has contributed over the years and look forward to her continued service on the Ashland City Council. David Beaudoin Ashland Support for Ron Grensky A judge needs experience, integrity and a desire to do what's right. Ron Grensky has spent his whole life in Southern Oregon. He served in the state senate and he's practiced law for 26 years representing people like us. He has also worked for years as a judge pro tem. We will be well served by having Ron Grensky as our next Circuit Court Judge. Bea Bentson Medford Support for Pam Burkholder Turner Pam Burkholder Turner has spent decades counseling and advising our youth, mediating neighborhood disputes and working toward curbing drug abuse. In 1988, Pam worked as a legal service attorney at Southern Oregon University where she counseled students. She has served as Ashland Municipal Court judge pro tem for 19 years: meting out meaningful and just sentences and has earned the respect of plaintiffs, defendants as well as the court's officers. Currently, Pam serves as a volunteer in Ashland Service Clubs for Healthy Choices (ASCHC), a consortium of seven service organizations, in a focused study to promote community drug awareness and "healthy choices." I am a long-time resident of Ashland and I have lived here for 37 years. I retired a couple of years ago from SOU having served as their security director for almost 20 years; currently work part-time with the Ashland Police Department and am also a ASCHC volunteer — representing the Elks Lodge. No, I am not running for office. I only mention the previous to attest as a first-hand witness that Pam is a proven and dedicated long-time public servant. I know her to be a sensitive and sensible person and familiar with Ashland's diverse populations and well experienced in mediating and adjudicating disputes in a broad spectrum of issues. She will be an excellent Judge for our community. I am voting for Pam Burkholder Turner for Ashland Municipal court judge. You should too! Joey Ngan Ashland Support for Mike Jewett Born in Ashland, Mike Jewett chose to return here after the Army and law school in the '70s. He has not sought recognition for his public and professional service, but that service deserves recognition by your vote for him for Ashland's judge. For much of his 28-year legal career, Mike was court-appointed to defend poor people accused of crimes. He also was Ashland municipal prosecutor. Thus, more than either of his opponents, he really knows what it's like for ordinary people in court. He will judge compassionately and fairly. As Jackson County's chief attorney for six years, Mike gained an understanding, unique among the three candidates, of the county's juvenile and mental health departments. Ashland's judge needs such knowledge. Jewett's opponents clearly are not as qualified. Dick Thierolf Ashland Support for Tom Winmill Tom Winmill recognizes the importance of land-use planning in Jackson County. He understands that cities like Ashland and others should not have their careful planning exploited by the county's re-zoning of land around their perimeters to suit the desires of developers seeking to maximize their profits to the detriment of citizens such as us. He wants to strengthen and enrich our local economy with jobs that provide a good living for families, and to see that they have a good quality of life through healthcare protection, clean air and an adequate supply of water. Tom is a successful businessman and a person long involved in many county activities. He is a leader who plays by the rules and who considers himself a true member of the community, not someone above it. His election to the three-person Board of County Commissioners will change it character dramatically — and for the better. Dick Trout Ashland Support for Joe Charter Please join me in supporting Joe Charter for Ashland Municipal Court judge. He has been a practicing attorney for twenty years and is the only candidate with court administrative experience. He has been a circuit court judge pro tem since 1996. Joe is a certified mediator, served as a volunteer court mediator, and supports mentoring programs, counseling for at risk youth, and community service work programs. More importantly, I feel Joe is a man of high integrity and a man of deep compassion. I also believe that Joe will be fair, but firm, and I trust he will use these skills when he is sitting on the bench and demanding accountability from offenders. Perhaps more importantly than experience, Joe brings humility and fairness to the position. He is also is committed to serving the community of Ashland. John O'Brien Ashland Current Comments: Carol--So why does the bond spend nothing on urgent repairs to Lincoln and Briscoe, which the consulting architect said might �fail completely" if not repaired in "10 years." Because school bond supporters seek to dismantle neighborhood schools. Thus, the 12-year bond spends millions on waste, and wastes millions in assets. Michael L. Hays ( [email protected] ) - Ashland, Oregon - October 21st, 4:59 PM Carol-You disagree with bond supporters and agree with me that no crisis exists at any school. But preventing one does not really matter to bond supporters, for the bond spends nothing on critical repairs to Lincoln and Briscoe, which the consulting architect said might "fail completely" if not repaired in "10 years." Arguing out of both sides of their mouths, school bond supporters seek to dismantle neighborhood schools. The 12-year bond wastes millions in assets to spend millions on waste. Michael L. Hays ( [email protected] ) - Ashland, Oregon - October 21st, 5:27 PM Carol--Are you "Bavis" (no listing in Ashland) or really "Davis," the bond facilities committee co-chair? If the latter, I do understand your confusion and your inability to offer a consistent and cogent rationale for spending millions on unidentified benefits to Bellview, not to mention the other schools. Michael L. Hays ( [email protected] ) - Ashland, Oregon - October 21st, 5:32 PM Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising Inkjet Printers Student Loans Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Advertisement: Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.