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2 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate NEWS NOW Crews encircle Cleveland Ridge fire ... Lawnridge Street fire levels house, sends man to hospital with burns ... Truck crashes, spills gravel into road in east Medford ... Crews encircle Cleveland Ridge fire ... Lawnridge Street fire levels house, sends man to hospital with burns ... Truck crashes, spills gravel into road in east Medford ... LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the Editor, Aug. 17 Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted Aug. 17, 2016 at 12:01 AM Posted Aug. 17, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News Work with the public Recently, the Bureau of Land Management adopted a new logging plan for Western Oregon forests. I am disappointed that the new BLM plan removed the Applegate Adaptive Management Area that has brought people together to collaborate for long-term solutions involving timber yields, fire resiliency, wildlife habitat, recreation and clean water. The Applegate Adaptive Management Area serves as an example of the success that can come from this kind of collaboration. The local community has worked with federal land managers, while being stewards of their rivers, forests, and economy. Eliminating the Adaptive Management Area is a step in the wrong direction. Federal land managers should be as interested as possible in what communities want to see out of their public lands. Instead, the BLM seeks to receive less public input. The BLM should seek to work together with the public and learn from communities who care deeply about their public lands. Sarah Alvarez Talent Thoughts on the creek Additional thoughts on our neglected Bear Creek: Increase the water flow; use those committed to community service payback to clean up undergrowth and debris. We lived in San Luis Obispo, Calif., in '70s when San Luis Creek was incorporated into the fabric of the downtown. Commercial buildings on the creek opened up to it as well as the street with new brick walkways and patio areas. Landscaping was done along the creek on both sides. Downtown San Luis Obispo is charming and booming, changed forever for the better. As we are looking for a new Medford city administrator, consider someone who has changed a city. We need to have a visionary to change downtown, expand Southern Oregon University and Rogue Community College campus buildings, plant more trees, make more green spaces. Look what Portland has done with Portland State University and the park blocks. And while we are committed to a beautiful plan, turn the car lots and buildings that are empty into a showpiece convention center. As a committed community with outstanding leadership, we can do it. Marilyn and Bob Kaufman Medford Enlightenment values In response to Murray LaHue's letter that he is tired of people saying that our country was not founded on Judeo-Christian values, all of the examples he cited refer to God or a creator. A belief in God is not a belief in religion. The Enlightenment values, which he dismissed, favored dispassionate, secular reasoning over dogma (and hence, religion). The Founding Fathers he referred to were Deists; they believed in God. They believed man's rights came from God, not government or church or any hierarchy. These were Enlightenment values, not Judeo-Christian values. I will leave Mr. LaHue with a few quotes to ponder. "The government of the United States is in no sense founded on the Christian religion." — George Washington "A just government has no need for the clergy or the church." — James Madison "I do not find in Christianity one redeeming feature." — Thomas Jefferson "The Bible is not my book, nor Christianity my religion." — Abraham Lincoln S. A. Thomson Talent MailTribune.com Writer Posted Aug. 17, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » 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. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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