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Headline reflected opinion Oct 03, 2003 12:00 AM A A The purpose of headlines on news stories is to highlight and summarize the main point of the story, not to push the personal opinions of the headline writer. The Mail Tribune's headline on an Oct. 2 AP story about former President Clinton raising money for Democrats read Clinton muddles soft money facts. That opinionated assertion might be an appropriate headline for one of your editorials, but not for a news story. ' James Risser, Ashland Thanks, Wal-Mart You said, Wal-Mart doesn't support communities or schools, We'll support Wal-Mart, when they support us. Well, Velma, how good is your word? With my simple request, Medford Wal-Mart became a big supporter of local high school snowboarding. And other teams and community groups have also received help. After the fire at Eagle Point High, Wal-Mart donated big-time. And all those jobs are also a support of community. Thank you, Wal-Mart. ' Richard Glimpse, Medford Not about Wal-Mart First of all, this is not about Wal-Mart. This is about any supercenter who wants to move into that lot on Hamrick and Pine. It is not zoned for a super Wal-Mart. That area can barely support any more traffic, let alone a superstore. I can't believe people are that lazy that they do not have an extra seven minutes to drive to the Medford Wal-Mart, which is what it is from the proposed one! — There won't be many more jobs since they are bringing all the employees from the Medford store when it closes and we, the taxpayers, will be paying for all the improvements Wal-Mart does not. Central Point has a very quiet nice old town atmosphere. If you don't want that and want to live closer to stores, move to Medford or California. We, the people who live off of Hamrick do not want it. It will ruin our way of life as it is. Traffic is already cutting through our subdivisions when there are backups on Hamrick and Pine. ' Carol Swenson, Central Point No more blank checks Recently it cost & 36;29 to fill my gas tank. I decided to stop saying fill 'er up and limit my purchase to & 36;20 at a time. No more blank checks for the gas industry and better service for me. They don't abandon the hose as they do for a full tank. Maybe they will understand that our resources are finite. One of these days I will get a full tank for & 36;20 again. Join me. ' Barbara Donneaud, Central Point Editorial hit the mark The Mail Tribune's Sept. 7 editorial titled, The time is now for tax reform, absolutely hits the mark. Oregon must change its tax code to reflect fairness by eliminating or greatly paring down the income and capital gains taxes, which are both regressive and discourage entrepreneurship and capital formation. A sales tax should be immediately instituted, which would be revenue-neutral. (Whatever is presently collected by the other two taxes would be substituted with the sales tax replacement.) If you purchase, you pay, if not, you don't ... fair, balanced and stable, unlike income and capital gains, which fluctuate with the economy. It's time for the Legislature to step up and fund education with tourism and tax evasion money by instituting a tax that everyone, including those from different states, pay. On the committee studying tax reform: It needs to be composed of elected and unelected people, which will contribute a well-rounded discussion. This time I hope the Legislature listens to the Mail Tribune. So far they haven't listened to the public. ' Joel Marks, Medford