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Letters to the Editor, Oct. 12 Wednesday Oct 12, 2016 at 12:01 AM Stop casino scare tactics The people fighting my tribe’s Medford casino project seem totally immune to facts. A Sept. 15 letter from an Ashland woman contends that crime has exploded in Rohnert Park, Calif., since the Graton Resort and Casino opened in 2013. A simple Google search shows otherwise. The website city-data.com shows Rohnert Park’s 2014 “crime index” hitting its lowest point in more than a decade. But never mind statistics. The truth is, comparing the Coquille Tribe’s Medford project to the Graton is just silly. The Graton is 340,000 square feet of Vegas-style glitz, catering to California’s Bay Area. It has 3,000 slots, four restaurants, more than 100 gaming tables, 2,000 employees and 5,700 parking spaces. It’s immense. Our project, The Cedars at Bear Creek, is less than 7 percent of that size. As a Class II casino, it will offer only video slot machines, similar to the video lottery. The Cedars will be a friendly, safe, close-to-home entertainment venue. It brings south Medford more than 200 jobs, steady business for local suppliers, charitable contributions and guaranteed payments for city services. Tribal casinos are one of the most heavily regulated forms of gaming. Please stop the ridiculous scare tactics. Jon Ivy Medford He gave nothing back In the presidential debate, Donald Trump boasted that he made $675 million last year. Yes, $675 million. Hillary Clinton later got him to admit that he paid zero in taxes. Zero. He even expressed pride, saying, "that makes me smart”. The Clintons made about $11 million last year and paid $3.5 million in taxes, about 30 percent. As Hillary Clinton observed, Trump paid nothing for the military, nothing for veterans, nothing for the common good of this country. As Trump’s fellow New York hotel tycoon Leona Helmsley once said, “We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.” I guess I am a little person. I pay my taxes. So is Hillary Clinton, she pays her taxes. I cannot vote for a person who makes a fortune in this country and gives nothing back. Art Buck Ashland Vote for Heritage District While the presidential election is foremost on the ballot this November, it is not the only important matter to be determined. When you receive your ballot, look for Measure 15-164. It would create the Rogue Valley Heritage District, designed to stabilize funding for 15 local historical and genealogical societies so that they can continue and expand their educational programs and preservation efforts. The cost is minimal, a tax rate of no more than 5 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation. On my home it would be about $7 a year. I am retired and living on a fixed income but I think I can afford that. Cleve Twitchell Central Point Déjà vu Trump may be an anomaly, but he is not without precedent. Harken back to the Cold War and the Soviet Communist Party leader, Nikita Khruschev, who built the Berlin Wall and was defined by his boorish gestures and bad manners, his "harebrained schemes," shoe-pounding theatrics at the United Nations and quick trigger finger that shot down a U.S. plane without warning for an airspace violation. Yes, we've seen it all before. Only back then, we didn't have to own it, defend it or apologize for it because Khruschev wasn't ours. Americans proudly occupied the moral high ground. I certainly hope we don't lose our footing now. Melinda Cheek Ashland