Letters, April 6 – Medford News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News

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Letters, April 6 By Mail Tribune readers Apr 06, 2022 12:00 AM A A Extend lunch waivers forever During the pandemic, Congress extended waivers to school lunch programs making it easier and more affordable to guarantee food for students. The result was almost no increase in food insecurity even as our economy went into a tailspin. Now, Congress is ending support for schools with no notice and no regard for continuing staffing and supply chain issues, under the guise that we need to “get back to normal.” Congressional leaders say that they promised schools one year of support but they actually got two, so they’ve been generous but we can’t afford this extra cost forever. My question is, why not? In a country that can afford to leave billions of dollars on the table by not taxing the richest individuals and corporations even close to what the rest of us pay, how can we honestly say that we can’t afford to make sure that children are properly fed? It’s stunning the degree to which we have not learned the lessons of COVID about how vulnerable we leave large swaths of the population while rich people accrue unfathomable amounts of wealth. The least we can do for kids is ensure they have food. Congress should extend the waivers forever. Sharon Dohrmann Ashland Limit July Fourth fireworks I live in Medford. Since we are already in a drought, summer will be approaching very fast. How can we cancel local neighborhoods from shooting off fireworks? Maybe just having them at the Expo in Central Point. It is so dangerous to see what could become another catastrophe. People were carelessly shooting them off last year. This is going to be far more serious. Shirley K. Williams Medford