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South Stage won't work The March 21 editorial about the south Medford interchange unfortunately reflects a lack of basic reporting. Its proposal for consideration of a South Stage Road interchange already has been studied and rejected because studies showed it won't relieve traffic congestion around the South Interchange. Had the Mail Tribune assigned a reporter to this important issue, including attending South Interchange Solution Team meetings, they would have known that serious attention was given to a South Stage Road solution, and also that the many proposals suggested initially were developed by the people of our community - they were not "put forth by the state." As a member of the Solution Team, I can assure everyone that we gave serious attention to South Stage Road and many other proposals. If South Stage was the best solution, I am convinced that the Solution Team would have insisted that ODOT consider it even though its location would violate ODOT policy for separation between interchanges. When the computerized traffic studies were run, they showed that not enough people would use South Stage to significantly relieve congestion at the south interchange. The same studies showed that channeling traffic onto neighborhood streets in Medford also would not solve the problem. So those proposals were dropped, too. The Solution Team's preferred alternative, the Highland Route, isn't perfect, but I am convinced it is the best of all possibilities still available. Unfortunately, the best solutions were lost years ago when the area was intensively developed without adequate regard for traffic impacts. - Reeve Hennion, Jacksonville Where does money go? The other day I saw a commercial on TV about all the good things the Megabucks Lottery does for our schools. Then, right after that, the news came on saying how bad our schools are in need of money, especially our own Phoenix-Talent district. Where exactly does the lottery help our schools? Is there a way we could find out where this money is going and why our local schools are not included? It's so sad to think the state is more worried about taking care of the fish instead of our children's schools. Who's benefiting from all the lottery earnings anyway? Someone needs to seriously check into exactly what they're doing up there in Salem. - Sonja Redhead, Medford Turn off your TV The seventh annual TV Turn Off Week will be happening from April 23-29 this year. Since 1995, 24 million people have participated in this grass-roots effort that helps people break free of TV. Last year many of our local elementary schools participated in TV Turn Off Week. This is a wonderful opportunity to spend more time with family and friends, and to introduce children to life without TV. A recent study reports that cutting back on television, videos and video games reduces acts of physical and verbal aggression by school children. Another study reports that students who watch very little television are more proficient readers than those who watch a lot. Many teachers believe that kids are hard to teach because excessive TV watching makes learning and working in the schoolroom environment difficult. I hope you will consider giving yourself and your children a break, and think about joining millions of people around the world, next week, and Turn off the TV and turn on life! - Conny Lindley, Williams My favorite charity PacifiCorp (Pacific Power) has a "Blue Sky" program: "For each block of Blue Sky you purchase at $2.95 per block per month, we'll buy 100 kilowatt-hours of wind power and send it into the electric grid that serves the Western U.S. By adding Blue Sky to your monthly bill, you become our partner in helping to increase demand for this clean resource." But, what are you getting for your $2.95: the privilege of letting PacifiCorp use your money to purchase wind-power generated electricity that they resell at their normal rates. You do not get electricity at $2.95/ kwh. You get to purchase electricity for your usual rate AND you get to help poor little PacifiCorp make more money. All you get is "Blue Sky." I'll buy into the Blue Sky program when PacifiCorp becomes a nonprofit organization. - David Lane, Ashland Click here to contact your elected representatives To participate in National polls & discussions, or to start a petition or contact elected officials, go to "e-thepeople interactive town hall" The Mail Tribune welcomes letters on any topic of general public relevance and interest. Please include a daytime phone number and address for verification. We cannot print letters, even e--mail letters, without verification. We're interested in the comments of all our on--line readers, but we can only publish letters from residents within our Southern Oregon and Northern California circulation area. Sorry, we cannot publish poetry. Writers are limited to one letter every 30 days. Address your letters of 250 word or less (150 words for thank you or election letters) to: Letters to the editor Box 1108 Medford, OR 97501 Fax (541) 776--4376 Or send your e--mail letter to: [email protected] . Send comments of 75 words or less to [email protected] to be considered for immediate publication. The Mail Tribune offers its opinion pages to stimulate discussion and understanding of issues important to our community. Editorials in this column reflect the opinions of the Mail Tribune. Editorial Board: James Grady Singletary, Publisher Robert L. Hunter, Editor Julie Wurth, Editorial Writer Gary E. Nelson Editorial Page Editor John N. Reid, Editorial Writer Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.