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Letters, Oct. 26 By Gary Nelson By Mail Tribune readers Oct 26, 2022 12:00 AM A A Column showed bias Instead of offering “Tips for Medicare,” an Oct. 19 column showed the writer’s bias towards Medicare Disadvantage. Seniors be informed: Medicare Advantage is a back door for the insurance companies to once again get their hands on Original Medicare. Do not be fooled, these insurance companies who offer Medicare Advantage are denying medical claims. They offer slick ads with famous faces. Please go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DIpCheOvUU or simply google Ralph Nader Radio or Kip R. Sullivan. Decide for yourselves. Robin E. Brown Medford SB 762: the facts Senate Bill 762 was bipartisan legislation developed from the 2019 Governor’s Council on Wildfire Response report. In 2021, SB 762 passed with nearly half the Republican state senators and over half of the Republican House members voting yes https://gov.oregonlive.com/bill/2021/SB762/. Here is a partial list of what SB 762 does and does not do. SB 762 does: Provide money to adapt to fire. Allocate $220 million to create fire-adapted communities, develop safe and effective responses, and increase the resiliency of Oregon’s forests. Direct the Oregon Department of Forestry to collaborate with OSU to develop a wildfire risk map. Help Oregonians understand where financial support will be most effective. Direct the state fire marshal to establish defensible space recommendations for properties under threat of wildfire. SB 762 does not: Involve legislators from any party in map-making or risk assessment. Involve private insurance companies in map-making or risk assessment. Create a “slush fund” for legislators or the governor’s office. Require landowners to pay for making their properties more fire-resilient on their own. https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB762/Enrolled . ROCPAC is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to effecting meaningful climate legislation at the state and local levels. Hogan M. Sherrow, executive director, ROCPAC Talent Inventory forests now On Earth Day, President Biden signed an executive order declaring the nation’s oldest and largest trees worthy of federal protection. It directed the creation of a national inventory of mature and old-growth forests on federal land, recognizing they are an essential climate solution. However, the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are still logging these forests. Two logging plans on the BLM’s Medford District are currently targeting mature and old-growth forests: Poor Windy and the Integrated Vegetation Management Project. These forests are highly productive carbon sinks and northern spotted owl habitat. Old forests replaced by tree plantations increases wildfire intensity and puts our communities at risk. As climate change becomes more of a threat, new approaches to address the issue are needed every day. Trees are an often overlooked tool in the fight against climate change, but the reality is that they are one of our most important assets. Specifically, mature and old-growth trees are carbon sinks, more fire-resistant than younger trees, and critical resources for supplying clean and fresh water to communities. We have no time to waste. The Forest Service needs to conduct this inventory as soon as possible in order to save our remaining old-growth forests. Michelle Keip Grants Pass I support Joe Yetter For the first time in 40 years as a journalist and editor, I am taking a stance on a political race. I wholeheartedly support, and I’m volunteering to elect, Joe Yetter for United States Congress. Joe is a veteran, a farmer, a medical doctor and a teacher. He is pro-choice, is outraged at those who would overturn an election and undermine our democracy, and will work for you every day in Washington, D.C. Unlike his opponent, he will listen to you as he represents us all in the 2nd Congressional District. Cliff Bentz, a lifelong politician, a climate change and election denier, a Trump acolyte and a do-nothing member of Congress, is unworthy of the people of this district. As a fifth-generation Oregonian, committed to the welfare of the people of this state, I urge voters to support Joe Yetter, the right man for this job at this time. John Enders Talent We need Denise Krause I ran for county commissioner in 2014 to help us move forward a clean energy economy and start focusing on resiliency. Eight years later we are still stuck with the same rear-view mirror-looking managers of our county resources. The wasted time and resources grousing about things that divide us has been sickening to watch these last two years. We have to move on. Numerous communities have demonstrated how to come together to take care of each other, to watch out for each other and they continue to do so. Such leadership inspires, not divides. I’ve watched Denise Krause organize her community to take care of and watch out for each other. She has the skills, the wit and the driving desire to do this county wide. We need to elect her. We need to get this done, now. Tonia Moro Medford Let the experts manage parks A little over two years ago, the City Council put on the ballot a measure that was approved with 64% support from Ashland voters. The measure included a provision that APRC maintain a degree of separation from city departments as it had for over 100 years. The result of this focus on parks and recreation by an elected body has resulted in a world-class parks system. The current situation has staff reporting to a parks director who reports to elected APRC commissioners. Personnel policies and oversight are under the city’s human resources division. Now the City Council has reversed itself and wants to end this special relationship and place control of parks staff under the City Council and city manager. Let the council and the city manager focus on city affairs and let APRC commissioners and the parks director manage parks. Please join me in voting no on Measure 15-210. Sari Telpner Ashland Joy Fate is trustworthy I’ve had the pleasure of working with Joy Fate for many years and time and time again, Joy has proven herself to be a woman of action. She’s not afraid to jump in and get things done, with compassion and integrity. One of the things she says the most often is, “How can I help?”, and then you’ll find her with her sleeves rolled up, knee deep in the trenches. There are people in our community who would not be alive today, were it not for her tireless service. She cares about transparency, fairness, small businesses, working class families. We will be lucky to have Joy Fate in Ashland City Council Position 2. Vanessa Houk Ashland Krause for commissioner I’ve known Denise for several years now, and have always been impressed with her ability to get people of different backgrounds and ideologies working together toward common goals. She has a wealth of experience in the public health arena, as well as in running a large corporation and handling a multi-million dollar budget. The areas of greatest concern and importance here in Jackson County, and which Denise has made her priorities, include fire prevention measures, managing our water resources and addressing the many issues adding to homelessness. Denise gets my vote! Carolyn Jost Ashland Keeping it clean Al Densmore has spent decades helping the people of Jackson County as a state representative, City Council person, ESD board member, mayor and the list goes on. If you look around at most of the good things that have come exist in this part of the state, Al usually had a hand in them. I would encourage anyone who votes to go to weloveal.com and look at Al’s priorities, and then compare. One of things I like most about Al is his refusal to say anything negative about his opponent. It is still possible to run a clean campaign and Al Densmore is proving it. I’m voting for Al Densmore for county commissioner. Mark Chirgwin Medford