Home 
Opinion Letters Letters to the Editor for April 2, 2009
Letters to the Editor for April 2, 2009
|
It shouldn’t hurt to be a child To the editor: Today we have hit a huge problem. Baker County now has the seventh-highest incidence of child abuse in Oregon. April is Child Abuse Awareness month and I believe we all should be aware, because it shouldn’t hurt to be a child. Child abuse happens in many different ways, but the result is the same: serious physical or emotional harm. Physical or sexual abuse may be the most striking types of abuse since they often leave physical evidence behind. However, emotional abuse and neglect are types of child abuse that are often more subtle and difficult to spot. Child neglect is the most common type of child abuse. If you suspect child abuse, look for things like unexplained bruises, welts, or cuts. While all children will take a tumble now and then, look for age-inappropriate injuries, injuries that appear to have a pattern such as marks from a hand or belt, or a pattern of severe injuries. Other times, signs of physical abuse may be more subtle. The child may be fearful, shy away from touch or appear to be afraid to go home. Some things to look for when suspecting child neglect is a child’s clothing may be inappropriate for the weather, such as heavy, long-sleeved shirts and pants on hot days or they may be dressed in dirty clothes and shoes. They might appear to have bad hygiene, like appearing very dirty, with matted and unwashed hair, or noticeable body odor. Another warning sign is untreated illnesses. Reporting child abuse seems so official. Many people are reluctant to get involved. However, by reporting you can make a tremendous difference in the life of a child, especially if you help stop the abuse early. Early identification and treatment can help reduce the long-term effects of abuse. If the abuse is stopped and the child receives competent treatment, the abused child can begin to regain a sense of self-confidence and trust. Call the child abuse hotline, 1-800-4-A-CHILD, if you believe a child is being abused. You can make a difference. It shouldn’t hurt to be a child. Monica Thomas BHS student Baker City
To the editor: This is in response to the letters from Iva Mace and her cheering section. Iva thinks we all should get out of the way and let our president do his thing. And boy did he get off to a quick start. Doubled our national debt in his first 60 days, indebted every household $136,000 and bless his heart, he is not done spending. His campaign promise was “no more pork.” Well, maybe just a little — 17,500 pieces of pork in the stimulus package he signed. Our president has spent more than all the presidents spent in the history of our nation. How long has he been president again? He also said no lobbyists will be making decisions in his administration. He really tried to keep them out. But a few tax cheats, lobbyists and crooks slipped into his administration when his back was turned. Not his fault. Now to Iva’s and my favorite thing: the $2 trillion that are freed up for schools, bridges, green energy and shovel-ready jobs that will run out in a couple of years. Like Iva, I’m ready for the recovery. Nationalizing banking institutions, AIG, the car industry plus nationalized health care. Didn’t the Russians call that socialism, and that worked out real well. Thank God the president is increasing the Clean Air and Clean Water acts, piling on more and more regulations and taxes. That’s just what our small businesses need to keep them flourishing. Let’s see, that brings us to the carbon cap tax. Boy, I can hardly wait. Sure glad we get our power from hydroelectric dams. Sure feel sorry for those guys in the Midwest and back East that have coal-fired plants, watching their electric bills go up 30 percent. That would almost make a guy move to California. Darn, I almost forgot all about cars and trucks. You don’t suppose he will tax the carbon on fuel, do you? I am sure he’s got it figured out how you can pay it, like adding on to the price of gas. Bring it on, Mr. President. We Americans got deep pockets, we can handle it. Chuck Chase Baker City
To the editor: I want to thank all who donated blood at the last blood drive in January. It was about as close to a perfect drive as we have ever had. With the help of 16 new donors, we achieved three units over our goal, and nobody had to wait in line. We’re going to try it again on April 6-7. If anyone out there would like to donate we will certainly welcome them. It takes about one hour of your time and you will save three lives out of your one unit of blood. You must be at least 17 years old and weigh 110 pounds or more. An ID is required. The drawing will be held in the Family Life Center at the Nazarene Church, 1250 Hughes Lane, Monday, April 6 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Tuesday, April 7 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. You can call me at 523-4650 for an appointment or with questions. We’ll even serve you some delicious snacks. Colleen Brooks Baker City
To the editor: The Baker City Herald has recently published several letters which urge conservatives to shut up and get out of the way. But how wise is it to drown our children and our grandchildren in an ocean of red ink? The deficit spending in just the first year of President Obama’s proposed budget is 1.7 trillion dollars. That amount is greater than the 2007 GNP of Canada, the world’s eighth-largest economy. The total deficit for the entire 10 years of his proposed budget is 17 trillion dollars, about the combined GNP of Japan and France, the world’s second- and sixth-largest economies. Congressional Democrats used to get upset about President Bush’s deficits. Now they’re spending money like drunken sailors. Worse yet, many economists, not all of them Republicans, say that all this massive spending will do little or nothing towards getting our nation’s economy running smoothly again. Indeed, it may well prolong the current recession by soaking up so much of the available credit that otherwise would get things moving again. Read Senator Ferrioli’s interview in a recent issue of our local paper. He proposes a number of things Oregon can do to stimulate our economy. Congressional Republicans have similar proposals. But the Democrats totally ignore such suggestions even while using the recession as an excuse to crank up the overspending. If you see someone heading off the wrong direction, the natural inclination is to yell, “stop!” And that’s what we conservatives are doing. Pete Sundin Baker City |
* commenting policy and guidelines
blog comments powered by Disqus