Letters to the Editor for April 24, 2009

Killing for the pleasure of it

My prayer is that Ms. Fouty will not be writing Ms. Stone in the near future recommending that Defenders of Wildlife compensate a parent for the loss of their child. Make no mistake — wolves will kill strictly for the pleasure of killing. Even a family dog, once they get a taste of chicken blood (or other small animals), will kill an entire flock of chickens in a heart beat — not to satiate hunger,  but for the sheer thrill of killing. 

These wolves have already proven that their taste doesn’t just run to lambs — will a child be next? The only solution when a dog starts killing chickens, etc., is to remove the dog from any temptation which usually means euthanizing the dog — sad, but true.

The only solution for wolves that acquire a taste for killing for sheer pleasure is the same.

Lillian Terry

Baker City

A new Baker County resident

Some of us in Baker have noticed a new fixed resident in the past two years. It’s a Eurasian Collard Dove larger than the morning dove that migrates here each spring and smaller than our town rock doves, a non-migrating bird.

These new doves were first seen in 2007 with only single individuals on hand, but in a short time their numbers are increasing more noticeably.

These birds are an Old World species, introduced to the Bahamas, spread to Florida, and apparently, migrating along the U.S. southern belt, have ended up in Oregon.

They do not do well in the wild, so are seen near populated areas to feed and make permanent residence. 

Jim Smeroglio

Sumpter

Protesting government waste

It seems to me there is a lot of misinformation being disseminated by many in the press concerning the recent Tea Party protests. Contrary to what many have reported, it was not a rally against one political party or against our current president but was a protest against wasteful government spending that will result in an unreasonable tax burden for us and our children.

All political parties have participated in the idea they can fix everything wrong in our country with money we don't have. I believe President Bush was wrong when he passed the first bank bailout. Now it appears that President Obama has opened the floodgates to spending billions more. When most congressmen do not even read the bill that authorizes the expenditures, something is seriously wrong.

There is no money to fund these new projects. After the government prints the paper necessary to pay the bills, future tax payer’s will be trying to pay the debt which will be in the trillions. That is what most people were protesting at the tea parties.

In today’s mail, we were informed we would receive $250 as part of the Stimulus Recovery Act. I know some folks may desperately need this money but the majority will notice little difference in their lives. The Chinese economy will probably benefit more than ours. But not to worry, it will only amount to a couple million more that our grand children will pay off later. The checks should have been means-tested.

I am old enough to remember the great depression and I was in the Navy during WW2. I have seen our country go through some very difficult times. I firmly believe we live in the greatest nation on earth but I don’t think any country has ever spent their way to prosperity with borrowed money. It can only be done by hard work, funding the principles specified by the founding fathers in the Constitution and by the grace of God. Congress and the President need to listen and react  to the concerns being expressed by the folks who pay their taxes.

Roger Stamy

North Powder