Letters to the Editor for Jan. 13, 2010

Who’s responsible for snow mounds?

Who’s responsible? Near the corner of Campbell and Cedar/Clark streets, when the parking lot of ERA Driggers was plowed recently, the snow was pushed onto the public sidewalk and left there. It has been over a week since the New Year’s Eve snowstorm and this sidewalk is still impassable.

On Monday, Jan. 4 when I walked by there, I had to walk in the traffic lanes of Campbell Street to get around the mound of snow.

Today, Friday, Jan. 7, I only had to walk in the bicycle lane to pass. Isn’t there an ordinance covering this situation? Homeowners are responsible for shoveling sidewalks in front of their residences, but businesses are allowed to block public walkways, when their parking lots are plowed?

Rose Keeter

Baker City

Licenses a new source of money

Here we go again with taxes. Last November I sent a letter to the governor and asked him: How come we couldn’t be like Arizona, Idaho, Utah and license our ATVs and side-by-sides? The DOT contacted me four different times and gave me all the reasons why not. Eight or 10 years ago we used to license in this state with motorcycle license plates with 150,000 to 200,000 ATVs. At $60 a pop every two years, you do the math —  how much revenue would that raise the state to help the seniors, the schools? To make any sense the final letter said that we had to make a legislator change, so if you’re out there and really want to raise money call your representatives and ask them how come they’re not doing this.

Kelly Haskins

Baker City

Nothing fair about tax hikes

To the editor:

The state and the public employees evidently don’t realize that this economy is hurting. They are asking the taxpayers to increase state taxes when most businesses in the state are forced to cut back because of the recession. They aren’t willing to do the same.

The average income for a public employee in our State is $38,000. In the private sector it is $28,000. Don’t they realize what they call “the rich” are the only ones that create tax-paying jobs? Not only does the state want to burden business with a new tax, they are making it retroactive and businesses will have to come up with the money for this year without being able to pass charges on to the already state-burdened taxpayers. There is nothing fair about this tax.

The tax sounds small to some gullible ears but any business that is a C corporation will have to pay the increase in taxes on every dime that goes through their till. That means the money they pay for their products, licenses, fees, advertising, wages, and even donations they make to local causes, which is far bigger than most small-minded selfish people can imagine.

A local business owner told me that if this passes, he will have to pay $20,000 in extra taxes for 2009. He knows he will have to put his employees on part time, and have them draw unemployment. He will have to cut out of his budget all his civic donations, such as schools, 4-H, and all local civic drives just because he won’t have the money. Also the only way he will be able to pay the state this retroactive tax will be so much a month, which costs him added interest.

Taxing business and hard-working entrepreneurs for the state’s inability to make the cuts necessary to balance their budget is wrong! Please vote no! If you vote yes, please don’t come to church and tell me how much you love the Lord. If you love him, you wouldn’t steal from your neighbor, who you are supposed to love.

George Wilder

Baker City

A win for local food banks

To the editor:

Congratulations to the Baker City branch of Community Bank for answering the food bank challenge sponsored by Community Bank Corporation. As the winning local branch of Community Bank, our local food banks will be provided a whole beef, 38 (32-gallon) bins of canned food supplies, and last, but not least $25 per each bin collected locally donated to the local food bank community.

This was a great example of the “heart” that exists in Baker County. It was a “feel good” thing to have a small part in meeting the challenge! Thanks to the Bi-Mart management staff for their assistance providing sale pricing.

Have one small regret in not seeing much updated information on the challenge food bank drive throughout the month of December or any acknowledgement of the local branch being declared the challenge winner! What a win for the local food bank service needs! Thank you to all the “silent” contributors.

Richard and Cheryl Gushman

Baker City