Letters to the editor:

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 10:19 AM PDT

Telephone tower should not be built

Editor,

I recently received a call from a neighbor telling us about the proposed installation of a 120-foot-tall telephone tower that is to replace the existing 40-foot-tall telephone tower (installed approximately 18 months ago) situated at 833 Haul Road in the middle of Vale Heights subdivision, Vale. After doing some research on telephone communication towers and reading about the health impacts, visual impacts and property devaluation that can happen, I am against having a telephone tower so close to my home and the homes in the surrounding community. My home is located in an R-1 residential zone. My question is why was the 40-foot tower put here in the first place? How did this happen without the surrounding community knowing about it in advance? We were never given the opportunity to voice our concerns on the 40-foot tower prior to its installation. Now they are wanting to replace it with a 120-foot telephone tower.

This 120-foot tower will lower the value of our property and every other property in the area, causing the lowering of our property taxes, which will impact the economy in our county. The tower will be an eye sore. We purchased this property because of the view, and our view, and the whole town of Vale’s view, has already been compromised with the 40-foot tower.

The research that I have done brings up other concerns about having a telephone tower so close to homes in the subdivision and even in town. I have read that these towers emit radio frequencies, a form or electromagnetic radiation, for a distance of up to 21⁄2 miles, which puts the whole town of Vale in harm’s way. These frequencies are essentially the same frequency radiation as microwaves in a microwave oven. (I am quoting from an article written by Karen J. Rogers, Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center, Mount Shasta, Calif., 2008.) The article goes on to say that children are at the greatest risk, along with the elderly, the frail and pregnant women. Studies have shown that, even at low levels of radiation, there is evidence of damage to cell tissue and DNA, and it has been linked to brain tumors, cancer, suppressed immune function, depression, miscarriage, Alzheimer’s disease and numerous other illnesses.

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We cannot allow this telephone tower to be built so close to our homes and town when there are known risks from the microwave radiation put out by the tower. Our health and the health of everyone in a 21⁄2-mile area around the tower is in jeopardy if this is allowed to happen. It seems to me that there has to be a better location for this tower that will not compromise the view or the health and safety of our citizens.

There will be a public comment session regarding the matter at 7 p.m. today at Vale City Hall, 253 B St. W., Vale. If you are as concerned as I am, voice your concerns now by calling City Hall, (541) 473-3133, and be at the meeting tonight.

Peggy Diegan

Vale

Taste of Ontario was enjoyable event

Editor,

To the Taste of Ontario planning Committee and all those who helped, thank you once again for making it possible for all organizations and volunteers to have such an enjoyable afternoon together.

Such a neat idea to work “magic” into making a genuine impact on our community.

It is always interesting to hear about the other organizations.

Thanks to the school administration for serving and all the businesses for giving their goodies they served.

Virginia M. Fox

Ontario

State should invest in higher education

Editor,

Closing factories, slashing of state salaries and horrifying budget projections overwhelm newspapers across the state. The most influential, but often overlooked solution, is an investment in higher education, an original pillar of the American dream.

I don’t remember being told when I was young, “Keep your grades up and someday you can be a CEO,” or, better yet, “Keep your grades up and someday you can almost qualify for welfare and struggle to provide for your family.”

Oregonians know the American dream. Across the state, FAFSA and enrollment applications are dramatically rising, but funding is dwindling. To deal with these increases, universities are being forced to increase tuition. For first-generation college students in rural Oregon, higher tuition costs and smaller financial aid packages will only put off the dream of attending college or prevent it completely.

Oregon can only benefit from an educated and industrious workforce that public institutions like Eastern Oregon University generate. With rising unemployment rates, especially in rural Oregon, which has some of the highest numbers in the state, more individuals are looking to a university like EOU for a way out, but it’s getting more difficult to find.

It’s painful to see so many good people out of work in the La Grande community. People that once had dreams of owning their own business, being a nurse or a teacher and that now have to put it off and explain to their children why they can’t help pay for their degree. Oregon needs to start investing smart to put our state back on track. That starts with an investment in the untapped potential this state has.

Kate Barnett

EOU Student Body president