Letters to the Editor

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 11:13 AM PDT

Dog owners must take responsibility

I wish to implore all dog owners who allow their dogs to leave their property to chase walkers, inline skaters and bicyclists on public roads (including country roads), much to the harm and endangerment of the recreationalists, to attend the free dog-training seminar on Oct. 10 at the Malheur County Fairgrounds.

As a walker, inline skater and road cyclist, I’ve been charged at, chased and even knocked off my bicycle by untrained, loose dogs that leave their property unrestrained. I’ve encountered this in Fruitland, Payette, Ontario and Vale.

In August 2008, as my husband and I road our bikes on a public road in Ontario, a dog ran off its property and chased us, got in the way of my front wheel, causing me to fall, bust my helmet, sustain whiplash, break my collarbone, sustain bruises and road rash. This needless and preventable accident had complications resulting in months of missed work, eight months of pain and disability, three months of physical therapy, six months of chiropractic care, as well as surgery.

The dollars and time invested by a dog owner to train their dog to stay on its property or to install invisible fencing is minimal compared with the thousands of dollars of health and medical expenses incurred to a recreationalist who gets injured by the loose dog of an irresponsible dog owner.

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As a dog-lover myself, it is frustrating when owners yell at me or ignore me when I call their attention to their loose dog. It is heartbreaking to hear the yelps of pain from the dog whose owner beats it moments after you explain to them that they need to contain their dog or you may have to call the authorities on them.

Thankfully, I’ve recovered and am cycling once again, but I’ve lost the full enjoyment that I initially experienced while cycling as I must be on full alert at all times. And still, there are dogs that charge and chase me.

A greater concern than even myself is for small children and mothers with strollers who may become the next victim of a dog pursuit, or worse, an attack. It is a frightening experience that I wish no one to experience.

Lori Adams

Fruitland

A sincere thank you

This month, the Nyssa Food Pantry would like to thank Southeast Oregon Regional Food Bank in Ontario and their parent organization, Oregon Food Bank (a non-profit organization based in Portland), for their efforts in helping to keep emergency food pantries like ours well-stocked and functioning at peak capacity. 

The Nyssa Community Food Pantry is able to provide for those in need in our area because of the great collaborations with our local donors, businesses, organizations, partners like the Regional Food Bank and our connections with the statewide Oregon Food Bank Network.

Most people don’t realize the volume of product it takes to maintain our shelves and serve our clients. Peter Lawson and his team at the Southeast Oregon Regional Food Bank (Sheila Hiatt, Tim Burns, Wendi Banner and Juan Rodriguez) do their best to make certain our pantry and many other programs throughout the region are well supplied with food. As of Sept. 14, they had distributed more than 92,000 lbs. of food (an average of 2,500 lbs. per week) to the Nyssa Community Food Pantry. Support also includes equipment (freezers and refrigerators) and thousands of dollars in pass-through funding for food purchase.

Additionally, SEORFB runs a food recovery program, picking up close-dated meat, dairy and produce from local grocers (including Albertsons and Wal-Mart). Where this product would have simply been thrown away before, it is now rescued and given to local agencies to distribute to struggling families and individuals. NCFP has received 5,762 lbs. of food through these efforts in 2009.

Beyond that, the regional food bank is a key messenger and a leader in sharing the story of who we are and those we work with. Outreach, communication, collaboration and education are the solutions to many of the challenges we face, and Peter and his staff do a tremendous job of creating awareness about the issues and obstacles we are trying to overcome.

In math, the total is equal to the sum of its parts. We rely on many resources to do what we do in our community. Whether from a home town retailer like M&W or a national chain like Albertson’s, every contribution makes a difference. Whether it’s cherries from The Dalles, onions from Ontario Produce or zucchini from a neighbor’s back yard, healthy fruit and vegetable options have an impact. Be it a food drive in Nyssa or product shared from abundances in Ontario or even Portland, we recognize that hunger and poverty don’t recognize city limits and social boundaries. This truly is team work at its finest.

With sincere thanks,

Leadership and volunteers of the Nyssa Community Food Pantry and Thunder Egg Community Services Inc.

Shriners would like stolen signs returned

Editor,

A few days ago John Kirby, of Kinney & Keele Hardware, granted me permission to display a pair of signs in front of the store, situated on Southwest Fourth Avenue. The signs were to advertise the annual Shrine auction to take place at 1 p.m. Oct. 11 at the Malheur County Fairgrounds.

Apparently, children of some sort removed the Shrine auction signs as a really neat stunt, or maybe they needed the plywood to construct their play house. The homemade signs were not all that valuable, but the message painted on the signs is very important to the welfare of many burned or crippled children who are cared for across our nation. There are 21 Shriners Hospitals available for orthopedic or burn care. The hospitals are just for children, and all costs are provided by the Shriners.

Just for those who may not know and have sometimes wondered, the Shriners are a part of the Masonic Order. We have this annual auction as one of our fundraisers to help support our hospitals. We need all the help we can get. Please come by our auction. You will see many good people and find many good buys.

We really would be tickled to get our signs back.

Noble Jack Franklin

Ontario

People must fight

socialism

Editor,

The Constitution and Bill of Rights limited the government, not the people. It separated government power into the legislative, judicial and executive branches, which gave us checks and balances to preserve individual freedom and national sovereignty.

Now, all the power is being consolidated by the executive branch with its unconstitutional agencies and czars.

The Obama medical reform plan will make the healthcare system worse and cost trillions of dollars.

It will ration care especially for senior citizens and will include 400 million new people, including illegal aliens, with no increase in doctors and nurses.

It will force Americans to surrender control of their medical records to unaccountable government bureaucrats. An estimated 119 million Americans will lose their private health insurance and be forced into a socialized unconstitutional government plan.

Keep protesting the loss of our freedoms and stop all single-payer (government) healthcare plans and cap and trade that will greatly increase energy costs.

To restore America’s greatness, we must demand our senators and congressmen uphold their oaths of office and stop the consolidation of power by the executive branch by abolishing unconstitutional agencies and czars and vote for only constitutional bills. Socialism has always resulted in the loss of freedom. It must be stopped. Take a stand for liberty and freedom.

Adrian L. Arp, Ph.D.

Twin Falls