And another crash

A few hours after we received our paper with the front-page story of the wrecks in our field (Aug. 22), there was another wreck. This one did miss our fence line by a few feet and took our a portion of the neighbor’s fence instead.

County Roadmaster Darrin Lane says no to guard rails. His reason is “that causes more damage to (the drivers) and our property.” We are well aware of the fact that wrecks cause damage to property. That is what we are trying to avoid, damage to our property. I personally would rather see a bent guard rail than one of my horses killed, or 100 feet of fence torn out. Let the county fight with the insurance companies instead of us.

We need to find out from a lawyer if we can sue the county for not trying to do anything to prevent damage to our property when they know that there is a traffic problem. Would we be liable if we get large boulders and put them on our property so that the cars run into them and get stopped before they go through our field and hurt one of us or one of our animals?

Mr. Lane says a guard rail would cause more damage to the driver,. If that is so, then what are the other guard rails in the state of Oregon doing along side of the road?

Something needs to be done about this stretch of road.

Verle and Carol Steele, Rock Spur Ranch, Brownsville

Read about brides by mail

The Albany Public Library, Waverly Branch, has received a book, “Hearts West,” true stories of mail-order brides on the frontier. The author is Chris Enss (306.82).

This is not an exciting book, but it is interesting and presents an aspect of westward expansion in the 1800s, of which little is known.

Of local appeal, the author states that approximately 150 of these brides came to the Albany area.

Another, perhaps, surprising point is that often the women were searching for husbands as often as the men were hoping for wives.

Read it; you’ll like it.

Chuck Halstead, Albany

Unlike race, smoking’s a choice

In response to Mr. Wibben’s letter Aug. 22:

How can you compare yourself to other races and call yourself a minority? You choose to smoke, nobody chooses his race. Religiously speaking, I’m pretty sure it’s wrong to abuse your body whether it be smoking, drinking alcohol, over-eating or doing drugs. None of these things make anybody a “minority” or “third class citizen.” They are choices that people are faced with every day, and every day they choose whether or not to partake in them.

Secondly, what part of healthier living don’t you understand? I don’t think anyone’s against the fact that you choose to smoke, just do it in your home where you’re not hurting anybody else.

I myself am a health care worker and have experienced at first hand what smoking does to a person; it’s not pretty. But if this is the lifestyle you choose to indulge in, by all means go ahead. We’re not trying to vote your rights away; we’re simply asking for a little respect. We all share the same air, that’s the one choice none of us have.

Spring Ringham, Albany

Calling ICE is right thing to do

I want to thank all of the law enforcement departments in Linn County for reporting illegal aliens to ICE. Not enforcing a law is a travesty of justice and sets a poor example for everyone. I just recently became aware of the fact that Oregon is a sanctuary state for illegals. I assume that it was the “states” of Multnomah and Lane that supported this decision. In this day and age and because of 9/11 and the wake-up bell that has been rung, we must not ignore it.

I do not want to keep anyone from coming to the United States, providing they do it legally. To ignore the problem does not solve the problem. There can be no happy ending or magic wand-waving to fix a problem that has been years in the making. We must take a first step, and I feel that Linn County can be proud of our law enforcement professionals. Thank you for following the laws that you have sworn to follow and protect for all of us.

Sue Davis, Lebanon

48 years of collecting: Gone

Now that the ashes have settled and the shock of my shop fire is over, I would like to thank all the firefighters from Scio, Lebanon, Albany, Stayton and Jefferson for their tremendous dedication and work to keep our shop fire from spreading to our house and neighbors’ houses. While my shop and contents were a complete loss, our house was saved and, more importantly, no one was injured.

Forty-eight years of collecting tools, shop supplies and stock, and oh yes, some of mom’s antiques are but a memory except for “the list” given to the insurance company. This next phase of our loss will probably be another story.

Cliff Wooten, Scio