Taking on OPEC, not pleading

This letter is in response to Larry Crompton’s May 24 letter about my recent trip to Egypt to take on leaders of the OPEC nations at the World Economic Forum.

Mr. Crompton is correct, there were photos of an American politician holding hands with a Saudi prince in the paper that week. That same politician asked for more oil from the Saudis and was stiffed. That politician was President Bush.

I presented a legal argument for a complaint and penalties against OPEC and have asked President Bush to file a complaint. Like Clinton before him, he won’t take them on. Get your facts right.

Peter DeFazio, Member of Congress

Crime could be worse

In regard to Michael Dee’s letter (June 6), I am sorry to hear about all the terrible things that have happened to you and your family, but how can you say this town is terrible? Where else have you lived? I moved here from Florida 10 years ago and crime in this town is nothing compared to that.

This town is very beautiful and, yes, we have crime, but move someplace else if you don’t like it. Crime is everywhere.

Deb Labarge

Albany

A question of parade safety

My family and I along with a few friends drove from Tacoma, Wash., to Lebanon to see the Strawberry Festival Parade. We now wish we hadn’t.

The float made by the Elks Lodge had a 13-year-old girl dressed as a fairy hanging from a crane. Just as the float had barely passed us, the crane operator moved the boom so that the girl was hanging out over the road. We were in total shock at the sight. Just as we were exclaiming about the stupidity of this to one another, the cable broke. The girl fell to the asphalt below.

I went running to where she had fallen. But the men who were on the truck had already stood the girl up. They had her move to the back of the truck and stand there supporting herself with one hand on the truck and the other hand pinching her nose so the blood couldn’t run out. Then they had her walk around to the side of the truck and put her inside.

They started to continue in the parade but must have after a few feet realized that she was really hurt. And her nose was bleeding. Hadn’t any of them ever heard of a concussion?

I opened the Albany paper the next morning thinking there would be something in there about the girl getting hurt and how she was doing. But instead I found a picture of her hanging from that cable. The blurb next to the photo said they were waiting for the parade to start.

Is there no safety committee in charge of seeing to it that the floats are safe? There is no way that a 13-year-old girl should have been hanging in the air over that float. And they should not have moved her at all before the paramedics got there.

We also gritted our teeth every time we would see a float come along with little 3- and 4-year-old kids running along in front of trailer tires throwing candy to the crowd.

There was a little girl dressed as a fairy throwing candy in our direction, the trailer tires directly behind her as the float moved along. She couldn’t have been much more than 3 1/2 years old. If she had tripped, the trailer tire would have gone right over the top of her.

Again, total stupidity, throughout the whole parade. We’ll not attend the Lebanon Strawberry Parade again.

Aaron Harvey, McKenna, Wash.

And the rest of the story ...

After falling from the cable holding her above the Lebanon Elks Lodge float in the Strawberry Festival Parade, Dani Evans, 13, was examined by a doctor at the site and then taken to Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital for X-rays and released. She said Tuesday she has contusions on her heels and backside and a sore wrist that may have to get re-examined if it doesn’t feel better in a week. Lebanon Elks Lodge 1163 donated money to the family to help with medical expenses. Dani said she was scared when it happened but would be willing to be suspended by the cable again if she got the chance. -- Steve Lathrop, D-H



Remember: No attacks

The Obama-fawning, drive-by media will remain silent regarding an undeniable fact that is relevant to every American. There have been no terrorist attacks by Islamofascists in this country for 2,460 days — almost seven years.

The fear of another attack by radical Muslims was the overwhelming concern after 9/11/2001.

John McCain should tout this 100 percent success rate in every speech, along with the truism that dozens of attacks have been thwarted. National security trumps everything else.

Larry A. Smith, Shedd

The neighbors’ dogs

We now have new neighbors with three or four large dogs. These dogs are running wild in our yard and the neighbor’s yard. Animal control came out and spoke with them to no avail. I recently got a puppy and have been training her out in the front yard. Now because of these dogs, I am afraid to go out front.

I went down to the police headquarters and got asked some of the dumbest questions. Like are the dogs running loose in their yard! If they were in their own yard, I would have no business complaining about this matter.

I suppose someone will come out to check things out when someone gets hurt. Because of this, my granddaughters can no longer play in the front yard. Where are my tax dollars going? Supposedly someone will be here tomorrow.

Adele Scott, Albany

Hey Al, what’s up with this?

Here it is June 10, and it is 52 degrees outside. I’m sure glad that I listened to Al Gore and turned down my air conditioning.

Jack Cahill, Jefferson