What PRIDE stands for

This is a response to Matthew Cook (Mailbag, Sept. 25).

It is clear that Mr. Cook has no connection to South Albany High School or he would know that PRIDE is a simple acronym: P is perseverance; R is respect; I is integrity; D is discipline; and E is excellence!

Also, this symbol of pride was created during a time when the students take every Monday to do what is known as guide group.

The class is helping each student learn the positive character traits and skills that each and every person in this town should learn and live by. Not to mention that the total time it took to create this pride picture was a mere half an hour.

I hope you can now embrace PRIDE.

Mary Vosper, Grandma of an SAHS student, Albany

A response against recall

In response to Joyce Weatherly’s statements (Mailbag, Sept. 29):

Mrs. Weatherly, you sat on the school board and rubber-stamped the actions of the previous school administrator and the financial fiasco created by him and the business director. You call that professionalism? No, that is not representing the citizens that voted you in. You did not question it until it was brought out in the open.

Prime members of the CARES group, Mike Farnsworth (former board member), William Barrish (former board member) and Connie Schmidt have written letters insinuating that supporters of Rick and Josh are somehow unimportant in this scheme, that we don’t have the right to question status quo. When it comes to financial matters, it is our duty and responsibility to know where tax dollars are spent.

This group is making the recall effort a personality issue and not one centered on concrete facts. I, for one, am disgusted by false statements expressed by this group and will be glad when this recall effort is ended.

If you haven’t voted, do so by marking “no” on your recall ballot.

Sandie Zurcher, Lebanon

Wall and Main: Same street

A tremendous amount of wealth was lost today (Sept. 29) on both Wall Street and Main Street. The sad truth is that it happened because of partisan politics. Now is not the time for blame, but it is the time for action and Democrats and Republicans both thumbed their noses at the American people.

Anyone who thinks that Wall Street and Main Street are not one and the same is simply completely out of touch with reality.

We all paid the price today for a system of government that encourages putting self above country. I only hope that our elected representatives can get their act together, pass a bill that helps to put our financial house in order, and bring some stability to our economy. We showed the ugly side of democracy to the world today. We need to reverse that image quickly.

Kenneth R. England, Sweet Home

Make everyone accountable

The best most of us can do about (regulating our economy) is write our congressmen. However, a little closer to home, there is something we can do.

The situation was triggered by the bursting of the real estate bubble. Most real estate transactions are conducted with the participation of real estate agents, loan officers or mortgage brokers, appraisers, escrow agents and others. All of these people get paid at the close of the deal without regard to whether the buyer can meet his responsibilities to his loan. And usually the amount of pay increases with the size of the deal.

What if the loan officer has part of his pay withheld until the buyer proved he could service the loan? What if the appraiser had to guarantee his appraisal for a few years? It’s not like nobody could see this bubble coming.

What if buyers had to prove they understood the possible consequences of an adjustable rate loan? What if the first thing your Realtor tried to do was not try to oversell you? And finally, what if the escrow agent didn’t make you feel like you were wasting their time by actually reading the reams of paper you were expected to sign at closing?

In short, some long-term accountability for all involved, not just the buyer, couldn’t hurt.

Frank W. Lathen, Lebanon

Oprah and politics

I read Linda Bartcher’s letter (Sept. 16) and while I agreed with much of it about the dissing of Governor Palin because she thinks she can be a politician and also meet her family responsibilities, I thought the attack on Oprah was over the top.

Oprah came out for Obama when he was running against Hillary; the likelihood that she would give free publicity and her implied approval by having Governor Palin on her show during the election season is really expecting too much.

Palin being a woman doesn’t trump Oprah’s much more to the left attitudes; to expect otherwise is ridiculous.

Bill Molloy, Scio