Traffic court injustice

It’s been a while since I’ve written a letter to the paper but I am so upset. Let me explain why ... maybe someone has answers for me.

On July 2, my wife and I were in a collision with a Jeep Grand Cherokee ... I was driving a Dodge Stratus I had just bought three months before. The elderly driver who totaled my car was cited for “making a dangerous left turn” and “having an open container” in his vehicle. As it turned out, because of some technicality, the open container charge had to be dropped.

At the court appearance for his dangerous left turn my wife and I were subpoenaed to appear as witnesses for the city. We were happy to have our day in court to watch this man get what was due him ... well, as it turned out, he walked away with a fine of, get this, $168 while we were without a car, but worse, seriously injured.

My wife tore her rotator cuff in two places thus, needed surgery. She is now in physical therapy three times a week and has been in agonizing pain. She hasn’t been able to work (she is a nurse) since the wreck since she needs both arms to be functional. My injuries were to my back, which had already been in bad shape due to an injury I sustained while in college, taking care of a quadriplegic 19-year-old freshman, and to my right knee. I too, am currently seeing my physical therapist two to three times a week.

All this said, here is my beef. The traffic light camera at Queen and Geary caught me doing a super-fast 11 mph right turn when there was no traffic coming toward me at all. Yes, I know I was wrong and should’ve stopped completely before turning. My fine for this, with court costs, fees, etc., is close to $300. Tell me, why am I being punished far worse for going 11 mph as opposed to the idiot who completely destroyed my car, my wife’s shoulder and my left knee?

There is something very wrong with the laws in this state.

Reuven Inerfeld, Albany

Incident on Clover Ridge

I’m writing about Clover Ridge Road and the way a lot of people drive on it.

First off, the speed is 25! Second, it is so frustrating when people driving behind me are RIGHT on my bumper. The speed is 25 for a reason. I personally don’t care to get a ticket. I realize that speed isn’t very fast, but that’s the way it goes.

Also, to the woman who rode my daughter’s bumper the other morning and later yelled at her and flipped her off at an intersection, I’m not sure what to say to you. She was doing exactly what she was supposed to be doing. She’s had her license for six months now and gets a discount on her insurance for grades and having no driving violations.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’d much rather be behind a teen driver going the speed limit and practicing what her parents and grandpa taught her, not to mention her insurance agent, than be behind a reckless driver.

So, kudos to you, the woman who flipped off a 17-year-old child!

Ann Robertson, Albany

Love of country showed

A picture is worth a thousand words. The Sunday Oregonian (Oct. 26) showed a little red schoolhouse in rural Malheur County with 11 students, hands on their hearts, saying the pledge of allegiance. Their proud, happy faces tell it all. They love their country — and each other.

Maryland M. Johnson, Lebanon

How about living free?

With the elections racing toward us we all doubtless have our own ideas about what makes a good president. But there is one thing I think we’ve all forgotten. Something we haven’t talked about in decades. Freedom. Not the freedom we hear about in political speeches but the one we live. What does it mean to live free?

Once in our great country freedom meant the ability to stand on your own two feet, to stand without the support of government and chart your own future, come hell or high water. Now a large portion of society believes that it can’t survive without the help of the government. What happened? Have we lost all pride in ourselves? Have we lost our very freedom? Have we welcomed slavery with open arms?

You may say I’m being extreme, but consider this: Anyone who relies on the government for his own well-being has given control of his life to the one who sustains him. When we go to the government for help, we sacrifice our liberty for a little bit of security.

But even slaves have job security. They are guaranteed food, a place to sleep, to work until the day they die. A free man has no such guarantee. All he has is the promise of a battle, a place in the world carved with his own sweat and blood. Have we forgotten which is better?

Do we really prefer, as Samuel Adams said, “the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom”? If we do, then he had one final word for us, “Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. ... May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!”

Jon Brewer, Lebanon

Better solution to crime

As a sheriff, I believe that sentences on property crimes could be more strict and tough. However, I also believe that some individuals make mistakes and can learn from their mistakes provided they are given the opportunity to participate in meaningful programs. Those offenders who chronically commit property crimes almost always have a host of problems, most significantly of which is substance abuse. Over 80 percent of all offenders in the Benton County Corrections Facility have drug, alcohol or mental health problems.

Ballot Measure 61 would simply warehouse these offenders upon their first conviction and would not provide the necessary treatment programs that can be critical in helping a person become a successful, law abiding citizen. With Ballot Measure 57, not only will repeat offenders be held accountable, they will also receive the necessary substance abuse treatment that is almost always the basis for committing the crimes they do. Please join me in voting for Ballot Measure 57. It is the better solution in helping break the cycle of crime.

Diana L. Simpson, Benton County Sheriff

Extension needs measure

I would like to urge you to vote yes for the 4-H Extension Service District, Measure 22-81. As most of you know, the “bailout” bill included federal timber payments for many rural counties including Linn. Unfortunately our county commissioners have indicated that none of this money will be funneled toward Extension staff or programs.

Without the passage of the service district, another cut in Extension staff will occur, which includes the 4-H assistant and the master gardener position.

In the last two years, 11/4 positions of this small staff have already been eliminated. More eliminations would be devastating to the Extension programs. Please support the important services to families, youth, farms, gardeners and small woodland owners — in other words, Linn County citizens — by voting yes on Measure 22-81.

Sudy Lamb, Brownsville