Who needs new center?

In one of your editorials you wrote about the new shopping center which has been OK’d by the city council to be built off Highway 20. You said it was in the wrong end of town. It’s in the wrong town.

We don’t need another large shopping mall; we have one in North Albany, at Heritage Mall, and great stores like Coastal Farm, Home Depot, Costco and many others.

I think the city council people are not thinking straight at all. If Wal-Mart gets in, small businesses will have a tougher struggle than they have now and will close.

I believe in supporting the great stores we have.

Catherine Bose, Albany

Shopping center means jobs

I and many others are overjoyed that Sharon Konopa is our mayor and that the good ol’ boy network and the Chamber of Commerce no longer sit on the lap of the mayor. Yea!

However, some food for thought: If a farmer no longer wants to farm because of the exhaustion of it or going broke from it, the government can only afford to buy a limited amount of farmland to preserve as park land. So, to be practical, 500 service, retail and restaurant jobs at a shopping center is maybe a not-so-bad use of some land.

The good times of scads of plywood plant and paper mill jobs are over. I don’t think plywood is even made in Oregon, and who knows when International Paper will close the last line open at the Albany Paper Mill.

Also, those Pepsi jobs won’t happen; Pepsi is going broke thanks to Reagonomics and Karl Rovenomics!

Regarding a possible Wal-Mart at the proposed shopping center: People and corporations, which are people, are not going to automatically do the right thing. People are greedy. No company is going to unionize unless they see no other way. I’m pro-union; any worker should be. But, workers have to have the guts to unionize. My point is Wal-Mart is no more not to be trusted than other corporations.

Wal-Mart’s big plus, and it is a big one, is they came out a year or so ago with $4 generic prescriptions. It was unheard of. The government wouldn’t do it; and insurance companies sure as heck wouldn’t do it.

Mary Brock, Albany

Bus routes and school law

While I appreciate Ms. French’s concern (Mailbag, Oct. 18) about her children being on a bus for so long, she apparently does not have an understanding of federal school law and is not privy to school administrative decisions. The only students who would be transported as transfer students would be those involved in programs that are governed by federal mandates where the transfer school provides a program needed by individual students, or by administrative decision.

These instances, while increasing, are still relatively rare. The transportation department is generally not involved in the decision-making process in these instances. I believe a misconception out there is that students transferring by choice are part of this issue. This is completely false. The school district is not required to provide transportation to these students who choose to attend a different school. It clearly states in the transfer policy that parents are responsible for providing their own transportation.

Ms. French, I hope you can appreciate that there are other children who require educational services that may not be available at their home school and providing transportation to these services is in their best interest. As a concerned parent yourself, I am sure you would want what is best for your children. While it may not be the ideal situation, it is the very best under current conditions.

As a final note, the new computerized routing system, while likely very effective and efficient, will not solve all of these issues. My hope is that Ms. French and other parents will be cognizant of this fact.

Rich Engel, Jefferson

Anyone see a three-wheeler?

On Saturday, Sept. 20, my dear mother discovered her Miami Sun three-wheeled bicycle had been stolen from her patio in Lebanon. This bicycle resembles an adult-size tricycle and is raspberry (hot pink) in color. It has two baskets, one in front and one in back.

This was a sad loss for my 77-year-old mother as she is very low-income and the bicycle will be impossible to replace. Although mother reported the bicycle stolen to the Lebanon Police Department, it has not yet turned up. The Lebanon police has the serial number on file.

Mother had cancer surgery last January. She very nearly died from complications after her surgery. She was bedridden for four months. And then, quite miraculously, she rehabilitated herself. She took little rides on her bike every day and gained back her strength. She was so proud of her colorful bike. And it seems so cruel that someone would steal it from her.

Mother lives in an apartment complex near Green Acres Elementary School. If you or anyone you know has seen a pink three-wheeled bicycle around your neighborhood since Sept. 20, please contact the Lebanon Police Department so it can check the bike’s serial number.

Mother really misses her daily spins on her bike. And I believe there is a truly good person out there who will help return my mother’s bicycle to her.

Marti Olsen-Haworth, Albany

Gun owners beware

This is a dark day for gun owners. Watch for the onslaught of bills related to gun control, which should read “gun restrictions.”

Oregon already has a check system to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. If anyone thinks more laws will change the crime rate, they are correct. It will increase it. Example, California: The more restrictions they put on guns, the more crime increased. So, why more laws?

If your real goal is to eliminate guns from private ownership, then more and more restrictions make sense. If your goal is really to reduce crime, then the opposite is true. According to FBI stats a homeowner with a firearm is 1,000 times less likely to be a victim of a violent crime. Common sense plus a gun equals protection.

So beware, gun owners.

Nick Russell, Owner, Albany Guns

Making up for lost years

Thank you fellow Americans. Once again I am proud to be American, and I feel confident that we are well positioned to clean up the mess, and make up for the lost eight years.

We can create new industries to combat the massive burning of fossil fuels, we can produce automobiles that will get us through our daily lives without burning oil, or emitting pollution.

We have taken the first step of putting together the leadership we need to begin the rebuilding process.

I and my wife and our two beautiful grandchildren thank you all.

Bless you.

Robert Denny, Albany