What's more important

On the Sept. 6 front page of the Democrat-Herald, I was greeted by a picture of Uncle Sam extolling the virtues of the Ten Commandments. That image reminded me of two things: the freedom of religion and the freedom from religion in America brought to us by the founding fathers, not Uncle Sam.

I had a whole argument made to support my opinion and then a young man named Andy reminded me of what is truly important in this world. Andy spent Sunday looking for his buddy, a cockatiel named Spike. He found him in a tree in my yard about 40 feet in the air. We watched Spike ride out the windy afternoon and speculated on what it would take to get him to listen to Andy and come home. Andy was growing despondent as the afternoon wore on, and I reminded him to stay focused on the bird leaving that branch because everything hinges on what he does next.

That evening I ignored (briefly) my Bears soundly thrashing the hapless Colts long enough to join in on the fun as members of four different families talked among the trees about this and that. This little bird had brought people together in a way that computers or TV never will. The neighborhood was alive for a brief moment, not parked in front of glowing screens. It was a good sound on a late summer evening.

This morning the outlook for the bright yellow bird named Spike improved. Having survived the night, he started singing at sunup. He answered my whistles eagerly, and when I quit he flew out of the tree looking for whatever comes next. I hope to hear after work tonight that Andy and his bird are reunited.

Sidney Cooper, Albany

Growers need our help

Citizens of Oregon, our governor must be having a breakdown. Now he wants to kill one of our finest industries. Grass seed growers have been around growing their crops in Oregon for many years, and they need our help.

Yes, sometimes it is annoying to have smoke blowing into our yards. But that only happens a few days a year and field burning is essential to the health of grass seed crops.

First we had a war against the loggers and they have had to stop logging many old areas where the trees grow tall. So it looks like the next thing some outsiders want to finish off is our farmers.

The Willamette Valley is the finest farm land in the world for grain and crops. We need farms to grow our food, grass seed, and of course the grain that we use in so many kinds of ways. Our crops are the bread of life, the vegetables that keep us well, and the fruit that sustains us.

If you have recently moved to Oregon and don't like the field burning, go back where you came from or suck it up and put up with a few days a year that help the farmers.

Protecting the natural food and grass seed of our Willamette Valley must be done. Pioneers came to Oregon for its fertile lands; don't put so many restrictions on those who are working by those who just complain. Protect our good farm lands and stop the farm lands being used for housing. We like to eat real food!

Write Gov. Ted Kulongoski and tell him you favor the farmers over the squawkers. I know my family does. The governor is asking for an end to field burning after 2010. Baloney! Look up the governor's address and phone number.

Where will it end that others decide what we do for a living and how we do it? There will always be some burns in the valley whether by accident or by allowing our farmers to do what they need to do.

We are counting on you speaking up to the governor.

Bob and Mona Waibel, Sweet Home

Widen Albany-Lebanon road

Regarding Mark Nofziger's letter to the editor on Aug. 11: Highway 20 is a dangerous road especially in the winter. There are trenches on both sides of the road, leaving no room for error, no room to pull over or to turn around in case of an emergency.

For instance, on July 8 my truck was being towed by a tow truck from Albany to Lebanon to get the starter fixed. Near Spicer Road on Highway 20 a farmer's grass seed truck lost three of its tie-downs, which flipped up and hit the roof of my truck, the size of a pie pan.

There was no place for the tow truck to pull over or to turn around to catch the driver as he slowed down to check the tie-downs.

Consequently, the insurance company treated it as a hit-and-run accident and did not issue enough funds to get my truck fixed. If there was a place to pull over I would have been able to get information on the driver for his insurance to pay for the damage.

Highway 20 is a dangerous road. It needs to be widened from Albany to Lebanon, not partly widened, but the entire road. Where did the funds go to? Respond to:

Julia Mae, ladyoftheland1988@hotmail.com

Letter made me shiver

It has been said that, concerning the evolutionary process, mutations occur constantly and the main theme in all forms of life is perpetuation of their species. It has been declared "unfortunate" by Dr. Silver (Mailbag, Sept. 1) that "human mores" run contrary to this "evolutionary thrust" by creating laws regulating sexual activity.

As a woman and as a mother of a daughter, I shivered at this letter. Prostitution, like rape itself, is a tool of power used by men against women. To legalize this would be equal to rape - the ultimate debasement of women. It also paints the picture that because evolution dictates so, men cannot control themselves, so there should be females at hand to take care of "evolutionary thrusts."

Legalizing prostitution would be a step backward for women. (I get the feeling that Dr. Silver wouldn't mind.) For men to agree with the doctor might be expected - and nauseating. For women to agree with the doctor makes my heart ache. There is more to me, my daughter and every woman than anatomy.

Let's propose real solutions to the rape problem: overhaul of media portrayal of women as sex objects, equality education and an inward look at the family as a social group, where many ideas of power are born.

Society has failed women if Dr. Silver's letter is the majority opinion.

Caila Williams, Lebanon

What about the walkers?

Who in the world is in charge of traffic regulations in and around our magnificent city?

Nice to see citizens being concerned about traffic in relation to the proposed Lowe's store. However, what about the concern for the middle school students walking along North Albany Road and Gibson Hill Road?

There have been concerns in regards to a 25 mph speed limit along Hickory Street, a short distance south of North Albany Middle School, where the sidewalks are well defined, starting some 3 feet behind an elevated curb. And who has ever seen anybody making use of these sidewalks?

Whereas, along North Albany Road, the sidewalk is directly adjacent to the flow of automobile traffic for a portion north of the middle school and totally non-existent along the remaining portion of North Albany Road and the entire length of Gibson Hill Road.

So, what about the concern for these children who walk to and from school along these venues - inches away from cars buzzing by at 40-50 miles per hour!

Are we waiting for some disastrous episode (God forbid, a fatality) to occur before some reasonable speed limits are prescribed and enforced for these streets?

P.S.: What, pray tell, is the purpose of the raised island just constructed north of Oak Grove Drive on Scenic Drive? Is this not just an accident waiting to happen? How long before someone hits that curb and does considerable damage to their car (that is, if it does not involve someone else as well)?

Hennok Soot, Albany

The city engineering department has been working on plans for a walking path on the south side of Gibson Hill Road. On North Albany Road, a sidewalk was extended to Quarry Road before the start of school. Pending approval from Benton County, the city plans to widen the shoulder of the road for kids to walk on between Quarry Road and the middle school, said Mark Shepard, city engineer. The traffic island at Scenic Drive and Oak Grove, along with a painted crosswalk, was required as part of the approval of the Benton Woods subdivision, he explained.