A thief took Christmas money

My adopted son lost his wallet, and when it was recovered someone had stolen the money out of it. The money was to pay his rent and to buy Christmas gifts for his family.

My son works hard for his money and is diligent about saving and making sure he budgets his money very carefully.

I just hope that whoever took it needed it much more than he did. I pray that the person that took it uses it for the good things he was going to use it for.

Melody Pugh, Albany

Our future's in good hands

Just two weeks ago I sat in on my first ever Economic Summit for Albany, put on by the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce and held at the Linn County Fair & Expo Center.

A good portion of this Economic Summit was spent discussing our youth, schools and the needs of Albany to maintain and expand our local economy.

It being my first time to partake in this summit, I was very surprised that so much time was spent discussing the needs of our local businesses and the fears and concerns expressed by our local businessmen and women pertaining to our upcoming young adults and whether they will be able to fill our local job needs.

This last Tuesday, I had the honor and privilege to take part for the first time in the Linn County Youth Job Fair sponsored by the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce, held at LBCC.

High school seniors from all over Linn County - I believe about 1,500 in total - descended on the campus of LBCC, where members from our community gave half of their day to give mock job interviews to these students, hoping to assist them in preparing for the real job world.

Folks, let me assure you that we are in good hands.

I, for one, was extremely amazed at the professionalism of the students I interviewed. I was just as impressed in how many of these young adults, not yet out of high school, have their sights aimed high and their goals set.

I was also very pleased to see that our youth are very energetic to get started on the next step in their future, and that the optimistic, entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well.

I was very impressed and look forward to taking part in this event again next year.

Kudos to our educators, and good luck students.

Tom Krupicka, Tom's Garden Center, Albany

Torture and those tapes

I'm writing in response to your short editorial regarding the CIA interrogation tapes and why it should matter that they have been destroyed.

The present administration's position on torture has never been clearly defined. The White House has denied that it uses torture, and yet, evidence to the contrary is revealed nearly every day.

Is torture illegal or isn't it? It's certainly immoral. And why would any of us want our military and intelligence agencies to engage in immoral activity on our account? If we did, why would they go to such lengths to hide it from us?

The use of torture isn't the only crime that infiltrates this present administration like a bad smell. But it is certainly the most disturbing one. If you can't abide the images of torture, Mr. Hering, imagine the people who are actually experiencing it?

A book you should read, Mr. Hering, is "The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Friend," by Naomi Klein. Any squeamishness you have over confronting our present administration with the issue of torture will dissipate once you read how torture is used to keep civilian populations under control. That our current president has asserted that he will veto a bill passed by the House and the Senate to curb the use of torture by the CIA should make you angry, not queasy. It should make you want to get to the bottom of the CIA's blatant destruction of evidence rather than commending them on covering up their crimes.

Now, imagine if the CIA showed up at your door and insisted you come in for questioning. How comfortable do you think you'd feel not knowing why they wanted you for questioning? Or what techniques they might use? It couldn't happen here, you say? Couldn't it? Why not? Don't you know? Maybe you should have asked when you had the chance.

Leonora Rianda, Albany

This should be condemned

When coming into Albany from the north, there is an old dilapidated, abandoned gas station on the east side of Pacific that is an eyesore that reflects unjustly on our community. I believe an editorial to awaken our elected public officials so as to condemn and remove this unsightliness is definitely in order.

Ray Driscoll, Albany

The city says the former gas station at Airport Road and Pacific doesn't violate any city codes.

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