Grateful to CARA

Tim and I and the staff at Crabtree Automotive want to thank the Central Albany Revitalization Area (CARA) board. The board made a special effort to help with this project. Allowing us time at a second meeting, they approved our grant request to rejuvenate the old warehouse on Hill Street. It's to their credit that they judged that our request would be a real benefit in revitalizing this area of the city. Without their support we could not have gone forward with this project.

We are also in debt to Diane Searle and Brenda Baze of Cascades West Council of Governments. These women, loan officers for SBA, took the time to come to the CARA meeting to answer the questions that the board had regarding the format of SBA loans. They are "extreme" advocates for small businesses in Albany and we appreciate the time and effort they have given to make this project a reality.

To John Pascone of AMEDC and Janet Steele of the Albany Chamber of Commerce, we thank you for your support from the very beginning.

To the rest of the Albany community, who have shown excitement and support for this project, we send you many thanks. We'll try to make you proud!

There is still much more work to do - more paperwork to finalize the loans, more organizing to get the project started and more work to make the move. But when all is said and done, this old building will get a new lease on life to become a bright spot in the neighborhood and another feather in the cap of those who believe in the vitality and strength of the city of Albany.

Tim and Paula Connaghan, Crabtree Automotive Inc., Albany

Leaf pickup in N. Albany

I have lived east of Spring Hill in North Albany for seven years. To the best of my recollection the leaves have been collected from the streets in my neighborhood every year. I do not believe there are any "right of way" trees in the area, nor do I recall this limitation on leaf pickup prior to this year when the city took it over.

It is apparent that the city grossly underestimated the amount of work required to pick up the leaves. This is likely why they thought Allied Waste was too expensive and is certainly why they are some four weeks behind schedule with their collection.

As is typical of every year there is a rather large pile of leaves in front of my house waiting to be collected. I truly hope the city can get on task and pick these up before they start clogging the storm drains. This would seem to increase the cost to collect the leaves and place the city at risk as being responsible for localized flooding or damage caused by plugged storm drains.

Ed Trotter, Albany

Wrong tactic in Pakistan

It seems quite a contradiction to think that we can win the hearts and minds, let alone the war, of the hapless folks in Pakistan where the Taliban are hiding, by bombing homes where we "think" that the "suspected" enemy may be.

The Islamabad News reports that for weeks now unmanned missiles have been killing Pakistani civilians on a routine basis.

The Pakistan Observer says leaders are preparing a U.N. resolution "against U.S. aggression."

The importance of supporting a stable government in a nuclear armed nation is obvious. And, more to the point, we don't think our nation should be guilty of imposing a death sentence on any household by bombing it because a terrorist "might" be present.

Don and Betty Rea, Albany

The price of 'free love'

Just before this past election, I received a postcard in the mail, asking me to "protect" the young, vulnerable-appearing young woman, by supporting Planned Parenthood and voting appropriately. I pitched it, but wondered what this girl needed protection from. The message was presumably to protect her from unwanted pregnancies and from the threat to her reproductive rights. Wow!

Yes, I would like to protect this girl from the misinformation in our society that believes an abortion is safer than a pregnancy, (usually not true), that "safe sex," anti-fertility drugs and anti-

cancer shots will protect our girls. Not so! There is no "safe sex," emotionally or physically, particularly recreational sex with multiple partners. Birth control drugs may have greater risk than the pregnancy. Check out the side effects of these drugs, one of which is now featured on TV with a stern warning about side effects.

Research indicates that 20 to 25 percent of young people have serious sexually transmitted diseases. If 20 percent of junior high kids had head lice, the school would be closed, headlines would scream blame for such a health hazard, together with information to combat the lice! There are no headlines for the 14-plus-year-olds with STDs, some of these diseases incurable and with significant and long-term physical problems. Again, I ask you to check it out.

Our society lives in incredible self-denial in order to justify the 1970s call to free love. Recreational sex is the lifestyle, with the one with more "scores" considered the winner. A 12-year-old told me that. Women now are more vulnerable physically and emotionally, more live in poverty with their children, and post-abortion depression is widespread. Planned Parenthood protects no one.

Barbara Triska, Lebanon

Blame the militants

In answer to Mrs. Kenagy's letter, Dec. 4:

Just as in other countries, the Palestinian territories are composed of mostly peaceful citizens together with a number of self-serving selfish militants. Quite often these militants will attack Israel knowing fully well that the response could and will result in the loss of innocent lives, and it appears that they could not care less when this happens.

Any action taken by the Israelis is in direct response to the suicide bombings of Israeli civilians and the firing of explosive rockets into Israel. Not willing to cause any more Palestinian deaths, the Israelis have chosen the lesser of the two evils by blockading supplies to the Gaza territories. This being done in hopes that the more sensible Palestinians would stop these military incursions.

Peace can be achieved between the two countries if only the Palestinian militancy is curtailed. These two groups of Semitic people derived from the seed of Abraham should be at peace. Ms. Kenagy's description of any carnage resulting from a military response by the Israelis only adds fuel to the fire.

Allan Jay Silver, Albany