WEB LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Due to limited space in the printed version of the Tidings, we present in this section more of the letters received as a courtesy to the community and to provide a larger forum for the free exchange of ideas and opinions These letters, which do not appear on our printed pages, must conform to the same standards and protocol as letters appearing in print, with the exception of length Web letters may run longer than those placed on our pages, but we ask that submissions remain under 400 words The Tidings reserves the right to edit online letters that run too long

Unwanted EPA proposal

Let&

s surprise the EPA Let&

s show them that Rogue Valley, Oregonians are aware of their unhealthy proposal to revise clean air standards and we oppose it This mandated air quality revision is an opportunity for EPA to greatly strengthen national health standards but they&

ve chosen to even ignore the recommendations of their own scientific advisors

Our clean air rules that include requiring new or expanding heavy polluters to both offset additional pollution to our airshed and to employ the best pollution controlling technology available, would likely be eliminated if EPA revokes our PM10 pollution standard as proposed

It will take lots of comments to get their attention and we can do it! In 2004, over 5000 citizens of this valley successfully convinced the DEQ to leave our rules intact Now it is imperative that we take a moment to tell EPA, 1don&

t revoke the PM10 Standard in the Medford-Ashland Air Quality Maintenance Area 2 don&

t allow backsliding of our air quality — adopt all of the recommendations of the American Lung Association, instead of the unhealthy proposal and standards put forth, also eliminates our coarse pollution monitors and possibly eliminating any fine pollution monitors

Monitoring is absolutely essential to enforcement of any air quality rules

Your comment must be received by April 17 and identified with Docket ID Numbers OAR-2001-0017 OAR-2994-0018, name and address

To comment, E-mail EPA: a-and-r-docket@epagov

Fax: (202) 566-1741 or Mail: A R Docket, EPA, Mailcode:6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania AVE, NW, Washington DC 20460

For information: roguecleanairorg

Irwin Chanotin

Rural Oregon needs more AEDs

As a National Athletic Trainer Association certified and Oregon

registered athletic trainer, I am concerned that President Bush has

proposed to eliminate an important federal program to place Automated

External Defibrillators (AEDs) in rural areas I know, first-hand, that

immediate CPR and early defibrillation can more than double a victim's

chance of survival

On Saturday, November 5, 2005, Bill Jansen suffered a cardiac arrest at

Roseburg High School, where I am the athletic trainer Fortunately, the

school has an AED, which I am trained to use After taking necessary

precautions, I attached the AED to Mr Jansen's chest and shocked him

twice Thankfully, his heart rate returned Without the AED, Mr

Jansen would not be alive today On Monday, February 6, I was presented

with the American Heart Association Heartsaver Award for my part in

saving his life

According to the American Heart Association, there are 450,000 cardiac

arrests a year Only one in five receive bystander CPR and even fewer

receive AED treatment The Rural and Community Access to Emergency

Devices Program provides grants to purchase AEDs for public places The

program also supplies training to lay rescuers and first responders

The American Heart Association notes survival rates are as high as 40

percent in communities with aggressive AED placement

We need more AEDs in rural Oregon where the nearest ambulance could be

miles away from a cardiac arrest victim In order to reduce death from

cardiac arrests, this program must be fully funded

Kevin Collins

ATC/R Certified/Registered Athletic Trainer Roseburg High School Roseburg, OR

Concerned about salmon

I am concerned about the potential over-ride by the National Marine

Fisheries Service (NMFS) of an upcoming decision by the Pacific Fishery

Management Council that would allow for a limited 2006 ocean salmon

season It is my understanding that NMFS is proposing to close the entire

California coast and part of the Oregon coast to ocean salmon fishing

Such a closure would strike a severe blow to the California and Oregon

coastal economies from which many businesses may never recover I urge you

to prevent NMFS from overriding the Council&

s decision I also urge you

to find a reasonable solution by directing NMFS to work with the Council

to pass an emergency rule to forestall complete closure, and instead

provide for a season that will address salmon population concerns without

the severe economic impact of a complete closure To avoid this problem

in the future, it will be critical to address the underlying causes of the

decline of the salmon population in the Klamath River

At their March 6-10 meeting the Pacific Fishery Management Council was

faced with making a decision on the 2006 salmon harvest I find it

unreasonable that NMFS presented its recommendation to the Council on

Friday March 10, the last day of the five day meeting This allowed for no

analysis of the data and no debate on the recommendations This is

especially egregious since NMFS recommended a complete closure of all

harvest in California and part of Oregon

I firmly believe that a reasonable compromise can be developed if there is

the will to do so To date, NMFS has been unwilling to consider a workable

solution The NMFS opinion was developed without the input of the

affected parties and was the most severe measure possible

Again, I urge you to direct NMFS to work with the Council to pass an

emergency rule to forestall complete closure, and instead provide for a

season that will address population concerns without the severe economic

impact of a complete closure

Richard Jess

Etta Lou Jess Weed, CA

John Bloom Brookings, OR

Public has right to know about communications regarding Iraq

I would like to alert you to the introduction in the House of

Representatives of HR 375, a Resolution of Inquiry, which if passed,

will require the White House and the State Department to "transmit all

information relating to communication with officials of the United Kingdom

between , and October 16, 2002, relating to the policy of

the United States with respect to Iraq"

Please give this piece of legislation and the evidence found in the

Downing Street Documents the coverage they deserve

The so-called Rove Scandal was, after all, caused by White House

retaliation against a man who debunked some of the President's false

claims to justify the war The Downing Street papers provide strong

evidence that the White House worked for months to deceive the public and

Congress

HR 375 gives the President the opportunity to clear his name and

demonstrate that he acted in good faith He ought to welcome the

opportunity

See wwwafterdowningstreetorg for more information

Jan Garza

Klamath Falls, OR

The power of one

The April 3, 2006 issue of The New American has an inspirational

article titled, "Sophie Scholl:The Final Days" by William Jasper To read article access the web-site of The John Birch Society at Then click on

"The New American"

In Nazi Germany in 1942 a small band of university

students known as the White Rose attempted to stir the conscious of the German people against Hitler's totalitarian and murderous Third Reich Regime

They used mostly printed leaflets distributed in secret through the mails, placed in public places, and other strategic areas, in an attempt to bring down Adolf Hiter and his Nazi criminal thugs Although Germany's unconditional surrender on didn't occur until May 7, 1945, this White Rose activism via youth with noble ideals did send panic and rage through the Nazi hierarchy

The SS and Gestapo, like their Soviet NKVD counterparts in Stalin's Soviet Union, went on a ballistic frenzy to track down these so called subversive traitors and rebels! Anyway, this true gripping story is about a moral and brave young woman (aged 21) who as a university student and activist takes a righteous stand against Nazism and Fascism

"Sophie Scholl: The Final Days" is a very inspirational, family film free of profanity, sexual immorality, or violence Yet, it is limited and is showing in only a number of movie theaters For listings, go to

James A Farmer

Outrage over cancellation

The recent cancellation of the stage show &

My Name is Rachel Corrie&

because of &

Jewish sensitivities&

speaks volumes It is amazing that Israel firsters have such clout; both with theater and running the foreign policy of our government Even more so, when considering how few in numbers they represent of the US population As a result, we have become the pariah of nations But this is not the point The real reason this show attracts such response is &

truth&

This is a truth undeniable by those whose propaganda has managed to cloud 55 years of incredible brutality to a people their nation sought to displace Up to now our government has rolled over, funded and protected such behavior in the face of breaking international law and ignoring numerous UN resolutions seeking to right the situation

So, here we have an event so visible that even these deniers cannot hide The story has roots deep in our own community and needs, finally, to be completely aired-for the benefit of us all, this country and the world

L A Mettananda

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