Put homeless camp out by the airport

More homeless camps in Corvallis? Why?

They don’t shop where they can’t get five-finger discounts, so they have no pressing need to be close to downtown.

They have no family ties in the community, so no pressing need to be close to residential areas.

The present “camps” and residents are an eyesore, and often an assault on the ears and general sensitivities as well; something the general population tries hard to eliminate from their lives and pays good taxes to that end.

The homeless do need shelter and basic sanitation facilities, and some degree of protection from themselves.

The county has quite a few acres of vacant land by the airport just sitting there doing nothing. Why not provide a homeless village out there? Lots of room, won’t “offend the senses” of Corvallis’ citizenry, stores won’t have to contend with panhandling and sleeping in the doorways, and the homeless will have shelter and sanitary facilities.

Shanty town is not a new concept for Corvallis, they’ve had them before. Let the next one be in the ’burbs.

Curly Finster, Alsea

Can real Roy Rogers please stand up?

On page 14 of the Aug. 1 “Entertainer,” the first listing under NEW SHOWS was Roy Rogers, who is coming on Aug. 17 to Tyee Wine Cellars.

In my long-ago youth, I counted Roy Rogers and Dale Evans among my many entertainment heroes. I mentioned this to my wife, who is knowledgeable about such matters and she flatly remarked that Roy Rogers is dead.

“Impossible!” I replied “It says here that for $35, you get to meet him in a reception after the performance.

It’s hard for me to believe that that the winery would book a dead man, so I looked up Roy Rogers in Wikipedia and sure enough, he died in 1993 and was apparently buried in Apple Valley, Calif. I thought that if that’s the case, then $35 is more than reasonable to witness an event of such biblical magnitude.

Then again, it occurred to me that it might be Roy Rogers embalmed or worse yet, a wax replica. Afterwards, the possibility hit me that this could be a stage name or someone legally named Roy Rogers who has a local following; a rock and roll or blues band perhaps.

I wish there was some way to clarify this beforehand without forking over $35. For those of us of an advanced age, it could be the chance of a lifetime.

Robert W. Moore, Corvallis

Entertainment editor Jake TenPas replies: Although we agree with Mr. Moore that it would indeed be worth $35 to see the late singing cowboy raised from the dead, he was right in thinking that the Roy Rogers referred to in The Entertainer’s Box Office listing actually is another musician of the same name. He is 58, from the San Francisco Bay area, and he’s famous for playing the slide guitar, most notably in the blues genre.

Park improvements a boon to seniors, all

In his July 31 letter to the editor, “‘Improvement’ replaces parkland with parking lot,” Dennis Marquering expressed his concern that a $13 million bond measure, to be voted on in November, is “just a plain stupid waste of taxpayer money.” His conclusion may derive from incomplete and erroneous information. His letter overlooked the fact that nearly $2 million of the bond measure will be used for new play equipment at 10 other city parks and the addition of lighting on at least two softball fields.

He erred in stating that half of the Chintimini Park complex would be covered with asphalt and another quarter occupied by the “new” senior center. In reality, the senior center and parking lot expansions will require less than 1.5 acres, bringing that portion of the complex to about 2.5 acres and leaving the remainder of the park at about 5 acres. Surrender of the park’s 1.5 acres will be offset by the addition of a picnic shelter and a covered play area, new playground equipment, replacement of the restrooms and improved landscaping and lighting.

While passage of the bond measure will enhance life of young and old throughout Corvallis by virtue of the improvements to facilities in 11 of the city’s parks, its greatest impact will be on senior citizens, who increasingly are involved in the center’s bonanza of activities. Increases in the numbers of activities and participants has resulted in a compelling need for facilities expansion. Those unfamiliar with senior center offerings can consult the Senior Center News issued monthly.

Mike Wolf, Corvallis

GOP didn’t ignore the energy crisis

All the news that isn’t news! I was amazed and flabbergasted when I opened the editorial page today (Aug 5) and saw the political cartoon. It was not slanted nor biased; it was flat out misinformation.

The cartoon showed the Republicans and Democrats in Congress both blithely ignoring the energy problem. The truth is, and it is readily available, that the Republicans had 100 representatives signed up to speak on the energy bill.

Speaker Pelosi turned off the microphones and had the lights turned off and refused to have the energy bill debated.

The Republican leadership demanded that the House stay in session until an energy bill be approved. Pelosi ignored them and declared a five-week recess.

This story is all over the Internet and part of it was reported in the Gazette-Times. Many more will see and remember the cartoon and want to believe it than will read my letter.

The cartoon was a blatant lie, and to publish it was egregious.

Charles R. Nelson, Corvallis