Posted: Wednesday, May 7, 2008 12:00 am
Shift city spending priorities to fixing cracks in the street
The many large cracks in the streets made me wonder if we are maintaining our streets properly.
The price of crude oil is rising rapidly, driving up the prices of asphalt and diesel fuel - and in turn driving up the cost of road construction.
I compared the cost increases in road repair, using Oregon Department of Transportation road repair indices, with the increases in Public Works Department expenditures from the street fund and concluded that we are falling behind in maintaining our streets. (My analysis can be found at http://www.peak.org/~detweij)
This work led to my finding that the City Council eliminated funding for pavement condition analyses of roads, other than arterial and collector streets, in 2004.
As I read the situation, we have a measure of the current condition of arterial and collector streets, which are good, but we have not had a measure of the condition of lesser streets since 2004.
To me, a layman, the lesser streets appear to be breaking up, making me wonder if we are heading for a large repair bill.
In the short run, we can neglect our streets. In the long run, we must maintain our streets before they become rubble.
In my opinion, economic conditions will continue to deteriorate and the price of oil will continue to rise.
Therefore, we need to shift money from less important items, such as the $80,000 in citizen requests, mentioned May 1 in the Gazette-Times, and parks and recreation to maintaining our streets.
John H. Detweiler, Corvallis
Cartoon and column smeared Rev. Wright
Will the real Rev. Jeremiah Wright please stand up?
When you remove the media filter, you can see a highly successful and competent professional of eloquence and scholarship. His church has earned its high regard for its mission and for its ability to model inclusion and reconciliation across racial lines. It is part of a major, largely white, mainline Protestant denomination.
His purportedly "crazy" and "unacceptable ideas" all rate as factually true or plausible, unlike the truly insane dogmatism we hear from right-wing preachers.
The most controversial - that AIDS was caused by experimenting on Africans - requires the context of the Tuskegee experiments on syphilis.
At worst, it is a reality-based paranoia shared broadly within African-American society.
Farrakahn is an important voice in black America, agree with him or not. The Sept. 11 attacks were explicitly motivated by American policies and actions.
Imperial soldiers of occupation can be compared legitimately and his quote of the passage ending in "God will damn America" is traditional Providential theology for what happens when God's blessing is asked for what God condemns.
The cartoon and Chicago Tribune smear job editorial column published April 30 in the Gazette-Times played along with the Fox loop, Lee Attwater memorial "Willie Horton" and Swiftboat awards for smear over reality.
It is shameful as a substitute for journalism.
Rev. Donald R. Caughey, Corvallis
Jeanne Raymond is ready to serve on council Ward 7
As a resident of Ward 7, I support my friend Jeanne Raymond for City Council because of her positive attitude and her dedication to open, representative government.
When I was told that she had decided to run, I asked her if she truly wanted to devote much of her time to the business of the city.
She would have to not only look out for the concerns that her constituents no doubt would bring to her, but also listen to requests of other constituents who all deserve to be heard at city meetings, and she would have to read quite lengthy, tedious legal documents necessary for assuring that city business goes as the citizens believe it should.
She assured me that for several months she'd been attending council meetings and reading documents the council was considering, and she found them fascinating.
She said she is enthusiastic about serving Corvallis.
Her education and community involvement have prepared her for this task, but what is most important to me is that she is dedicated to running a positive campaign and setting an example, with our council members, of representative government at its best.
Roberta Hall, Corvallis
Rich Schroff offers council Ward 7 strong leadership
I invite you to join me in voting for Rick Schroff for City Council, Ward 7.
Over the years, our neighborhood and community have been well-represented on the Council.
Rick's integrity and approachability helps ensure that he will maintain this tradition of strong leadership once elected.
Rick has an impressive record of service and volunteerism in Corvallis. He is active in church, school and community affairs. His focus is squarely on the betterment of the community.
As a businessman, Rick offers family- wage jobs that support the local economy. As a father and family member, Rick affirms the importance of community and relationships.
These are among the qualities that will contribute to his success as a member of our City Council.
Please join me in voting for Rick Schroff for City Council.
Steve Kunke, Corvallis
Obama has a good plan to improve public education
We want to help bring change to Corvallis and to America, so we formed Corvallis Teachers for Obama.
As well-educated young individuals who teach and care deeply for our future, we support Barack Obama.
Our group, headed up by John Ulrich and Jon Opfer, wants to help bring change.
We are both fourth-grade teachers who witness first-hand what children can do when they have hope and something to believe in.
Barack Obama does this for America. Obama's "Step Up" plan addresses the achievement gap by supporting summer learning opportunities for disadvantaged children through partnerships between local schools and community organizations, which is a prime example of his desire to help our youth.
This among many other educational plans proves how Obama is ready to help teachers help their students to reach their full potential, and beyond.
We have confidence in Barack Obama, and we are fired up, ready to go!
Jonathan Opfer and John Ulrich, Corvallis