Log truck drivers are by no means 'crazy'

I would like to respond to the comment made by Paula House, "The log trucks are crazy. I've had so many close calls" in Friday's front-page article, "Cyclist killed in crash with logging truck."

Not all log truck drivers are crazy. I cannot deny her claim that she has had many close calls. But I do know that the majority of log truck drivers are NOT careless or reckless speed crazy drivers. Most of the men and women, if not all, who drive log trucks are fully aware of the power of a vehicle that size. They respect that power and drive accordingly.

I do know that Robert Phinney (the log truck driver) is a good person. I can only imagine the devastation that he is going through after such a tragic accident.

Cathy Gassner, Blodgett

Not only seniors rely on the Senior Center

I hope voters will carefully consider all the people in Corvallis whose lives will be better if we pass the city bond measure for park playgrounds and other improvements.

I'm the parent of a 9-year-old daughter with cerebral palsy. She loves to play with her two healthy sisters, but she's in a wheelchair and unable to play with them on any of the equipment when we visit a city park. It's very difficult to look into your child's eyes and see the tremendous disappointment there when she recognizes that she can't even get into the playground, much less play on the equipment.

Corvallis has many parks with playgrounds, but only one is accessible to children with disabilities.

Measure 02-65 will fund accessible tile surfacing for 11 park playgrounds throughout the city, and fully accessible play equipment in two of the most heavily used, Avery and Central Parks. That's why I'm supporting this measure.

Many cities in Oregon make sure all children have an opportunity to play.

Please help Corvallis stand up and be a proud part of that group, with your YES vote for Measure 02-65.

Dan Mattson, Corvallis

Keep editorializing off the news pages

What is with you guys? Lately there's been an awful lot of editorializing in the "news" pages.

The most recent example is "Obama campaigns while McCain works on bailout issue" on page A5 of the Sunday, Sept. 28. Seems like your head writer is bit partisan.

All John McCain did was go home and call in to see if his help was needed. The article itself says that Obama did the very same thing (without the going home part).

But for the better picture, you might want to read Frank Rich, "McCain's Suspension Bridge to Nowhere," in the Sept. 27 New York Times. To put it as politely as possible, financial matters are not Sen. McCain's strong point.

Kathleen Burt, Corvallis

A new low for political comment

I was going to comment that I thought that the campaign being run by Sen. Gordon Smith was by far the sleaziest campaign I've ever witnessed in my history here in Oregon. But then I read a letter to the editor in the Sunday Gazette-Times in which a writer Joe West states that Osama bin Laden would be pleased if Obama won the presidency, and I realized that one could in fact go lower on the sleaziness scale.

Douglas Walker, Corvallis

Corvallis Matters backs Beilstein

The board of Corvallis Matters endorses Mike Beilstein for the City Council seat from Ward 5.

Our endorsement is based on meetings with him and his opponent and on an examination of the record of both candidates.

Mike fully understands the relationships between global, national and local environmental and resource issues, and can be counted on to work for sustainability.

We do not want to imply that his opponent, Rob Gandara, does not understand these issues as well. We believe, however, that Mike will give much more weight to sustainability in his decisions and will be more inclined to look at the long term consequences of city decisions.

As a city councilor, Mike has consistently supported sustainability efforts, both the efforts to make city government operations more sustainable and the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition. He also has questioned whether sustainability programs go far enough, for example, reminding the Council that success so far in making city operations more sustainable is just the first step in dealing with huge problems facing us.

Both Mike and Rob are to be congratulated on their stands for social justice and diversity, but we believe Mike's greater commitment to sustainability makes him the better choice for City Council.

John W. Foster, Corvallis