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Monday, February 08, 2010 | 4 comment(s) Spirit of giving appreciated

Although our desire to work in Haiti with Heartline Ministries has not come to fruition, we would like to extend our sincerest thanks to the following people and organizations: Dean Andrejczak for making and distributing fliers; Lynnelle and Dino Kumelehne for prayers, emotional support and precious mosquito netting; Rita Riggle and Bob Vann for offering to watch over our sons; Sheila Minkler and Umpqua Bank for a donation account; Seabird Chapel  for much needed prayers and emotional support; Joyce and Walter Solomon for volunteering funds with 12 hour’s notice; Phil and Trish at Bandon True Value for donations and prayer; Ben and Pacific Sleep Lab for battery run equipment; and Van and Coos Bay Marine for the solar battery charger.

And to the many people who lifted us up in prayer and were prepared to make donations. We thank you for your spirit of giving.

Rick and Dianne Frank

Bandon

Sad to lose great coaches There have been many letters written to the Bandon Western World newspaper lately regarding the situation involving Matt Angove but no letter has had more impact than the editorial written by the editor, Amy Moss Strong in the Jan. 28 issue. Ms. Strong made some very interesting observations with regard to how the school board could have handled the Angove situation. She is absolutely right when she said “If the board and administration want a different breed, they should help, rather than throw out, coaches who have, overall, benefited hundreds of young players.”

This is exactly what happened when Bandon High School lost the best football coach we have ever had. Motts Thomas had more experience and talent than this school has seen in a very long time and the kids and parents loved and respected him. Everyone probably thinks he quit because of personal reasons or because we didn’t have the best football season ever. Such is not the case.  Motts quit because he was asked to sign a “letter of reprimand” over a minute infraction of the school rules. He (understandably) refused to sign this letter. And rather than make an issue of it he simply quit. In his entire career he has never been asked to sign such a letter — only here in Bandon.

This man came to us and offered his services and we were grateful to have him. He did things for the school and the players no coach has ever done before. I hope you will take the time to Google Pomona College and enter “Motts Thomas” in the faculty search. It may surprise you at how lucky this little town was to have this amazing man on our school staff. But because of the “powers that be” we don’t have him anymore.

Make no mistake, we will be just as supportive of Silia Polamalu if he gets the position as our new coach. He is well qualified and also well liked by the players. Let’s just hope the school board thinks so too.

Jeanette and Les Funk

Bandon Can’t buy my vote

I don’t know how other folks feel about it, but I am outraged by the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn decades of established precedent and now allow unlimited contributions (favoring corporations) aimed at pressuring voter opinion regarding an issue or candidate. This is seen (and has been demonstrated) by political pros as handing the winning votes over to the guys shelling out the most moolah. Historically, such heavy-handed monetary pressure has pressured public opinion. But not so with me! My vote is not for sale. I resent any implication it is! Or that I am incapable of making up my own mind independently about an issue or office-seeker.

Then, too, conservatives have long belly-ached about possible so-called political activism by high courts, when this is exactly what the conservatively weighted U.S. Supreme Court has done: Engage in political activism.

Surely we get bombarded with TV, newspaper and radio ads and mailings of all stripe and opinion. But when we step into the polling booth, each of us controls our own decisions in marking our ballots — and the corporations and other fat-cats have no say-so as to why and/or how we vote. Thus, I’m really ticked-off by those who maintain humongous amounts of money-pressure and who can - and do - bludgeon us into voting a certain way or for a specific candidate of their choice.

Neither millions of dollars nor judicial activism should control a voter. And those who favor a monetary approach to citizenship and individual choice should be challenged and repudiated.

Bob Dorsett

Bandon

Who do they represent?

The Bandon City Council recently unanimously voted to put a property tax increase proposal on the ballot. In fact, they did so at the council meeting immediately following a defeat of the same proposal by a general ballot of the citizens. So who does the council of seven represent? They don’t seem to represent the majority of citizens who voted against the proposal. Not even one out of seven listened to their voters. I’m sure they know better than me what is good for me. The mayor is pushing to better educate me as to why I need to pay more property taxes. Apparently there is an annual shortfall of about $220,000 to pay for our police. But is there really a shortfall?

The council of seven is currently unanimously approving a non-essential expenditure of $250,000 to put some electricity lines underground in Old Town. The town manager says they have the money in their budget. Huh? How is that? So, they could really balance the budget if they wanted to? And they just want to raise property taxes to have more money to spend? Seriously, how could they unanimously vote to spend $250,000 on a non-essential project if they don’t have the money?

Remember the $30,000 Welcome to Bandon sign at the south end of town? Remember the gazebo plotted so only the city employees could effectively use it? Do you know how much it cost to renovate The Barn, and how much it loses on a monthly basis? Anybody can spend all their money. That’s not so hard to do. Especially if the town lets them do it.

I can’t afford more property taxes. And I don’t like it when they tell me they’re broke and then tell me they have an extra $250,000 ready to spend. Higher property taxes correlates to lower property values. And my property values are already low enough, thank you very much. But I don’t think they care how I feel. Maybe it’s a power thing. I don’t know. But I do know that they don’t represent me. When 100 percent of them voted to push the same proposal that over 50 percent had just voted against, it begs the question: Who do they represent? It sort of feels like a mini federal government has moved into Bandon City Hall.

Eddie Bodine

Bandon

(Editor’s note: The money for the electric undergrounding project planned near the old Coast Guard Building in Old Town will come from Urban Renewal funds, which can only be used for capital improvement projects, not ongoing city operations, such as running the police department. The Barn renovation also utilized Urban Renewal funds and the Welcome to Bandon sign was paid for with money from the city’s Beautification Fund, which also is a dedicated fund. Urban Renewal funds are obtained from taxes.)

Animal cruelty not tolerated

Kudos to Oregon for being ranked one of the five states with the strongest laws against cruelty to animals by the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

Treating cruelty to animals seriously doesn't only protect animals — it makes the entire community safer. Animal abusers are cowards who take their issues out on “easy victims”— which often includes their fellow humans. The FBI has found that a history of cruelty to animals regularly appears in its records of serial rapists and murderers. Psychiatrists, too, know that cruelty to animals is a red flag; the standard diagnostic and treatment manual for conduct disorders lists cruelty to animals as a diagnostic criterion.

As Dr. Albert Schweitzer said, “Anyone who has accustomed himself to regard the life of any living creature as worthless is in danger of arriving also at the idea of worthless human lives.” Protecting animals protects us all. To learn more, visit www.HelpingAnimals.com.

Martin Mersereau

director, Emergency Response Team

Cruelty Investigations Department

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

Norfolk, Va.