Lifeguards not always enough protection
To the Editor:
I want to encourage parents to watch their children while at the public pool.
Why? Because even though there are paid, trained lifeguards, our children are still at risk.
My family and I went to a free swim last Thursday. When we were ready to leave, my daughter picked up her sleeping infant son. My oldest son then informed us that our three-year-old was approaching the deep pool. I turned to see her jump in. Immediately I began running. I could hear my daughter screaming, "Grab her, grab her!" Forever in my mind is the look of terror on the child's face under the water with her eyes open wide. Only her little hands came in and out of the water four times. I jumped in, grabbed her out of the water, and my daughter wrapped her arms around her. I looked over to the lifeguard, who was about 10 feet away. He was oblivious to my running, jumping into the pool, and coming out in a soaking wet sweatshirt. When I asked who was responsible for watching that area, he said he didn't know.
Parents, it is our responsibility to watch our own children. But the minute a child drops into the water and there are certified lifeguards, I expected them to be ready, willing, and able to be of help. That did not happen.
In fact, not even 10 minutes later another child was rescued from the water, but not by a lifeguard.
We received no apology or acknowledgement of error. My point is, just because there are lifeguards at our public pool, don't expect that your children are any safer.
Marsha Boardman
Goldendale
Hemp could mean energy independence
To the Editor:
With the Energy Exposition this weekend, you might wonder what we can do as citizens to really take action that will produce favorable results and end our dependence on petroleum products. We send over $700 billion to countries for their oil each year, and fund wars for billions more to secure the flow of foreign oil to America. What can we do to fight this monopoly that threatens us with social and economic chaos because we depend on them? We must become independent of them.
House resolution 1866, The Industrial Hemp Farming act of 2009 sponsored by Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, could be the step we need to take as a nation to create the type of bio-mass energy that comes from a renewable, agricultural source. This act would amend the controlled substances act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana, and thus make it legal to grow hemp for fuel, fiber, food and the myriad of products that can be created with this multi-purpose crop
Everything made from petroleum, including fuel and plastics, can be made from hemp. Insulation, fiber board, lubrication, paints, inks, diesel fuel; the list is long.
With over 30 other nations growing industrial hemp today, and the U.S representing the largest consumer and industrial market for hemp raw materials and products, we are poised to take advantage of an unprecedented opportunity. Americans are becoming aware of the significant possibilities and benefits that hemp presents.
Contact Rep. Doc Hastings and all your elected reps and tell them to vote yes on 1866 and make American farmers the people we look to for some of our future energy needs. There will be a petition you can sign at the energy exposition.
Ken McKune
Goldendale
Thanks for ABATE support
To the Editor:
I would like to thank the Goldendale community for the show of support for the Spring A.B.A.T.E. motorcycle rally. My husband and I have been going to these rallies since 1998. We are local business owners here in Goldendale, and the amount of business the motorcyclists brought in to our community in three days was wonderful. Many bikers came from six hours away to attend, and they were very impressed with the beauty of our area, the great rides they were able to take, and the friendly people in the community. I'm sure they will visit us again and spend their hard-earned dollars in our local businesses.
Our fairgrounds are beautiful and the employees do an amazing job keeping it that way; they should be commended. We are hoping that the community will support another rally next year for the Washington State A.B.A.T.E. The security hired for the rally did a wonderful job and there were no incidents at the rally that we are aware of. They are hired for these rallies every year and are trained to handle situations; some are retired law enforcement and some are current law enforcement doing a side job. Hopefully the local law enforcement will not feel such a need to be all over the fairgrounds next year and just patrol the city and county as usual. Bikers are some of the friendliest people my husband and I have come across. I hope they left the same impression on our community. Thank you, county commissioners, our sheriff, and city police for taking a chance on us.
Denise Ross
Goldendale
E-Verify critical for U.S. job security
To the Editor:
Thank you, Sentinel, for addressing what elected officials are petrified to address: border enforcement and identity theft. Citizens are now signing I-1043 [a ballot for which was a paid insertion in last week's newspaper] to correct just those items.
I've phoned Representative Bruce Chandler's office to better understand why he so criticized E-Verify. That was June 12. I still look forward to his return phone call and email. I can only speculate that he disregards the true motivation behind President Obama's "delay" of E-Verify, which is for reasons of pure political and racial patronage.
Here is what leading Congressional Republicans wrote last week to Obama:
"We oppose the administration's decision to delay, for a third time, the requirement that federal contractors use E-Verify to confirm that new hires are eligible to work in the United States legally.
"E-Verify [is] a free Internet-based system that allows enrolled employers to confirm the legal status of new hires within seconds. Over 122,000 U.S. employers currently use the E-Verify system, many voluntarily, with approximately 1,000 new employers signing up each week.
"The E-Verify program is reliable, easy to use and, most importantly, expedient."
Because of these truths, citizens of our state are now placing their signatures upon the I-1043 petition which accompanied last week's Sentinel. All are asked to mail their filled petition by this weekend.
Craig Keller
University Place
|
