11/20/08 Letters to the Editor

Living on American soil

To the editor -- I recently heard a televised speech by Jerry Springer.

He recalled coming by ship to New York in 1949 as a child. His parents had escaped Germany, where other relatives had died in the Holocaust. As the ship passed the Statue of Liberty, the passengers became silent.

Later in life his mother told him of his curiosity as the ship passed and they viewed the Statue of Liberty. Jerry had asked, "What is it, Mom? Why is everyone so quiet?" His mother replied that it represented freedom, land of opportunity.

The American soil must have been a great sight for those Germans.

Jerry went on to say how other countries looked up to America, where people are free to live how they desire. Strangely, the American dream seems to be a way of the past. Even the middle class is feeling the pressures of the economic crisis.

Many can relate to his heartfelt story, but American soil has been overburdened. The land of opportunity can only survive when Americans hold strong to their beliefs on which this country was founded. It's a real shame that many don't appreciate living on American soil.

As the sayings go, often evil prevails, but the pure in heart reap plenty.

LORI LOPEZ

Yakima

WV needs sidewalks

To the editor -- It is nice to see the newly installed sidewalks on Tieton, but I live where children seem to have been forgotten.

Take a trip to the zone of constant fear! Drive to West Valley Middle School or West Valley Junior High any weekday morning/afternoon, turn right, drop off your child, then try to get out at Mead Avenue to go left or right at 72nd Avenue, while dodging cars, kids on scooters, daily walkers, city buses and bicycles, too. There are no clearly striped sidewalks or a traffic light on 72nd and Mead for approximately 1,600 students for two exits through a residential area. Next: Walk your child to or from Apple Valley School down 88th Avenue while fruit trucks and traffic roar by a 400-student population with no sidewalks!

In past years, West Valley area residents have been taken into the city of Yakima boundaries. Parents and constituents of the West Valley School District and Yakima Police Department have worked together to find a way to help traffic patterns and have a safe environment for children. Now is your turn, Yakima. Take the challenge Yakima City Council. The next wreck or death will be on your shoulders. Please help us.

HELEN HEADLEY FARINGER

Yakima

Aquatic center woes

To the editor -- I was reading the Sept. 23 Lewiston (Idaho) Tribune. There was an article about their aquatic center.

Councilor Larry Baumberger questioned where the liability would rest if their aquatic center went under. Commissioner Doug Malloon stated that the aquatic center is currently running a deficit of about $500,000 per year and there aren't any that are paying their own way.

We, the city of Yakima, can't come up with $100,000 to keep our pools open, so if we go ahead with an aquatic center here and it has the same problems as in Lewiston, where will the other $400,000-plus come from? The weather in Lewiston is warmer in the winter months than ours, so what will our deficit be per year?

I think the taxpayers of Yakima will have a bailout just like the one our Senate just passed. The only difference is that we don't have a printing press to print a few thousand dollars to take care of the aquatic center deficit the Yakima City Council is considering.

ROBERT M. BIEREN

Yakima

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