Letters to the editor -- May 14

Your views

The Olympian • Published May 14, 2008

Get to root causes of homelessness

I agree with letter writer Virginia McConnell's comments about tent cities not being the answer to homelessness.

She challenges the government to look at the reasons for homelessness and come up with innovative ideas to eliminate it. I would like to take that a step further and challenge the rest of us to be a part of the solution.

The fact that there are almost 700 identified homeless children in Thurston County is of grave concern to this great-grandmother.

Homeless Backpacks and other groups in the community who offer assistance to these children as well as the adult homeless population are to be applauded. However, that assistance does not address the root cause of the problem, and that is where the rest of us need to come together to work with these groups and governmental agencies to seek solutions.

Naomi Baresel, Olympia

Cast your vote for right gubernatorial candidate

Come November, we can choose a governor who will not kowtow to the leaders of the state employees' unions. We can choose someone who will make public safety a priority. We can choose someone who will be a counterweight to an out-of-control Legislature. We can choose someone who will not spend us into oblivion.

We can choose Dino Rossi.

Dennis Anderson, Lacey

Levy failure isn't the end of the world

My two kids were in the North Thurston school district in the 1990s when it had a levy fail.

I was one of the many who voted against it. You know what? It wasn't the end of the world.

School went on, kids still learned, still had band, still had sports etc.

It was reported that North Thurston Public Schools district spent $15,000 for a survey of 200 households after the last levy vote. Now they are spending money on a second levy request.

Maybe they should be saving this money for the children.

Kevin Turner, Olympia

'Yes' vote is an act of patriotism

All of us have been hearing concerns of what U.S. citizens can do to keep our country strong.