Letters to the editor -- July 18

• Published July 18, 2008

Lacey needs to turndown the music

Summer, at last, and one of the pleasures of the season is music in the park. Living in Lacey, I attend their program each summer.

For some reason, the volume of the music at Huntamer Park is painfully loud. When little children cover their ears and my 94-year-old mom, who has dementia, complains about the volume, the decibel level is too high. I have hearing in just one ear, so I have the advantage of being able to turn away from the speakers, but I still put in an ear plug on occasion, to protect what hearing I do have.

Any band with horns can probably be heard just fine without amplification. They're the most painful to the ears.

Little children love to dance on the apron of the stage, right in front of the instruments. Their ears, and those of the little ones in the audience, are more sensitive to loud sound than are adult ears and can suffer permanent damage to their hearing.

Is there an audiologist or other hearing expert willing to work with the parks department on achieving healthy decibel levels at their musical events?

If you wonder why I don't take this to the city, well, I did. I also presented a bio and CD of a great local singer-songwriter, Holly Gwinn-Graham. She engages her audience and sings original songs we can all identify with. This is more memorable than a large group of brass players, especially to younger members of the audience.

Kathleen Rooney, Lacey

Michael Delavar willteam with Ron Paul

With our state and nation crying for change, we appear to still be supporting corporate candidates endorsed by the establishment. Rep. Brian Baird, D-Vancouver, is part of the establishment and it is time for him to go.

I was a delegate for Ron Paul at the state GOP convention and whether you like Paul or not, he stood for real change. Ron Paul has endorsed Republican Michael Delavar, who is running against Baird. Delavar, like Paul, is an honest man with integrity and he wishes to stand next to Paul voting against the occupation of Iraq as he pledges to uphold the Constitution.