Sept. 25, 2024, R-C Letters to the Editor

Candy Dance and pets

Editor:

Dear Mom or Dad, 

I know you love me and want to be with me all the time, and I love you for that. But please don’t take me to Candy Dance.

There are thousands and thousands of people that it gets scary and confusing, the streets get way too hot for my tender paws, and all those smells and sights are overwhelming for my senses. Also, I want to eat all that food that gets dropped on the ground, but it will make me sick later. It’s only for a few hours and I will be so much happier at home in my own bed (or yours).

If you really love your pets, please leave them home so you can enjoy Candy Dance without worrying about any issues with your pets.

Becky Rasell

Candy Dance Volunteer

Uplifting letter

Editor:

The letter from writer John M. Tsoutsouvas was uplifting and provided a window into joy in these often uncertain times. Gratitude. Humility. Thankfulness. It is reminder that people still care. Mr. Tsoutsouvas Letter to the Editor causes a pause in time to help us realize how lucky we are to live in such a caring Valley. 

Mr. Tsoutsouvas - recognizing specific individuals - cited the “outstanding service” given him by the VA Clinic in Gardnerville, and remarked humbly about the rapidity in which he received his tests at Carson Valley Health Imaging Department. He was extremely appreciative for a quick turnover of a serious diagnosis and expressed this in his well-written letter.

 Going through Community Care, Mr. Tsoutsouvas received compassionate attention. He was guided along the way to optimize his healing process with the diligence and expertise of Vascular Surgeon Kevin Halow and Carson Valley Hospital. It was a dedicated team-effort from the VA Clinic to all the people involved. They diligently worked together for the ultimate success granting Mr. Tsoutsouvas the best outlook for a continued life well-lived. He is an individual who served our country and continues to give back to others in our beautiful Carson Valley.

Thank you John M. Tsoutsouvas for expressing your appreciation. Thank you, also, for reminding us that we are surrounded by goodness and kindness in our Carson Valley. We need to pass this expression of thankfulness to others who help us “along the way.” People need to feel valued.

Robin L. Sarantos

Minden

Library friends host gala

Editor:

The Friends of the Douglas County Library, in partnership with the Douglas County Public Library staff and Library Board of Trustees, are planning the second Annual Library Gala on Oct. 5 to benefit the Douglas County Public Library. We are excited to welcome back Lake Tahoe magician, Robert Hall, for an encore evening of amazing magic and comedy. We are grateful to the many individuals and businesses that have already supported the Gala with generous donations of cash and items for the live and silent auctions. The funds raised will be used to create an outdoor seating area at the Zephyr Cove Library, expand the ReadingPaws literacy program, and expand the library’s “Book Club in a Bag” collection for check-out by community book groups. The Gala will be held in the Valley Ballroom at the Carson Valley Inn. We invite the community to support the Douglas County Public Library by attending the Gala. Tickets are $75 (buffet dinner included) and must be purchased in advance, online at library.douglascountynv.gov or in person at the Minden or Zephyr Cove Library. We hope to see you on Oct. 5.

Barb Wilson, President

Friends of the Douglas County Library 

Minden

Enough Is enough

Editor:

 I’m ashamed of every Douglas County Trustee and especially of the new Superintendent for not standing up for one female student, daughter, mom, wife. What was said by David Seat at the Aug. 13 meeting was without a doubt the lowest this board has ever let someone spew such disgusting language. Please listen to the meeting on Youtube at about 2hr. 59 min 31 seconds into the meeting. Seat implied that women can’t get ahead to the top of their fields with their God given brains and hard work without sleeping their way to the top. This board has sunk lower than I ever thought possible. The spotlight has been on Douglas County Schools in the worst possible way for the past 20 months. And yet it continues. Past President Susan Jansen has used unbecoming language, Trustee Englekirk has said that LGBTQ students have “mental disabilities “and has stated several times that he’s too busy with work to attend school activities. Then why Doug are you running for another term against Erin Miller District 3? Erin does have kids in Douglas County Schools, is actively involved with parents organizations and booster clubs. In other words she does have the time to put into children’s lives and will fight for all children, parents and teachers. I’d say that’s the Polar Opposite of you Trustee Englekirk. Melinda Gneiting is also running in District 5 as a mom with kids in Douglas County Schools. Has qualifications to represent all students and teachers, has an associate’s degree in communications disorders. Is anyone else sick of the month after month name calling, money being flushed down the toilet to Joey Gilbert’s Law Firm? It’s rich when Trustee Burns permits David Seat to say he’d rather vote for a “34 time convicted felon for President.” That’s not political, that’s not a disruptive comment? Your hypocrisy Trustee Burns speaks volumes. We do Deserve a Better Board for every student, teacher and parent and grandparent. 

Leslie Hokenson

Minden 

Voting for Trotter

Editor:

It is rare in an election for both candidates to have a strong moral compass that has guided their performance in their professional discipline. Yet in the race for Douglas County East Fork Township Justice of the Peace office, that holds true for both Laurie Trotter and Jeff Schemenauer. We must, then, determine whose education and experience has best prepared them for the job. Herein, I submit to you five criteria that enable us to compare and contrast the skills and experience required to perform the tasks as a Justice of the Peace.

Legal acumen in judicial proceedings is essential. Jeff has demonstrated exceptional skills in law enforcement and been recognized by his peers as a leader in the Sheriff’s department. However, he has never been required to interpret the law and make judgments in the disposition of a case. In sharp contrast, Laurie has demonstrated years of stellar performance in the judicial-proceedings domain. Why has she been able to do this?

Laurie graduated from Gonzaga University School of Law Magna Cum Laude and passed the Nevada bar exam on her first attempt in 2003, a feat not often accomplished by a young attorney. This milestone elevates the attorney’s stature and respect in the judicial community, salient factors in proceedings with prosecuting and defense attorneys. Jeff has studied law, but has not passed the bar exam. Jeff has demonstrated facts of the law pertinent to law enforcement, but he has no experience in the judicial-proceedings domain. 

Third, having an understanding of and appreciation for the process involved in seeking justice is foundational for the best outcome for both defendants and plaintiffs, whether it be a civil or criminal matter. Jeff’s entire experience has been in law enforcement. Laurie, in contrast, has several years of valuable experience as a defense attorney in addition to holding positions such as Deputy District Attorney in Douglas County, where she acted on behalf of the prosecution. 

Another quality that makes a good judge is a person’s ability to inspire trust in those around them. In politics, trust becomes visible when people who know the candidate well or have observed the candidate’s ability to get good results step up and add their names to the list of supporters who want that person to win. By this measure, Laurie is exceptional. Many fellow attorneys from both the prosecution side and the defense side have endorsed her, as well as the Douglas County Sheriff’s Protective Association.

Last, but not least, someone with the authority of a judge needs to be the kind of person who takes note of details and cares about protecting everyone’s rights. Sometimes the courts can be remiss in this regard concerning victims. Making sure victims are heard and not ignored is one of Laurie’s top priorities stated in her platform. 

Weighing the factors leads to the conclusion that Laurie Trotter is the better of the two candidates. A vote for Laurie Trotter will put the right person in the judge’s seat.

DeVere Henderson

Gardnerville

Vote based on policy

Editor:

I sincerely hope not a single person in this country does or does not vote for a candidate based on gender, race, age, personality, or the endorsement of wealthy movers and shakers or entertainers whose lives are exponentially different than the average American.  There is policy history out there.  Every voter needs to consider each candidate’s policies and whether they were good for the country and its people or not as good.  Are you better off than you were four years ago?  Is our country better off than it was four years ago?  Is the world better off than it was four years ago?   As other letters to the editor have stated, the choice could not be more clear.

Ann Schleich

Gardnerville

Some more than others

Editor:

In our tragically polarized country, I think we can, at least, all still agree on one unchanging and fundamental truth: All politicians lie.

But it must also be acknowledged that some politicians lie more than others. Until recently, I thought that Trump bore false witness far more routinely than any other politician I have known. But the last month or so has totally changed my opinion about that.

Lying is a strategy. Liars lie when they believe lying will give them an advantage. But, as we all clearly saw in the debate, Trump’s misstatements are often the very opposite of strategic. For example, making silly, unbelievable stuff up about his crowd sizes when the question asked was about immigration was astonishingly foolish. It distracted from his message and made him look weak and flustered. 

These episodes of fantastical thinking are unplanned and apparently unavoidable. Rather than a strategy, they seem to be more about protecting his fragile pride from facts that are difficult for him to face, like his advancing age, diminishing crowd sizes and increasing incoherence.

It is not a lie if you believe it when you say it. Thus, these obvious falsehoods are not lies. They are delusions, the passing hallucinations of a senile has-been.

Timothy Goldsmith

Minden

Don’t cannonize Harris

Editor:

I am responding to a Sept. 11 letter from Irene Rice in Gardnerville, who took the usual liberal tack of denigrating former President Trump, and miraculously canonizing Kamala Harris as the coming savior of our nation.  

This after only a few weeks prior, Harris was viewed as the worst vice president in history.  She was so unpopular, that she was forced to drop out of the 2020 presidential race after the first debate. 

Ms. Rice is trying to portray Harris as the “second coming,” even though Harris has refused to reveal anything about her plans for America, or offer so much as one press conference to explain what her agenda will be.  Harris has backtracked on virtually every ultra left policy she believes in, in order to garner votes from more conservative voters.  It has always been a fact, that a “tiger doesn’t change it’s stripes,” and Kamala has not, (and will not) change the socialist views she has held her entire career.  

Ms. Rice has the gall to state that “Trump has shown that he doesn’t want to solve issues at the southern border,” among many other untruths in her letter. I guess she thinks the southern wall was “miracled in place.”  She has a short memory, because she forgot to mention that the Biden-Harris Administration stopped the building of the wall, and the Border responsibility fell to Harris, who was the “Border Czar.” A job of which she failed miserably, and never actually even attempted to solve, let alone visit the border, to assess and attempt to solve the massive daily illegal migration assault into our country. 

There was a Clint Eastwood movie years ago, and one of the famous lines in the “Outlaw Josie Wales,” applies directly to your letter: “Don’t piss down my back and tell me it’s raining!”  So Ms. Rice, don’t try to sell us a bill of goods about how bad Trump is, and how wonderful Harris is. “It ain’t raining!” 

D.A. Darrough

Minden

Distrust in science is costing the U.S.

Editor:

The headline of a Sept. 19 CNN article reads: “The US Led in Nuclear Fusion for Decades. Now China is in a Position to Win the Race.” Dramatic photos and examples of new Chinese facilities contrast with aging US facilities. China has used US developed

technology dating from the successful harnessing of fusion energy to develop the hydrogen bomb in the 1950’s. Fusion releases four times more energy than fission which powers the atomic bomb and nuclear reactors. The challenge is to develop a process whereby energy release from fusion can be controlled. China now pumps more money into development of this technology than the US., a technology that could make a huge contribution to global energy resources while simultaneously decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.

Several years ago (2019), I took an online class on climate change offered by Tsinghua University which was translated, edited and offered through EdX. Although really comprehensive and rather boring, it was apparent that the Chinese scientific community and the government take climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse emissions seriously. Private investment in both the US and China fund fusion research not just for its potential climate impact but because it can fundamentally change how economies are powered. This is only one example of how China is systematically growing its technology base and its universities.

Contrast this approach to what is happening in the US where there is increasing distrust of science. Finding reliable sources of information is becoming increasingly difficult as respected sources are criticized and true breakthroughs, like the mRNA vaccines, are called into question and even weaponized. There is a reason that for the first time in its history the respected magazine, Scientific American has just endorsed a candidate for president, VP Harris. The Republican candidate calls this great nation a third world country — hardly true but indicative of his respect for achievements in certain areas.

We have great scientific institutions and governmental departments such as the NIH, NSF, FDA and NASA, but they need to be supported and not controlled or destroyed by forces that really have no concept of how science progresses and how breakthroughs can be intelligently incorporated into elevating the human condition. “We can’t go back”, a rallying cry for the Democrats, provides hope that our scientific institutions will be respected and supported rather than degraded and eliminated. Our strength as a nation in science and technology is directly related to our strength as a nation.

Barbara Kuehner

Gardnerville

Harris is no socialist

Editor:

Vice President Harris attracts criticism, but that comes with the territory. However, misleading and inaccurate claims need to be challenged. Her opponent’s supporters curiously often level one inaccurate criticism in particular calling Harris a socialist. Her opponent goes so far as to pejoratively call her “comrade Kamala”.

Trump likes to encourage the notion that she is a socialist saying, “she is more so than Bernie Sanders.” Bernie would disagree.

Harris has said “I believe in capitalism, but capitalism is not working for all people” and insists that more needs to be done to support working families. 

Trump recently accused her of wanting to implement “socialist price controls” that would cause rationing and hunger. Not true!

Harris wants to prevent companies from price gouging—targeting food suppliers and big grocery chains who have seen production costs level off but have kept prices high, and only if federal or state authorities investigate and determine that they have violated certain rules.

We all know there is a big difference between fair pricing and excessive prices unrelated to the costs of doing business. It’s simply consumer protection

Economic experts say Trump’s sales tax on all imported everyday goods that families rely on, like gas, food, clothing, and medicine would ignite inflation and cause a recession.

The Biden/Harris team have not gotten the economic credit it deserves. The U.S. economy has made a great recovery from the pandemic. Wages are up, unemployment is down, the stock market is up, retail sales are up, inflation is going down, and small business applications were at a record high since Biden and Harris took office.

But this is Harris’s campaign now and she doesn’t aspire to dismantle capitalism by a long shot. In a recent interview billionaire businessman Mark Cuban said, “Kamala Harris is pro-business”. This is backed up by the support Harris has gained of some prominent Wall Street figures. Don’t be fooled, learn more about her policy plans.

Elizabeth Valdes

Minden