Letters to the Editor: 04/18/2008

April 19, 2008 04:00 am

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Save Our Shores!

We have terrorist agents landing on our beaches, spreading weapons-grade biotoxins and killing wildlife in the Grand Traverse area. The carcasses of rotting waterfowl and their maggots were all over the beaches last fall. Just a few maggots full of botulism toxin will kill animals that eat them.

What can you do? Well, don't bother calling the International Joint Commission, which was founded to manage large Canadian and U.S. protection programs in the Great Lakes; they have failed to prevent the problem.

Even the Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes Program Office is only partly funded and can only muster minimal help for local efforts. They are strapped for funds because Congress is preoccupied with funding efforts to deal with insurgents in foreign lands. Meanwhile, invasive fish and bacteria are killing our waterfowl and polluting our beaches.

We need to secure the beachhead right here in the Grand Traverse area, and stop the spread of botulism. Contact your Congressman and tell them that invasive species are harming our economy. Save your shores now, or lose them to a few nuisance species.

The purpose of government is to protect its citizens. A citizen's duty is to make sure they do.

Ross Powers
Boon

Not so rich after all

So the states involved in the Mega Millions lottery game recently gave away $270 million. Did they?

The people who won took a cash payout of $140 million. Mega Millions kept $130 million. Now the winner has to pay tax on the $140 million. That's about $42 million. Now they have $98 million.

So Mega Millions did not pay out $270 million. It paid $98 million and kept $172 million. This is not surprising. The government giveth a little and the government taketh back a lot.

But wait. All the money goes to the schools. Yeah, right.

John Kline Jr.
Rapid City

Sharing the roadway

With gas prices expected to continue to increase, I am looking forward to the transition from driving my 20-mpg car to riding my motorcycle, which gets 50 mpg. As I start my 43rd year of riding, I am also very aware of managing the risk of operating a motorcycle on the public roadways.

As a member of a new organization (SMARTER -- Skilled Motorcyclist Association -- www.smarter-usa.org), I know that I have a responsibility to help reduce the risk associated with my riding, so I choose to wear full coverage riding gear, including a Department of Transportation/Snell approved helmet.

I also appreciate Gov. Granholm's continued politically courageous support of mandatory helmet use in Michigan.

However, my safety and the safety of other motorcyclists also depends on motorists paying special attention to the presence of motorcycles on the roadway.

Since motorcycles are smaller and because many motorists are not in the habit of actively visually searching for motorcycles, many injuries are caused when a vehicle collides with an oncoming motorcycle.

I appreciate your consideration as we share the roadway this summer.

Dean W. Ginther
Rapid City