Letters to the editor

Officer can't ask ifgun might be loaded

This is a very sad time for both the family of the deceased man and the deputy in Fernley. No one wants to see a sheriff's deputy shoot and kill another person, but the fact of the matter is this ... The deputy on scene has a job that requires him to wear a bulletproof vest and carry a gun.

This is not for looks, nor is it a macho egotistical thing. He has to wear the vest in case he gets shot at, which is very possible in that line of work. He carries a gun to protect the citizens in his beat as well as himself. A gun was pointed at him and he dealt with it accordingly.

The fact that the gun was allegedly unloaded makes no difference. The deputy cannot call a timeout when encountered with a gun and ask the person, "Excuse me, sir or ma'am, is that gun loaded?" Nor can he ask, "Do you have the intentions of shooting me?"

He has to act very fast so that his life can be spared. If someone points a gun at a cop he must assume that the gun is loaded and the person intends to shoot him. I feel for the deputy and hope he is doing OK, I'm sure that he is not proud of what he had to do but unfortunately that is a part of the job.

Keep in mind that the reason law enforcement was called to the residence in the first place was because a man was pointing a gun at a child. I applaud the work of policemen and deputies as they go to work knowing full well that this may be their last day on earth.

Ray Spicoli

Carson City

Nevada needs to warn about sex offenders

Yesterday I was sent an e-mail from a friend regarding a very interesting site. The site, which was endorsed by John Walsh, said that if you typed in your address and zip code you could find out the names and addresses and a picture of the registered sex offenders living in your area.

I put in my address and to my surprise a page came up stated that Nevada was one of the four states who does not publicly provide this information. I could not believe it! This is very vital information that we all need to protect our children. I am going to contact my congressman and found out why this is the policy of this state. I urge anyone who is interested in changing this policy to do the same. We have all been put into the position of fighting an all out war against those who have chosen to hurt our children and loved ones.

Lillian Galloway

Carson City

Roundabouts will work if they're done right

Regarding the cover page article on a roundabout in the Record-Courier. Yes, if the roundabout were built correctly it would be great - however, the evidence of the existing improperly built roundabouts in Carson City indicates that the Nevada Department of Transportation needs to get someone to design it who knows what they are doing.

The roundabout in Washington, D.C., and those in Europe are wide enough to handle traffic without confusion, the 18-wheelers and hay wagons can traverse without running over a student, senior citizen or over another vehicle.

Design the roundabout correctly! If NDOT cannot do this, then spend the money for signals or leave as is.

Mary Jane Harding

Gardnerville

VA's accounting woes are harming veterans

A Government Accounting Office (GAO) issued a report on Feb. 1 that found the Veterans Administration was unable to provide any support for estimates in the president's past budget requests and that VA lacked a methodology for even making the savings assumptions. A direct result of this potential deception is that veterans and our returning troops will find decreased access to the VA health care system.

When GAO opened the VA accounting books on this audit, they found an empty ledger. This Enron-styled accounting hurts veterans an our troops.

When is this country going to have enough of the corruption in Washington?

This is only one of the reason's that veterans have called a march on Washington on March 24.

Dale Peters

Yerington