Letters to the editor Feb. 19

Freeway art money could be better spent

What's wrong with this picture? Nice pictures of the freeway art and mine structure in the Nevada Appeal. Nice, but $2.2 million taxpayer dollars? Has anybody told those folks out there in Bureau-Space that Nevada and the U.S.A. are in dire financial straits?

It just seems that we could spend our money on something a little less frivolous, like, oh, I don't know - maybe police protection, education, human services?

This is the kind of stuff that drives the great American taxpayer crazy. But, then, it's only two million - not like it's real money or anything. And, $1.7 comes from the feds, so that's free, right? And, I guess it keeps some artists employed. Silly me.

Jim Shelly

Dayton

Buy puppies from responsible breeders

As a person who has owned, bred, shown and loved dogs for over 50 years, I grieve for the mistreated animals on TV. The ads don't explain the cause. These animals are the victims of owners who are uneducated in the care of dogs, or people using dogs for profit.

There are two kinds of uneducated dog owners. One kind does not realize their females will become pregnant unless the owner prevents it. Unwanted puppies are usually given away, killed or sent to the dog pound. Another kind of owner is the backyard breeder. They are owners of purebred females, which they breed to any purebred dog. If she is bred to a dog of the same breed, they are purebred, but if the male is a different breed, the puppies are called designer dogs. The owners do not care who gets their puppies.

Wholesalers produce hundreds of puppies, which are sold to pet store retailers. Neither cares who buys the puppies. Many people who purchase these puppies repeat the cycle.

Responsible breeders will only sell puppies to people who meet their standards. They remain available to the new owner for help and to educate them.

Responsible breeders stop the cycle of irresponsible breeding.

Nancy Gammie

Carson City

Roop road work could doom businesses

I am writing to voice my concern on behalf of the small businesses that are on the small streets around the Roop Street area closure work. I understand the need to repair Roop and I understand that these needed repairs mean that the road must be closed.

What I don't understand is why it must take a year to do this. This will greatly hurt the small businesses in the surrounding area such as Distinct Ink and Jan's Tropics and Elegant Pooch to name a few. These businesses are back off of Roop on streets like Corbett which are hard enough to find even by using Roop Street. If that portion of Roop Street is closed for a year, these businesses may end up having to close due to lack of business.

I think that something must be done making the closure as short as possible. In today's troubled economy, nobody needs the added stress that road repairs could lead to losing one's business and livelihood.

Don't let the small business owners fall victim to slow road repair times.

Marie Wagner

Dayton

Let's legalize pot, allow public smoking

Democrats are all about raising taxes and bigger government and Republicans are all about tax cuts, program cuts and less government. In the case of Nevada's economic problems, I think we need to do a little of both, coupled with a little innovative thinking and a whole lot of non-bigoted lawmaking.

Nevada is having an economic crisis because we are trying too hard to emulate California, when we should be turning back the clock and once again adhering to the freedom-loving policies that used to make Nevada so popular.

We need to rescind tobacco laws that restrict smoking in restaurants. Telling hundreds of millions of potential smokers from around the world that we no longer wish to cater to them is not a bright idea.

We need to take the initiative and be the first state to legalize and tax marijuana. This act alone would be enough to put Nevada back in the black within just six months. It would act as the deciding factor for tens of millions of people from around the world to choose Nevada as their vacation destination spot.

Then let's top it off with a state lotto.

The $50 tax on marijuana could be used to keep marijuana and illegal drugs out of our schools, to fight the war on hard drugs and gang activity, to hire more police and fire and to help our state with its budget.

James Parker

Carson City