Letters to the editor for Saturday, Aug. 1, 2015

Carson City doesn’t need to grow

There has been a lot of discussion lately about the need for Carson City to grow. Why? Currently the city has a population of approximately 54,522, according to the 2014 census. The people are very friendly and there are enough services, stores and small government to accommodate everyone it would seem and yet there is this move by some “connected” people to grow. This is particularly true of the downtown area. Even though the citizens voted against the original downtown plan, a work around was found and is now being implemented.

Growing the city does not come without pitfalls though. More people means increased services; fire/medical; sheriff; street maintenance; snow removal; trash removal; sewer and water use will increase (keeping in mind that we have already been asked to cut back on water use). Just how much growth can Carson City support? Taxes will also have to increase to pay for this increase in services.

When I retired I moved here from San Diego (after living there for 50 years) because I wanted to live in an area that: 1. Was affordable; 2. Has less crime; 3. Was small enough that people treated everyone as though they were friends. That is what I have found but my experience over those years have shown me that as a city grows, all those things gradually fade away. More crime, more crowding and less friendliness. Keep that in mind as you hear those who proclaim the need for growth.

David Knighton

Carson City

Nevada Humane Society right about declawing

This letter is in response to the former veterinarian who complained about the Humane Society adoption policy regarding the painful procedure of declawing.

Naturally it would not inform each potential adopter ahead of time of the list of animal abuses that would render a candidate unfit to adopt. The Humane Society policy is most appropriate regarding declawing: The protection of furniture is never an excuse to abuse an animal.

Carol Weed

Carson City