Be vigilant with fire
Folks, I do believe campfires, even camping should be prohibited for the rest of the year in heavily forested areas, as it poses a wildfire risk. Winds, tinder dry fuel, drought conditions, hard to access roads, dry lightning, expenditure of fire resources; all point to a critically high risk of fires for which we are having a trying time controlling and achieving any decent perimeters of containment on.
We desperately need everyone to do what they can to not accidently start anymore fires. If you own a car that backfires or overheats, leave it at home. If you smoke, smoke inside your vehicle. Maybe target shoot in wetter conditions. Carry a fire extinguisher if you commute or go on a trip. Please do not drink alcohol or smoke pot and drive. Accidents can cause fires. It has come down to man versus fire. Please be vigilant.
All of us need our homes and apartments to live in, vehicles to drive, and jobs for our existence. With a housing shortage in this Carson-Reno area, we also need to be careful to not accidently start a fire where we live.
Neighbors help neighbors, regardless of political beliefs, we are a community first and all lives matter. Have an evacuation plan ready should a disaster happen here.
Ask any person who has evacuated a fire: It is about survival.
Ann Burke
Carson City
Masks should be personal choice
Now the CDC has recommended all of us wear masks at indoor public places to protect the unvaccinated. Say what?
The vaccines have been available for a long time, and the great majority of those who wanted them, including the most vulnerable, have been vaccinated. That leaves those who are too young (but have minimal responses to the virus), and those who have exercised their constitutional right to refuse to participate in the program.
That’s akin to saying that we who did the right thing are being punished for those who made a choice not to protect themselves. Also, the virus is now deemed as contagious as the common cold, which relegates all these public protective measures (masks, distancing, etc.) to nothing more than feel good placebos. We know from experience that there is absolutely no way to stop, contain, or limit the spread of the common cold (possibly caused by a coronavirus). Let’s stop whipping this dead horse and leave it strictly up to the vaccine shunners to decide whether or not they want to wear a mask.
Personally, I am tired of the CDC, Fauci, D.C. beltway diatribe that we keep getting spoonfed. I searched for a reliable second opinion, and found comments and a presentation made by Dr. Roger Hodkinson. He is extremely qualified on the subject of virology, and his resume is stunning, to say the least. Look up his background and credentials on Wikipedia. His video is linked on the site “Imperfect Plan.”
Bill Belcher
Dayton
Masks should be mandated in schools
I’m saddened by the Carson City School Board’s decision to not require masks as children return to school. I can only conclude that the decision is political, since all reliable science now recognizes the dire risks to young, unvaccinated children of being unmasked at school. In fact, after extensive research, I was unable to find one reliable source that recommends children not wear masks.
Here is a list of just a few of those who do recommend masks for children: Yale University, the Cleveland Clinic, UC Davis, Children’s Hospital - Los Angeles, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
More than 240 young people were admitted to Texas hospitals on Tuesday alone. Unvaccinated teenagers and younger children are dying nationwide. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “from July 22 to July 29, nearly 72,000 new pediatric COVID-19 cases were reported, almost twice as many as in the previous week.”
The evidence is overwhelming: Masks save lives! And despite CDC recommendations to the contrary, our school board has put Carson City children and their families at risk. What a dereliction of duty.
Joyce Newman
Washoe Valley
Pass the ‘For The People Act’
Recently I was in Washington, D.C., gathering input from voters from around the U.S. People in a rural Nevada area had to drive upward of 100 miles each way just to cast their votes.
A recent Southwest primary voter was purged from the voter rolls before the general election, without explanation. A recently naturalized citizen of the U.S., they had to refile their application, which was re-approved without question just days before the vote.
A university student with a solid voting record was purged shortly before the general election, with no forthcoming explanation. After contesting, they were reinstated with neither explanation nor apology.
A long-time Midwest voter was advised by an election worker that her name was not listed — in spite of her name being clearly and visibly printed on the voter roll. After suggesting that they contact voter protection, her name suddenly “reappeared” on the voter roll.
A young military veteran was absolutely flabbergasted that the rights of he and U.S. citizens — that he had put his life on the line to protect — were suddenly challenged by a vocal, yet baseless effort to stop counting their votes.
A legally registered voter, who participates appropriately, should not repeatedly have to re-prove who they are, to exercise their right to vote as a citizen.
Democracy can be challenging – yet it is unacceptable in the 21st century that any voting litmus test could be determined by skin color or candidate preference. We must pass the “For The People Act.”
Kimi Cole
Minden
