Letters for January 3, 2002

All over but the shooting
An arrogant male trio of county supervisors recently approved a shooting range on the Skyway, just uphill from the Tuscan Ridge golf course. That location, halfway up the Skyway, is in a dumb place.

By this approval, these three appear to have shot themselves in the foot. A gun range next to a major highway is bad enough, but its presence will delay an/or prevent other development along the Skyway. Who wants to build, work or live next door to shooting guns?

This action is also a slap in the face to adjacent property owners. It goes to show that there are limits to the s0-called “property rights” that some people advocate. Sometimes, if not most of the time, individual property rights must be subordinated to community property rights.

Personally, I’m glad they approved the shooting range. What they did is slow down, if not stop, sprawl along the Skyway. Now the Skyway will remain open and unobstructed by new developments and buildings for a much longer time. It may even be long enough to get the Skyway officially designated as a scenic highway, which is what it is, unofficially, now. Also, it may be long enough for one of more of this trio of supervisors to be replaced, for with their property-rights blinders they obviously would not approve a scenic-highway designation.

Al Braun
Paradise

Good-bye, David
We just found out that David Kamp died a few weeks ago. Unless you have been living in Chico for 25 years, his name is probably unfamiliar to you. Heroes come in many forms, and David was an original Chico hero because of his great kindness, generosity and purity of spirit.

He started one of Chico’s first private ambulance services and also the Chico Clipper as Chico’s first dial-a-ride taxi service for the elderly and handicapped (as they were then called). He never hesitated to share his good fortune with his friends. David’s generous and unquestioning financial backing started several successful Chico businesses, although he was rarely paid back.

He helped each of our family members over the years. For example, he gave me a job with the Clipper when we first moved to Chico and I really needed work. Until the end, he checked in with our daughter and grandson to see about their well being and to lend a hand. He had an easy laugh, and he always had a ready smile for everyone. He was one of the sweetest people we have ever known. His passing was a great loss for Chico.

Alan and Valerie Ginter
South Lake Tahoe

Mark Ginter
Redding

Helene and Rudy Alan Ginter
Chico

When Dad’s in jail
Every year, thousands of children are experiencing the pain of seeing a parent arrested and put into prison. These children are affected by years spent without a family member and are at a greater risk of ending up in the same position as their jailed parents. A number of studies have shown that children of incarcerated parents suffer emotional stress and soon begin to show behavior including anxiety, depression, aggression and learning disorders.

By the time they are teens, these children bring their problems to their schools through disruption, poor grades and truancy. There is so little research done on the subject of incarceration that there is no agreement even on what should be the “simple” question of whether it is good for the children to visit their mother or father behind bars.

The children in question need to become our top priority, and we desperately need to further research this topic in order to come to a conclusion on what is best for the children so we do not continue to pay the price for our ignorance.

Laura Klawitter
Chico

Internet dangers
We all know that the Internet is a new and exciting tool. It is fun to explore the different Web pages and send an e-mail to friends and family. But did you know that the Internet is a breeding place for danger?

It may seem a safe tool for everyone to use, but it is easy for a young child to access a porn Web site. A little boy was researching for his class project. His teacher had the students use the Internet to find out information about The Crucible. The little boy used the search engine Google and found a porn web site. His mother was outraged.

One question that comes to mind is, whose fault is it? I came to the decision that it is either the parents’ responsibility to protect their children or it is the government’s job.

Courtney Backer
Chico

Healing modalities
Once again Zu Vincent has profiled a local practitioner of healing arts and in doing so has introduced the wider community to another of the many modalities considered alternative or complementary to conventional medicine [“The body as canvas,” Backbeat, Dec. 13]. Cranialsacral therapy is indeed increasingly finding advocates among many whose well being has been profoundly enhanced by its seemingly simple hands-on healing. Thank you, Zu, for bringing attention to this therapeutic method and to Paula Jean Adams, who is a skilled healer in our community.

It would be a shame, however, if readers of the CN&R were left with the impression that she is the only CST practitioner in the area. Also deserving of mention is Russ Kalen, holistic chiropractor, who has practiced CST in Chico for many years and who, with Leslie Cooper and Nancy Jennings, provides individual and “multi-hands” treatment for a range of conditions with gratifyingly positive results at the CranioSacral Specialists office in Chico.

Still others, including myself, incorporate CST into our practice of acupressure, massage, energy healing and/or bodywork and are always glad to share information about the benefits—there are virtually no contra-indications and no negative side effects—of CST.

Malama MacNeil, CMT
Chico

All you need is love
I give thanks to all who have passed this year for what they gave us during their lives. For all that they have given us during their lives, I give thanks to those that will pass next year and during all our years. Much death and tragedy has occurred this year, as it does every day on this vast planet of ours.

We a common species bonded by a common origin all seek to understand our existence. Let’s not be fooled by the “war on terrorism,” for no war can rid the world of evil, and any claim of victory will only be temporary. Evil can only be captured by love, a barrier that transcends all forces. Evil can exist and be exposed in each of us unless we are surrounded by love.

Dave Foreman
Forest Ranch