Dear Editor,

Please! Do not put a roundabout on Midland. They are real confusing to most people. In fact many people in this area don’t even know how to use a four-way stop, so how will they avoid hurting someone at a roundabout?

Linda S. Harrah

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New Castle

Dear Editor,

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As our quaint and lovely community continues to grow, these developments bring more and more congestion. The price of progress? One thing we can do to retain our small-town charm and character is to certainly NOT add more stoplights (in fact remove a few) and take example from some of our big sister cities, i.e. Aspen,Vail, Avon, by using roundabouts.

These do many positive things rather than negative: 1. Keep the flow of traffic moving. 2. Add beauty by the gardens and sculptures which they lend themselves to. Etc. Thanks.

Charles Wirth

Glenwood Springs

Dear Editor,

Golly, gee, Mr. Robert Boyle, hate is a terrible affliction. You say you do not hate the president, and yet you spew forth such vitriol when you write about him.

I do not hate Bill Clinton. In fact I voted for him the first time he ran for president. I also voted for John F. Kennedy. (Yes, I am that old.)

But both turned out to be very immoral men. Both bombed innocent people. In fact during Kennedy’s watch and subsequently during LBJ’s watch, over 2 million people died in the conflict in Vietnam.

Clinton was a draft dodger, a female predator, he lied under oath, he and his unremarkable wife are still stealing from the taxpayer, and let’s not forget the 140 pardons he issued upon leaving office. Billionaire Marc Rich, who fled to Europe to avoid prosecution for tax evasion among other crimes; Carlos Vignali, who was convicted of selling cocaine; Almon Braswell, who was convicted of fraud and perjury; his brother Roger, for his cocaine offense; and the forgettable Hugh Rodham, Hillary’s brother.

President Bush’s legacy has yet to be written. I disagree with some of his policies to be sure, but he is our president, duly elected, and I will support him.

I pray that you, Mr. Boyle, can conquer your hatred. It is terribly destructive.

“If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us.” ” Hermann Hesse

Bob Anderson

Glenwood Springs

Dear Editor,

Thank God for the letter written by Robert Boyle. It is about time someone did it.

I too believe that our poor excuse for a president is a man of little if no morals when it comes to human life.

It is sad that people in this country believe in the war. Did it ever occur to them that our government is counting on our ignorance and lack of knowledge so we will stand by Bush?

After all, we are the only country that will say we are doing the right thing.

We are also one of the worst educated countries in the world. Do you think there is a connection there?

I will dance the day that man is taken out of office. I will pray for the men fighting a war based on oil and money, that they come home safe.

I will hope that we don’t use a tragedy like Sept. 11 to base more fear on and I hope that someday justice will prevail when it comes to that puppet that we have in office.

Thanks,

Faith Webster

Glenwood Springs

Dear Editor,

Some very good projects are coming out of Carbondale’s Recreation Department lately. There is a good deal of promise for the future as well. That is, if we can preserve the special funds earmarked for new recreation projects.

During budget deliberations, the Carbondale Board of Trustees have decided once again to transfer $125,000 from the special recreation sales tax fund to the town’s operating budget for 2004 for lack of funds to meet existing service needs.

The newest five-year projected budget shows a total of $625,000 coming out of this special fund to balance the operating budget. These funds were never meant for this purpose, as is evidenced by the minutes of the trustees meetings from 1996 and the historical record contained within the Valley Journal of March 28, 1996.

When this was pointed out to the trustees on Nov. 18, there was great concern that current service levels be maintained. No one wants the pool to be closed.

One solution is to take the $125,000 from the “rainy day” fund. The town is already transferring over $200,000 every year from the “rainy day” reserve fund into the general fund. However, this is where the money should come from.

The special recreation fund is a voter trust exclusively for investment in the future of our community. To ignore this is to place into jeopardy the possibility of future extensions and increases of the tax (which I support wholeheartedly), which will fund the many exciting recreation projects under consideration.

Eric Gross

Carbondale