Dear Editor,

Research has shown that questions on a poll can be phrased in such a way to affect the outcome. A good case study would be the Garfield Re-2 School District’s survey.

Instead of a cleverly loaded survey sent out at taxpayer expense, a simple one-question poll would have sufficed. “Why did you vote against the so-called tax override?”

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Answer:

1. The district lied.

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2. We are already overtaxed.

3. They used teacher pay as a weapon.

4. They played the kid card repeatedly.

5. They intimated we were ignorant or self-centered if we voted no.

6. They did not demonstrate fiscal responsibility.

7. Limited information, i.e. no quantifiable, comparative studies relative to other in-state districts.

8. They (the board and chief administration) distorted information to enhance their position. Stated simply, they lied.

What we really have is a serious lack of trust and credibility. Next time, save our tax money and give us dialogue, not deception, information not manipulation, trust not trickery.

Remember, they’re our kids and it’s our money.

Ross L. Talbott

New Castle

Dear Editor,

The school article on the front page of the Glenwood Post Independent on Monday was a far cry from the positive article I requested, celebrating Roy Moore Elementary School’s achievements.

We have a great school with involved parents (working for pay or not) and dedicated teachers, staff and administration. Student success requires all of these.

I invite the Glenwood Post Independent to Roy Moore Elementary’s Reading Incentive Party on Friday, where we will celebrate the fact that 95 percent of our students met their reading goals for the month of April.

Michele Howard Snode

Silt

Dear Editor,

This letter is in response to Eloise Ilgen’s letter on April 29. The blood that has been shed for “The American Dream” has not only been shed by Americans. I have many family members in Iraq at this moment fighting a war that you might not think is theirs, and I had a family member die in Vietnam. But as you might not know, some of us Mexicans take pride in defending this country.

Mexicans have been fighting wars alongside Americans for ages. Something you might not know is that there are undocumented Mexicans fighting the war as you read this.

Some have been made American citizens after they have come home in a coffin. Don’t believe me, investigate. I can prove it.

Please try to see beyond hate and understand that not all people you see with dark skin are Mexicans. There are people here from El Salvador, Cuba, Honduras, Puerto Rico, etc. … We can’t take all the blame!

I am sorry. I can listen to people bad-talk Mexicans and just ignore ignorance, but when you said that Mexicans come to serve themselves on your earned “American Dream,” I think that is wrong. Especially with all those mourning Mexican mothers who have lost a child protecting your (our) dream.

Selene Banda

Silt

Dear Editor,

With the Grand Avenue Paving Project looming on the concrete/asphalt horizon, I’m begging the City Council, Colorado Department of Transportation and the hired contractor to give serious thought to nixing the decorative red brick crosswalks.

They look nice, but they are a noise nightmare. The crosswalk at the 23rd Street intersection is a host to a variety of noise. Food delivery trucks, construction trucks, dump trucks, tanker trucks, flatbed trucks, big 18-wheel trucks and even trucks with chicken pox (remember those Cracker Jack commercials?) bang, boom, clang, rumble, shake and rattle as they roll across the uneven surface where the pavements meets the bricks. The noises reverberate throughout the neighborhood.

Aspen’s city ordinance of mandatory morning delivery of goods and merchandise causes these noises to occur at all hours of the day and night, especially during the wee, small hours. Judging from the sound of the “whinin’ of the wheels,” it seems that the truck drivers are traveling much faster than the posted 35-mph speed limit. Perhaps a police officer with a radar detector could be stationed at this intersection to catch the scofflaws at 4 a.m.

It’s sleep-with-the-window-open weather. The brick design makes that difficult. Add several additional brick crosswalk intersections to the mix once GAPP is complete, and Grand Avenue will become even more of a dreadful place to reside or own a business. Do the Grand Avenue business owners and nearby residents a favor by not installing the red brick crosswalks.

Sincerely,

Chris Mecham

Glenwood Springs