Girl should have just asked for help
To the editor:
In response to the Aug. 31 story, "Father fumes over bus fiasco":
The first thing that should be done is to fire the driver. This should never have happened. But I also fault the parents.
The daughter who got lost made a comment that she didn't`talk to any strangers, but sometimes you have to. She could have gone to a fast-food restaurant, a grocery store, a gas station or any other business and asked for help. If she was in a residential neighborhood then go to a house that has kids playing around it.
I was taught this lesson back in the '50s and then there was only about 20 percent of the businesses you have now.
I'm sure she will be getting a cell phone soon.
Ron Stegner
Las Vegas
Burning greenbacks
To the editor
After looking at the picture on the front of Wednesday's Nevada section, I find myself again reminding my wife of the way America and the world perceive "green solutions" ("Talks plug going green"). When Nissan officials proudly show their new Leaf, or Chevy officials tout their Volt, all they show is the car being plugged in and -- voila -- not a drop of gas used. Nobody explains how much fossil fuel is burned to create the amps going into these vehicles batteries, or what that energy costs.
I have a vehicle which has the E-85 Flex-fuel tag on it. If I do choose to burn this, I save maybe 25-50 cents per gallon, which saves me about 10 percent to 15 percent but with a 40 percent reduction in mpg. This is saving me how?
Also the corn used to create this mixture adversely effects the cost of the corn I buy in the grocery store.
Until we figure out how to generate energy cheaply without consuming fossil fuels, this is all merely feel good stuff.
I rarely agree with John Smith but in his Wednesday column ("Future of green energy is so bright -- all it costs is billions") he talks about the tremendous cost of "going green," which follows my discussion of how all this affects the bottom line.
We need to look at these alternatives with respect to the overall cost reduction, not just what some tree hugger tells us is good for planet Earth. Trust me, Mother Nature will be around way longer than our limited sojourn here on earth.
Dave Dobbins
Henderson
Common sense
To the editor:
"In" with John W. Battenfield (Sept. 1 letter) and "out" with Somer Hollingsworth for president and CEO of the Nevada Development Authority. Mr. Battenfield, discussing the problems associated with trying to lure California businesses to Nevada, expressed in six paragraphs more common sense than Mr. Hollingsworth has expressed in 15 years.
Thomas Climo
Las Vegas
Exit ramp
To the editor:
I want to thank Adrienne Packer for her Aug. 31 article on the elimination of the Blue Diamond eastbound exit off Interstate 15 on Aug. 31. The exit off was eliminated and no one can really say why.
I have been using that exit for years and suddenly someone discontinued it at his whim. Now one must exit westbound and make a U-turn at Dean Martin or travel further to Silverado and make a U-turn there. Supposedly, traffic engineers said there were lengthy studies on traffic patterns, volumes and traffic flow.
I don't know what they were studying, but it was not the eastbound exit.
I believe it was very poor judgment and totally unacceptable.
Linda James-Smith
Las Vegas
Growth model
To the editor:
After reading "Growth scores give schools NCLB alternative" one would think that we had finally found the panacea, the magic bullet, the cure-all to finally deal with our "underperforming" public schools. The "growth model" has taken on mystic properties, a new type of voodoo or religious orthodoxy that will lead us out of the wilderness.
And even better, it will help ferret out all of those underperforming, lousy teachers.
First, student growth at any level is very tough to measure, and highly volatile from year to year. Other factors such as child development or socio-economic status weigh very heavily. I hate to sound like I just came from a public school administrator bootcamp or be cliche but "check the research."
Second, being able to move from the lower percentile to a slightly higher percentile will invariably bring about a higher "growth," while if one were to be at a higher percentile if would be very difficult to move higher. So over-achieving schools will be penalized. The authors truly dissemble when they assume the contra position for one student would be the norm for all students.
And lastly, the unanswered question still remains. There are only three areas currently tested: math, science and English/language arts. So I am led to believe that my peers and I in the mathematics department are to be held to a higher standard than the PE teacher down the hall? Mind you, I am not picking on the PE teachers, but they are part of one of the other 10 or so departments that would not be put under the same microscope.
Answer that question and I will take this "new religion" seriously.
Paul Ruth
Henderson
Big storm
To the editor:
I truly take exception to Bob Wong's recent letter complaining that he had to endure a weekend of wall-to-wall coverage of the Hurricane Irene. No, Bob, not a tropical storm but a hurricane. There are way too many other channels Mr. Wong could have been watching.
For many people like myself, who have all their family and friends on the East Coast, it was a way to keep up with the hurricane and see just what areas were being effected the hardest.
For the people on the East Coast, it was a way for them to know exactly what to expect and when to evacuate.
For some, all the coverage was not enough. People lost their homes, cars, possessions, jobs and 45 people lost their lives.
As of late week, 2 million people are still without power and the flooding continues.
To people such as Mr Wong: The next time there is a natural disaster, shut off the television and take your chances. Thankfully, we live in a sheltered part of the country free of devastation -- i.e. fire, flood, hurricane, earthquake. The news channels in Las Vegas have team coverage for wind.
I am so sorry for all the people who have experienced this terrible hurricane.
Barbara M Trella
North Las Vegas
