On firefighters, kids with tattoos and national parks

To the editor:

After the recent publication in the Review-Journal of the outrageous compensation and retirement benefits for Clark County Fire Department personnel, followed by the story of the 1,400 applicants for 15 firefighter positions in the city of Las Vegas, it is clear that the fire departments need serious attention from both the City Council and the County Commission.

To allow this number of $100,000-plus salaries is unconscionable and borders on malfeasance by the management.

There is no justification for such expenditures when it is obvious by the number of applicants for the available positions that the supply of applicants far outstrips the demand. And anyone with a high school education realizes that in a free market, rules of supply and demand will produce a reasonable price for a product or service.

When spineless union sycophants run the county, however, the unions get the upper hand and create a financial utopia for those under the union umbrella. By subverting the normal rules of economics that the rest of us must operate under, an unfair and unsustainable burden is placed on those taxpayers supporting this debacle.

To try to justify the pay scale by classifying a job description as "hero" has no more validity than giving every high school graduate the title of "genius." Any reasonably healthy person with reasonable training, strength and motivation can do those jobs for a fraction of the amount the county is paying. It is high time that these egregious contracts are discontinued and the entire department reorganized and re-evaluated.

As the contracts exist now, the county is not being served -- only the Fire Department personnel are. And it is not the function of government to shower largesse on employees, but to provide necessary services to the citizens of the county for a fair price.

It's time for the commission to gather up a little courage, put political currency aside and do the right thing, not the expedient thing.

Mark R. Craven

LAS VEGAS

Give him a chance

To the editor:

The Friday Associated Press article about the father wanting to tattoo his 7-year-old son with a gang image was unbelievable. No minor should ever be allowed to have a tattoo, especially if it is a "gang" tattoo.

What would the father say if his small child was murdered by a rival gang, simply because he wore his father's gang colors? If the dad doesn't care, how about the mom?

I say let the child wait until he is old enough to make his own judgment.

As a former cop who served in the inner city of Chicago, I ask this misguided father to re-think his decision and give his son a chance at life.

Ron Moers

HENDERSON

National parks

To the editor:

Thank you, John L. Smith, for pointing out the exceptional new documentary from Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" (Thursday Review-Journal).

The film, as Mr. Smith points out, illustrates the significance of America's national parks and memorializes the individual Americans who worked hard to create new national parks.

Within Nevada's boundaries, we have Great Basin National Park, along with portions of Death Valley and Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Remarkable destinations, yes, but it needs to be pointed out that these park units total only 1 percent of all federal land within Nevada. Contrast that with 17 diverse park units in Utah that include big scenic parks like Arches and Zion to Golden Spike National Historic Site and the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail.

Here in Las Vegas, we have a rare and immediate opportunity to preserve a world-class, Ice Age fossil site by including it as a unit of the National Park System. The area, on the northern outskirts of Las Vegas, is expected to attract international attention, bring economic benefit to the community through a major increase in visitors, and serve as an educational and scientific resource for all to enjoy.

Our parks represent America's democratic ideals at their best. Let's join together in preserving our great cultural and natural legacy for our children and grandchildren.

Lynn Davis

LAS VEGAS

The writer is Nevada field office program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association.