Letters to the editor
Letter Submissions
Letters should be e-mailed in text-only format to tidingsopinion@dailytidings.com. Please include your address and a daytime phone number where you can be reached for confirmation. Letters are limited to 250 words. At Length submissions are limited to 400 words. Submissions may be edited for length, content and clarity.
The Tidings gives priority to letters on local and regional topics of current interest. It seeks to encourage thoughtful, well-reasoned leters and to discourage personal attacks, repetitive messages and personal disputes. Form letters are not published in the Tidings, nor are letters identified as having been published in other publications.
Brother is friends with Teddy the elk
In the April 21 issue of the Tidings, Jennifer Margulis devoted part of her column to her encounter with the stuffed remains of Teddy the Elk which she had "met" at the Elks Club. She made a point that he had been destroyed after goring one of his keepers to death. I felt that I needed to tell the readers of another side of Teddy — a gentle, friendly side.
In the early 1930's my oldest brother, Wilbur Durham, had a Tidings delivery route which took him up past Teddy's pen to the end of Granite Street. He would gather fallen seasonal fruit as he delivered his papers along Granite Street, and then coax Teddy over to the fencing and feed him the fruit. Soon Teddy was waiting at the fence for Wilbur when he came wheeling up on his bicycle. If he was not waiting, he would come trotting as soon as he heard Wilbur whistle for him.
In the spring, when Teddy's horns were in velvet, itchy and sore, Wilbur would take time to rub them just to ease some of the uncomfortable feelings for him.
One Sunday afternoon when our family was at the park looking at all the animals (Ashland Park did have a small wildlife zoo at that time), there were people looking at Teddy and trying to entice him to come over to the fence so that they could pet him, and take his picture. Teddy was not interested until Wilbur whistled for him. Then he came trotting over to the fence, but still would not have anything to do with the visitors, only came to Wilbur to have his face and ears rubbed.
There was a very gentle relationship between my brother and Teddy, based I think, on mutual respect and consideration.
Perhaps we all could learn something about respect and considerations for each other from this story about a teenage boy and an elk.
Alberta D. Apenes
Ashland
Tidings fails to promote important art event
It is with regret and sadness that I am writing this letter to my "local" community newspaper to state I feel they are functionally disconnected from their arts and business community. Recently, the Ashland Gallery Association produced another stellar event featuring local wineries, restaurants and art galleries. It was the main fundraiser of the year for the AGA, and an event of this scale requires hundreds of hours of preparation to create a successful "off season" event badly needed in our current depressed economy.
The event was nicely described in the Tidings. Too bad the coverage was on the day after the event — producing zero promotional value for the many volunteers, wineries, restaurants and art galleries who worked so hard to make it happen.
You would think that a "local" paper would go out of its way to help promote a marquee nonprofit community event that is its 19th year.
Yet, when I picked up last Thursday's Revels I was surprised to see the feature on the cover was a guitarist coming to town instead of being the beautiful Poster for the A Taste of Ashland event.
The Revels advertises itself as "arts - entertainment - ideas," so I thought well there would be a nice article about the event. Not only was there no poster on the cover there was absolutely no mention of the event at all, it was not even mentioned in the events section on page four. Why the AGA continues to spend its hard earned advertising dollars on a weekly display ad in a newspaper that doesn't support their main fundraising event of the year (helping produce their advertising budget), I don't know.
Dave Bobb
American Trails Gallery owner
Ashland
Happy 60th Israel; It's time to withdraw
May 5 was the 60th birthday of Israel. While politicians trip over each other to be the first to praise Israel's many accomplishments, we shouldn't forget that Israel is militarily occupying her neighbor Palestine all because the Palestinians live on land that Israel wants.
This occupation is causing millions of innocent people to suffer — exactly the thing we Jews have fought against for 2,000 years.
Many eminent people, such as Uri Avnery (a founder of the state of Israel), Bishop Desmond Tutu and former President Jimmy Carter (Nobel Peace Prize laureates) and thousands of Israeli and American Jews have vigorously opposed this occupation.
Yet, still our government supports it diplomatically and financially. But all our money and power won't change the simple fact — there'll be no peace for Israel until Israel withdraws from Palestine and returns the land she has taken.
Everything else is a purposeful distraction.
Gene Robbins
Ashland
