SVC is one of finest schools

To all my old friends in Skagit Valley:

I’m still very much kicking, living here in London with my second wife, who, incidentally, came from Burlington (Julie Robertson). I have four children and seven grandchildren with my late wife. I’m currently in the process of putting together the final pages of my fifth novel, a longish one that still doesn’t have a title other than the working one: “Vengeance Isn’t Mine.”

As I mentioned to Skagit Valley College in September, I have exchanged contracts with Hollywood for the film rights to my book, “I Will Try,” which, as you may be aware, was published as long ago as 1965. Of course, it would be inconceivable for a film to be made on that book without the involvement of SVC. Even after my years at Cambridge University and the UW before that, I still consider Skagit Valley College as one of the finest schools ever. What that college and the local community did to help me was typical of what marks the U.S. above all other countries.

I studied history at Cambridge, and I can assure you, my friends, that I know of no country in recorded history that has so generously shared its wealth and power as your country has. May God ordain that she continues to do so, for as long as only he knows. The world is relatively safe entirely because of your country.

Legson Kayira
London

Husky payroll is outrageous

The Husky football program is, for lack of a better word, nauseating.

Consider this: $600,000 per year for a head coach, $350,000 for an offensive coach and now another $700,000 per year for a defensive coach. Add this to the athletic director’s ludicrous salary, and it should make any sane taxpaying resident of this state vomit.

The country’s economy is in the tank, our state is closing schools, laying off vital employees and freezing pay for teachers. The politicians are orating about how important education is. How can these people justify more than $2 million per year for four people’s salaries for football? This is just about the most sickening waste of money I have ever heard of, and it should be stopped. Those people should be fired, and their salaries should be put toward education, which is what universities are for. They are not farm teams for the NFL.

Richard Kruml Sr.
Sedro-Woolley

Disgusted by dead bear photo

I am, to say the least, disgusted by your recent picture of a dead bear — a beautiful animal that deserves to live. The hunter says he has killed bears all over the U.S. What a great story and picture for a local newspaper to publish. I hope it’s the last picture of that type.

Tom Wynn
Anacortes

How could PSE sale happen?

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) approved the sellout of Puget Energy Inc. and Puget Sound Energy (PSE) to Puget Holdings, a Delaware corporation, on Dec. 30, 2008. Puget Holdings is owned by the Macquarie Group, a foreign-owned venture that’s been likened by some to a huge ponzi scheme.

How could this happen in view of the overwhelming public sentiment against the sellout?

PSE has lavished hundreds of thousands of customer dollars on political contributions to Washington state legislators over the last several election cycles. Republicans and Democrats — political party made no difference. And all the politicians had to do was nothing. Not a single one spoke out against the sellout, thought by many to be against the public interest.

Gov. Chris Gregoire received $4,700; Jeff Morris received $1,600 in 2008 alone; and Attorney General Rob McKenna received $2,150. They joined the approximately 95 Washington state legislators and officials who reported receiving contributions from PSE. Again, not a single one raised any questions concerning the sellout.

PSE also spent untold advertising dollars with the Skagit Valley Herald for multiple full-page ads extolling the virtues of PSE. The Skagit Valley Herald failed to raise the alarm concerning any of the perceived downsides to the PSE sellout. Additionally, Steve Reynolds, PSE’s CEO, will reportedly receive $20 million as a reward for engineering the sellout of PSE to Macquarie.

There’s still a chance that Simon ffitch, public counsel with the Attorney General’s office, will file an appeal to the Superior Court objecting to the sellout, but I wouldn’t bet on it with his boss receiving $2,150 in political contributions from PSE.

Many of us believe that we must support clean election laws to eliminate the corrupting influence (or appearance) of money on Washington politics.

Howard Pellett
Guemes Island

Fluoridating water seems risky

As I have been searching about fluoride on the Web, I came across the information that fluoride is being added to the water supply to prevent tooth decay in 60 percent of the cities in the U.S. However, too much fluoride can cause dental fluorosis, bone cancer, osteoporosis, thyroid problems and lower IQ.

I have noticed that on our toothpaste, we are warned to contact a Poison Control Center if we ingest too much. The Environmental Protection Agency sets the recommended exposure to fluoride at 1 milligram per liter. Most fluoridated water supplies contain fluoride concentrations of 1 milligram per liter.

I have a question: Since fluoride is naturally in our environment and food supply, how much are we ingesting already from our foods and beverages, especially those grown with fluoride-based pesticides or processed with fluoridated water?

Until this question is satisfactorily answered, wouldn’t fluoridating the water supply be a risky move?

Margaret Struck
Mount Vernon