Letters to the editor: Preserve in Auburn in need of support from community

Preserve in Auburn in need of support from community
The Auburn City Council recently met at the Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve, which is in serious need of funding for staff and infrastructure. As a member and a supporter, I want to urge the council to support this valuable asset.

People may point out that Auburn has a number of parks, and this is true. But they do not provide the kind of direct interaction with animal and plant habitats that children can experience at the preserve.

My oldest daughter has been attending FEP summer ecology camps for eight years. As she has grown, she has changed her interests, as all children do. But FEP camp has remained a constant, and for the past two years, she has worked as a counselor in training with the youngest campers.

I have watched her grow in confidence and in enthusiasm for nature every year.

I think of how many girls her age have been conditioned to react with fear or disgust to animals that are not considered “cuddly.”

I marvel at how my daughter happily allows a hissing cockroach to crawl around in her hand or carries Candy the corn snake around to introduce her to young children who may have never seen a snake up close.

The preserve is a unifying force in the community.

It brings together town residents, university people, newcomers, and many others in the always-fascinating and never-ending quest to understand the natural world. It provides a place for everyone to experience nature in whatever way they wish without the intrusions of everyday life. As more yards are fenced off and natural areas become ever more carved up and isolated, places like the FEP are more important than ever.

The preserve deserves the full support of the city and the administration of Auburn University as a valuable asset in our community.

Claire M. Wilson
Auburn

Television talk show host Beck not good for America

I believe in free speech: However, when the free speech in question is dishonest, hateful and distorts the facts about truly important issues, it crosses a line.
Let the people that want to believe in conspiracy theories and distortions tune in to the Glenn Becks on the radio and television.

After that, responsible media should not help Beck propagate lies and distortions about our country and our values. The simple fact is that Beck is bad for our country.

R.L. Watts
Auburn

Washington’s lies and deceptions continue to slip past gullible America

I remember very vividly as a child, my family’s love affair with Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal. His radio “fireside chats” were as important to hear as attending church on Sunday morning.
I was 55-plus before taking the time to really examine our entire 20th Century of Washington lies and deceptions to a very gullible America, which has become even worse in our first decade of the 21st Century.

Thanks to the Opelika-Auburn News, we have the opportunity to read columnist Thomas Sowell’s article, “White House brain trust not always so brainy.”

Sowell’s writings so eloquently master the art of “stepping out of the trees to see the woods” ... politically brilliant and charismatic leaders, promoting reckless government spending.

Just add to that John Pilger’s recent statement, “… like Bush’s America, Obama’s America is run by some very dangerous people. We have to be warned. When will those paid to keep the record straight do their job?”

Just as some of us thought before the last general election ... McCain or Obama would be “just more of the same.” (I did my write-in vote, for what it’s worth!) Wake up America! It may already be too late!

Joseph P. Griffey
Auburn