11/28/08 Letters to the Editor

Smoke detectors

To the editor -- Those small round beeping things attached to your home's ceiling are not just for decoration. Smoke detectors are the single most important safety item in your home. Their sole purpose is to alert folks of smoke and fire and provide additional time to evacuate. Smoke detectors save lives!

Right now is a great time to check your smoke detector and make sure it is working properly. Has the battery in your smoke detector been changed in the last year? Has your smoke detector been property maintained? Vacuuming the vents around the outside of the smoke detector clear it of dust buildup, too much dust will limit the ability of your smoke detector to "smell" smoke. If your smoke detector is electrically connected, make sure to turn the power off before vacuuming.

Make sure to test your detector monthly by pressing the "test" button and following the manufacture's test instructions.

Smoke detectors only have a 10-year life expectancy. If you think your smoke detector is 10 years old or older, consider replacing it.

For more information on smoke detectors and other life-saving fire prevention tips, log onto www.westvalleyfire.com or contact your local fire department.

Capt. CHRISTY BOISSELLE

West Valley Fire Department

Poignant tributes

To the editor -- I'd like to let Jonathan and Leinani Coleman, parents of April Rayne Coleman, and Steven G. Hoptowit II and Vanessa Chino, parents of Violet Marie Hoptowit (I'x-Six Lateep), know my heart goes out to you all in your devastating losses.

The Nov. 7 obituaries for their babies had a profound affect on my life. My son, Jody Tomás, was born and died July 2, 1970.

In those days, we had no grief counseling. I urge parents in such situations to please take advantage of help that is available. Family, of course, is wonderful to help in any way they can. But, had structured counseling been available to me nearly 40 years ago, I would have learned more ways to cope.

Their beautiful tributes to their lovely daughters opened a door for me, a floodgate of tears, and a sense of peace I have not felt since giving my son back to God.

I thank you so much for sharing your life-changing experiences with such touching and comforting words.

SUSAN M. ERSKINE

Yakima

Who's to blame

To the editor -- I feel obligated to offer a rebuttal to Roger Carlstrom's Nov. 14 letter. The word limit precludes me from addressing each inaccuracy in his letter, so I will refer to just his statement that "private and corporate greed has brought about this (financial) catastrophe in the first place."

Perhaps Carlstrom needs to do some research. The current financial crisis we are in began when people negotiated for home loans that they could not afford and had no hopes of repaying. Lenders, of course, share in the culpability, as do the stockbrokers who traded this worthless paper. But if every citizen lived within his means, much of this sub-prime fiasco with its resulting foreclosures could have been avoided.

President Bush makes an easy (and popular) scapegoat, but history illustrates that the practice of making these kinds of loans began in the late 1970s under the Carter administration, and were promulgated in the '90s under the Clinton administration. According to information from http://www.informedtrades.com/2699-simple-explanation-subprime-crisis-part-1-a.html.

However, if blaming the unpopular, lame-duck president for everything that ails this country is easier than looking at the true causes, by all means, let's blame Bush!

MICHELLE L. BERTHON

Yakima

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