• Let’s make a deal • Religious representatives DO meet here • Arson is a terrible crime Let’s make a deal Well, John Patterson, it is obvious from your letter (GI 1/7/06) that no matter what facts I give or
• Let’s make a deal
• Religious representatives DO meet here
• Arson is a terrible crime
Let’s make a deal
Well, John Patterson, it is obvious from your letter (GI 1/7/06) that no matter what facts I give or questions I ask about this bike path, you will never agree.
However, please let me try to make my viewpoint crystal clear. Whatever issue I am for or against, whether it is the O.I.P., the KPD, property tax reform (the Ohana Kauai Charter Amendment), traffic, low income housing, the homeless problem, etc. I try my best to see who the issue will benefit and who it will hurt.
You are absolutely right that this path could be of benefit to you and your son and I salute you for being a caring dad. But John, if you will look at the big picture you will see that 30 to 50 million dollars or more—plus huge unknown maintenance costs out of our pockets—can in no way justify the obscene amount of money spent to benefit a few recreational people. And having heard all the arguments about the good this path will do, it still doesn’t answer the question of illegalities and the negatives of building it.
Again, I look at no issue in the light that it will be of benefit to me, personally, but what good it will do for the masses, what kind of priority it is, and are the funds available to not only build it but to perpetually maintain it. The Gateway Project is probably the best example of a federal-private undertaking that became a disaster. As you know, I have given other reasons (many from legal people) why this path shouldn’t be built but I won’t repeat them.
To answer your question of the benefit to the other 55,000 residents (you referred to), I will make you a deal, John. If we can get The Garden Island to take a poll across Kaua’i to show who wants, needs and can afford this project—I will be more than happy to abide by whatever the results are … IF you will agree to do the same. In other words if the majority say they want this path I will never again say a negative word about it. Do we have a deal?
Though I may not agree, I respect your point of view and I respect The Garden Island newspaper for printing ALL letters. In fact, those that work behind the scenes in keeping the Forum page working deserve tremendous credit for all their hard work.
Religious representatives DO meet here
To the people of Kaua’i, with special attention to Bob Ray,
On Jan 10, Mr. Ray wrote a letter in response to Bettejo Dux, about getting together to discuss comparative religions, and that “It doesn’t look like priests, preachers, imams or rabbis will do it…”
We’re pleased to inform you that on the island of Kaua’i, representatives of most of the major religions practiced here meet regularly. We call ourselves the Interfaith Roundtable of Kaua’i. Our mission statement is, “The Interfaith Roundtable of Kaua’i exists as a forum to share information and concerns, to promote respect and understanding, for the benefit of our own faith communities, ourselves, and our shared community of Kaua’i.”
We meet the 2nd Tuesday of the month at noon at the Lihue Hongwanji. Our members currently include Christians, Buddhists, Jews, Bahais, Hindus, and more. Our meetings are open to the public. Bring your lunch, and join us. We’d also like to invite you and the public to a Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration of Peace on Monday, Jan. 16th, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.. We hope you’ll come and meet some of us.
- Annaleah Atkinson, secretary,
The Interfaith Roundtable of Kaua’i
Arson is a terrible crime
Every time I hear fire engine sirens blaring past my house or office, I cross my fingers that the fire, if it is one, will be put out quickly without too much damage and no injury or loss of life and then I hope that THIS fire wasn’t set intentionally.
I don’t understand the mindset of people of any age who would deliberately set a fire and then sit back and watch as others struggle to get it under control or keep it from threatening homes or other structures.
Arson is NOT a joke. It doesn’t make a big hero out of anyone. When a fire grows to the point where engines from all over the island have to respond to help fight it, many other communities are left unprotected.
My question to these people: How would YOU feel if your home burned down because all units were tied up fighting a fire YOU set?
