Letters to editor of the Pahrump Valley Times

Reader irked by pastor’s letter on food donation

After reading the letter from Pastor D. Keith Walker concerning the food donation from Sheri’s Ranch, all I can say is wow.

Let me be very clear. My letter is solely directed at the pastor and no one else and I am not knocking anyone’s beliefs. You state that, “Although we will take what is given and use it to help others, this in no way indicates that we condone or are in agreement with the spiritual/moral/ethical beliefs and practices of those making donations.” How magnanimous of you. A simple thank you would have sufficed but you had to turn it into a bible thumping, screw your donation response.

Your letter reeks of judgmental intolerance. Horrible traits from the every-day Joe but from someone who has “pastor” in front of their name it is unconscionable. I’m pretty sure the people that are hungry do not care where the food comes from. They are just grateful to get it. Something you might like to explore. I can only speak for myself but your attitude is the reason I will not attend any church. I would rather do my best to be a good person Monday through Sunday instead of a look-down-my-nose-at-people jerk Monday through Saturday and ask for forgiveness on Sunday.

I have a suggestion….well I actually have more than one but I’m pretty sure the paper won’t print them.

Why don’t you make a list of all the generous people that offend you and post it at the front door. That way they can take their donations somewhere else. Someplace that appreciates their time and effort in helping others. I’m the first to admit I’m no expert on religion but I’m pretty sure that Jesus would find your attitude, at the very least, distasteful.

Teri Lotton

Local brothel’s donation should be appreciated

What is it with people today, especially those who seem to espouse the religious moral high ground?

If Pastor Walker was involved in some tragic accident and three employees of Sheri’s happened by to save him, I truly hope his thanks would not include, “however, we just don’t condone the lifestyle of those who saved my life”… or something to that effect. What a real Christian Pastor Walker is.

David Perlman

Yucca Mountain repository licensing

Living in Beatty, Nev., for over 50 years, I have learned a lot regarding various subjects.

One of the most interesting things I have learned is how people deal within themselves regarding the word: radioactivity.

The word radioactivity speaks for itself, and in more ways in which people are afraid to admit within themselves, much less to each other. Please let me explain.

Radioactivity is “here” basically for all eternity as it has been since long before mankind, namely, the sun. It isn’t something we can get rid of, so now we, as a people, have to deal with it. Now the question is: How do we deal with it? That is a good question.

Basically, and simply put, radioactivity is nothing else but a flow of particles, neutrons, etc., which is controlled by radioactive absorbing rods to maintain the desired level of energy contained within radioactive reactors. Yes, sometimes things go wrong and…we have emergency situations develop such as Three Mile Island, for example. There has been reactor problems within Russia and Japan as well. Now the question is:

How many people died from these reactor failures?

We, including people worldwide, went through the same thing about 130 years ago. It was called: electricity. People were afraid of electricity because they didn’t fully understand it. All they “knew” were the hazards of which they heard from other people. Since then electricity is very widely accepted and virtually used in every way of today’s life.

Electricity is nothing else than a controlled flow of electrons that goes house to house, and all businesses throughout the world. Without it, where would we be? What would our world have been like without electricity? The list of questions go on forever, but, at the beginning of the development of electricity, people were equally as scared then about electricity and the problems resulting from it just as we are now presently afraid of radioactivity.

The only problem with radioactivity versus electricity means we have used radioactive rock to deal with. And now this brings issues to bear in mind. What do we do with the used sources of nuclear fuel? Presently we have numerous used fuel sources scattered all over the world. And what about the present monitoring of these used fuel sources? Are they as adequate as our technology within the United States? What will be done in time when the containers become corroded to such an extent they are no longer able to safely contain the radioactive fuel sources within? There are ways to deal with this I would like to address.

1) Right now we have a site in Nye County, Nevada, known as Yucca Mountain Repository Site which is also attached to the Mercury Test Site, which is known to be a testing center for above ground and below ground nuclear weapons. Because of these nuclear tests, scientists developed ways to monitor radioactivity.

2) Because of the nuclear weapon testing mentioned in part 1, the grounds surrounding the actual tests sites are basically known to be condemned for hundreds of thousands of years. Why can’t the land in the same proximity for testing be used for Yucca Mountain? We have the scientific know-how to monitor the storage and the best way to address situations as they become apparent. Why contaminate other lands basically being used for the same purpose as Yucca Mountain?

3) Instead of using Yucca Mountain as a high yielding nuclear burial site, I would like to propose Yucca Mountain be used as a radioactive incinerator, in other words, burn the used fuel source to such an extent there are only ashes to deal with, and then store those remaining ashes within Yucca Mountain. It would greatly minimize the ever pressing need to build more storage containers and would make people realize there is not really anything to be so greatly concerned about.

Right now the main thing Yucca Mountain Repository Site is being used for is nothing else but a political football. It is an item being used by political hopefuls to gain votes. The game is over, now, let’s deal with the issues. I am led to believe the repository site has already been finished and awaiting a train bed to be built to access Yucca Mountain.

In closing, I would like to ask a very simple question: How many people have died worldwide because of nuclear issues such as Three Mile Island, Russia, and Japan’s nuclear reactor problems and how many people died last year in the wildfire in Paradise, Ca, and not counting so many other people who died due to wildfires in California and throughout the entire world?

What was the cause of the Paradise, Calif. fire? A faulty electrical wire falling to the ground sparking the fire. Interesting? Are we going to outlaw electricity now?

I, as a private citizen, would welcome any and all future development of Yucca Mountain and to explore the incineration concept I presented, and in hopes this email will generate favorable support from all political representatives regarding Yucca Mountain, including and not limited to, public support, Nye County commissioners, Nevada state legislators, United States legislators, and the president of the United States of America.

Sincerely,

Perry A. Forsyth

Addiction issue raises concerns

Overdoses are happening everywhere, all over the country. In our current society, the streets are filled to the brim with laced heroin that’s often mixed with carfentanil and other fentanyl analogs. Dealers are now adding it to street pressed pills, cocaine, meth, and marijuana too. Carfentanil was made in 1974 to be used to tranquilize elephants and other large mammals. It’s not meant for human consumption. Most of the time carfentanil cannot be reversed by Narcan, the anti-opioid overdose reversal drug used today. Someone who is exposed to Carfentanil can experience dizziness, clammy skin, shallow breathing, heart failure and respiratory depression leading to a fatal overdose.

Carfentanil and other opioids are responsible for a high number of overdose deaths in the U.Sb every year. Addiction is a completely preventable condition. No one should have to die as a result of their addiction. Any addict who does ceases to be a son, daughter, mother, or father but instead becomes a mere statistic of our nation’s massive drug crisis.

For more information on the opiate epidemic, visit bit.ly/2JboHUQ on the web

If you are in need of a no-cost referral to a treatment center, call us at 877-841-5509

Shauna Krout, Clearwater, Fla.