Letters to the editor of the Pahrump Valley Times

No conspiracy involved in jet contrails

The following comments are to the letter submitted by Ms. Vinikow. She believes that jet aircraft are spraying toxic materials that are hazardous to our health. She says that research will reveal this decades-long program as dangerous to human health and welfare.

This is one of an older conspiracy and has no basis to it. The Merriam Webster dictionary states: “contrails – an artificial cloud created by an aircraft caused by water vapor in the engine exhaust.” There is nothing else to it. Contrails can vary in width and length depending on altitude, outside temperature, and type of engine.

In a combat zone it is best to find an altitude without contrails since those alert ground artillery of your presence.

In friendly flight areas the contrail helps the pilot’s awareness of nearby traffic.

John Davis

Law officers should maintain peace, be impartial

I served with the United States Marshal’s Service for over 26 years. After retiring, I took a position with the Los Angeles County Office of Public Safety for three and a half years until the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department absorbed their duties and responsibilities. I lecture on public administration in criminal justice as an adjunct instructor to several community colleges and once in a while with University of Southern California.

As you all know, there is an article that appeared that discussed how the sheriff, during the orientation with deputies, compared the job of a deputy sheriff to a lion tamer and so on. The office of sheriff is actually one of the oldest examples of community policing where the community gets together and elects an individual to hand on public safety and law enforcement and execute the business of the court.

The community places its trust in this individual until there is a reason to recall them from office. The role of the peace officer is to be impartial and to discharge the duties and responsibilities in accordance with state and local law and often have to act as a neutral third party in disputes or civil matters that are under the jurisdiction of the court and quite often have to take someone into custody.

Overall, the duties of a peace officer are to ensure that peace is maintained within the community at all times and to enforce the law to protect people from those who violate it!

When you treat your constituents as things to be corralled, be managed like animals, you don’t have the faintest idea what it is to be in law enforcement management and quite frankly, it’s time for you to step down.

Robert A. Danford