Ending the mask mandate, Richland turf, Ukraine, wind turbines and other Herald letters

As mandate ends, what will happen?

I am writing to this outlet due to a concern regarding school mask mandates in the area. Specifically, with Richland School District and its desire to take away the mandate before state requirements allowed for this. T

his is concerning to me more specifically when it comes to the elementary-aged kids. The masks have helped significantly with reducing the spread of COVID-19 in our schools. Taking them away may be something that we want to happen, but how can we be confident that taking them away from the schools won’t lead to a massive spike in cases?

If this were to happen, we may see schools shut down completely again, and how beneficial would that be to all the kids who’ve already missed so much school this year?

Jaron David Gibson, Richland

Grateful for Mansperger columns

In his March 6, 2022, Letter to the Editor, Capt. Richard Wight (Ret.) wonders why the Tri-City Herald prints op-eds by Dr. Mark Mansperger. He believes that most of the Herald’s readers disagree with Dr. Mansperger’s “left-wing” viewpoints, and so it does not seem to him to make much business sense for the Herald to publish his columns. I disagree. I’m glad the Herald has been publishing Dr. Mansperger’s op-eds for the past 12 years. His columns and the arguments presented make me think, just as op-eds written by conservative, environmental, and economic writers make me think. Isn’t that the point? Isn’t that why we read the Herald Opinion section? Why would I only want to read opinions that I agree with? That would be like watching Fox News all day.

One final point. As a fellow anthropologist, I view Dr. Mansperger’s writings more a reflection of his anthropological training than any liberal bias he might have. Anthropological thought is based on the study of worldwide cultures, from the earliest humans to the present-day people. So it would be more accurate to refer to his work as “anthropologically-based think pieces” rather than “left-wing socialism-leaning diatribes.”

Darby C. Stapp, PhD, Richland

Cities: back our local Ukrainians

The brutal and naked aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine shows no let-up. It is heartbreaking to see the news reports that civilian deaths are mounting, including those of children. Yes, CNN and FOX news are on the same sheet of music on the reporting, as are our politicians of both political parties — a historic and welcomed first.

Our local community, which is home to thousands of Ukrainian nationals, is heavily impacted. We saw the demonstration at John Dam Plaza in Richland of over 300 Tri-Citians on March 1, asking that we pray for Ukraine. Several (of those) photographed were from Pasco and wore traditional Ukrainian clothing and flower headpieces. According to one Ukrainian national, there are over 5,000 fellow Ukrainians living in our Tri-Cities community.

We have a stake in the matter and we should show our Ukrainian community our deepest concern and solidarity. One way to do this is for our city councils to adopt a resolution at their next meeting, expressing our solidarity with Ukraine and offering support to our local Ukrainian community. It is the appropriate thing to do.

Felix Vargas, Pasco

No artificial turf on RSD field

What is wrong with the Richland School District wanting artificial turf? Don’t they know how bad it is to play football or any other sport on? Look how the NFL players are complaining about it more and more all the time. Look what happened in the Super Bowl. One player caught a pass with no one around him and he landed and tore his knee up. That should be an eye-opener for RSD. Too many kids get hurt and the school will have to pay. Maybe even end up with a lawsuit. Put grass back on the field. It’s a lot safer. Just hoping you think about it.

Marvin Raymond, Richland

Wind turbines have short lives

Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon to put in wind turbines. Now let’s look at some hard facts. There are over 14,000 wind turbines abandoned because they no longer work. Wind turbines, like solar panels, break down. They produce less energy their entire time in service before they break down than the energy it took to make them. The wind does not blow all the time, especially during the winter months. Without government subsidy, they are unaffordable. They have a limited life span, about 15 years. Most commercial-scale turbines are 2 megawatts in size and cost roughly $3 million to $4 million installed. Take San Gorgonio Pass in Palm Springs, Calif., they have been abandoned. Now rotting eyesores. The same in Altamont Pass and Tehachapi. Wind turbines look good on paper, people hired to put them in, maintain them. Countries like Germany have abandoned them for natural gas.

Ira Johnson, Kennewick

Be aware of child exploitation

March 18th is National Child Exploitation Awareness Day, which means the Support, Advocacy, & Resource Center is dedicating the month of March to educating our community about Child Exploitation here and abroad.

Child Exploitation is an umbrella term that involves various crime types, which are as follows:

Child Sex Trafficking

Child Sex Tourism

CSAM: Child Sexual Abuse Materials (Also known as Child Pornography)

Self-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Materials-Sextortion (Sexual Extortion)

The livestreaming of a child engaged in sexually explicit imagery-Grooming/Communicating with a Minor for Immoral Purposes.

Any sexually explicit imagery of a child should be taken seriously and reported to law enforcement and/or CPS immediately. CSAM can also be reported to The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline at 1-800-843-5678.

Here locally, SARC has a Child Exploitation Advocate who works with victims and their families to help them make police reports, track their case through the legal system, and who can point them toward specialized resources for exploited youth.

If you or someone you know is a victim of Child Exploitation, or if you would like more information about this crime type, please call SARC at 509-374-5391.

Olivia Ainsworth, Richland

When you drive, turn on lights

Re: Doug Dahl’s headlights advice:

Good article — would be more timely in early winter. Still quite relevant as we are driving more in sunrise/sunset conditions of glare.

Most recent cars have electroluminescent dashboards that are always illuminated, so drivers may believe their headlights or at least marker lights are on as well. Look for the headlight indicator on the dash, or check the switch.

Also, many daytime running lights only turn on a dim set of headlights, not even the regular low beams, and on many cars with DRL, the taillights are not lit at all unless the driving headlights are on. I’ve found myself tooling along in traffic and getting flashed from behind for no apparent reason — until I realized that I had only dim DRL headlights to make me visible.

Third point: When the weather is bad and most vehicles have either headlights or DRL on, vehicles with only dim marker lights or no lights at all on are practically invisible between the glare of the lights and the obscuring road spray. They appear to be nothing but a gap in the traffic to someone trying to enter a busy road.

Orin “Dennis” Mullen, West Richland

Thanking Herald letter writers

Thank you to Messrs. Brown, Deckert, Clarke and LePage. All of you better elucidated what I have been saying to friends and neighbors for some years. Also, Messrs. Finn and Seim also hit the nail on the head. And your cartoon on March 10, priceless.

Barbara J. Norris, Richland