Letters to the editor, April 27, 2013

Fences added a lot of charm to downtown

I agree with Don Gurney’s recent Letter to the Editor regarding proposed changes to the downtown area. I recently was saddened to hear of the decision to remove the fences in the downtown area. They really added to the beauty and historical feel of downtown and it seemed we were safer from the possibility of an errant vehicle when walking those sidewalks.

I agree with Don’s concerns about people avoiding marked crosswalks and entering traffic lanes from between parked cars. As for the aim to make one lane of traffic into parallel parking, I have personally spent a lot of time waiting for people, young and old, (who are obviously challenged in the practice) to make numerous attempts to parallel park. I shudder at the thought of how this will slow the traffic flow. Maybe the business owners who are pushing this agenda think that while we are waiting for others to finally master the attempt we will look fondly upon their storefronts and desire to visit them. Not! The downtown area will lose its charm, driver frustration will rise, accident rates will increase. I for one will avoid the downtown area entirely. Too bad. I used to enjoy going down there and especially like to show visitors how quaint and charming the area (was). Just sayin’.

Linda Hoxsie

Carson City

Heller voted right way on gun control

Nevada Sen. Dean Heller voted just like any clear thinking person would have voted. We have a background checks now and it has not stopped the killing.

There is no way to be 100 percent sure it will not happen again. You could stop most of the school shootings by having one entrance and an armed guard at that door. This would help a great deal, but I doubt that it would cure the problem.

Remember we have to register our cars and get a drivers license. And we still kill about 40,000 folks a year in automobiles. We will always have mentally depraved folks and people with a grudge who will kill. That is just the way this world works.

Our forefathers had it right many years ago when they said, “Take care of yourself, cause no one else will.”

Bill Beil

Carson City