Letters to the editor for Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016

Election letters policy: Letters about the 2016 general election need to be turned into the Nevada Appeal by noon on Thursday, Oct. 20. Letters must include the writer’s name, address and phone number and be no more than 250 words. The Appeal reserves the right to edit them. Letters also may appear at nevadaappeal.com. • Only one letter can be submitted every 30 days. • Mail it to Letters to the Editor, Nevada Appeal, 580 Mallory Way, Carson City, NV 89701. • Send emails to editor@nevadaappeal.com.

Local candidates who can be effective leaders

The Carson City Supervisor position is non-partisan so ability versus party affiliation is much more important. Those who run for local office deserve our respect. Rating the quality of their ideas and judgement is the most difficult part. I look at quality of ideas and business experience and judgement when selecting a Supervisor or Mayor.

Mr. Crowell has superlative business experience and high level ideas concerning the City. His track record as Mayor is successful and innovative. He listens to you. Mr. Bonkowski has also shown the ability to make great business decisions for us. He learned the business of the City and has cleaned up many costly mistakes of the Old Boy politics of the last century and decade. He listens to all the citizens and has the strength to do what is required to achieve the results we want. Mr. Shirk deserves our respect but does not deserve to continue as a Supervisor. He tried but has been unable to learn the basics of running a City, the basics of listening to all citizens and achieving the results they want. There is a new person running for his seat that will start next term with more knowledge of how to run a City and listen to all the citizens.

As to the other two running for office one does not have the ability to make the decisions that are made by Supervisors and the other does not have the open mindedness to listen to all the citizens.

John McKenna

Carson City

Texting while walking is a dangerous distraction

About 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 4, I was waiting for the light to change at Roop and William when I heard the siren. When the light changed green for the Roop Street traffic all the cars paused because we all heard the siren on William Street. I then saw a group of about six high school age students and a counselor begin to cross William in the crosswalk.

They were almost all texting on their cell phones at the time and they all walked blindly into the path of a Carson City Fire Department ambulance. The ambulance had its siren wailing and used its air horn, but the students and counselor continued walking, oblivious to their surroundings. The ambulance had to stop to wait for them to cross.

You can’t make this stuff up. Darwin was right — only the fittest and those who are alert will survive.

James Hill

Minden