Letters

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Feb 2, 2000

ZERO TOLERANCE/

Violations of rules should be decided case by case

I am new in this community, and yet, I have started to become enraged. School District 11 has once again suspended another student for having a weapon in her car. I guess if these young ladies were not hard-working honor students, I might be less incensed, but the reality of the situation is that a suspension could affect the students' eligibility for future scholarships, acceptance to some of the better colleges and it is a mark on their record. This is deplorable.

I do understand that the school district is attempting to protect itself and the students. A voice of reason should be ringing in the administrators ears late at night - what are we doing and how did we get to such an extremist position? Laws are made for the protection of all, but it should not be backfiring on these students, making them pay a price because some students who are the exceptions are defying the world of authority.

Let's change the position, look at each situation and apply discretion and common sense to what has become an insult to all. Based on the zero-tolerance policy, when does a metal object become a weapon? Do we ban all items that could be dangerous? Look at the biology lab and chemistry lab; they have tools and chemicals that could be dangerous.

The school district has gone too far. There needs to be room for normalcy.

Laurie Harper, Colorado Springs

AREA PARKS/

County is doing nothing to stop destruction of trees

It is my belief that the El Paso County Parks Department has been negligent in protecting the natural resources of Section 16.

Over the past several years an outbreak of dwarf mistletoe has devastated pine trees in the park. There are now scores of dead trees standing where groves of beautiful green ponderosa pines once stood.

The only attempt to stop the spread of the disease has come from volunteers, whose efforts to stay the disease by pruning and cutting infected trees have been insufficient to stop its inroads.

County park officials have not taken any steps to stem the spread of the disease, apparently taking the attitude that it is best to let nature run its course.

The disease is now spreading by leaps and bounds. Hundreds more of the beautiful large pines are threatened and, unless action is taken to save them, will soon become infected and die. If this is allowed, it will take several generations to replace them with new growth.

In my opinion, the Parks Department has a duty to protect these trees. No private landowner would have allowed conditions to get so out of hand; why can't we expect the same from our county officials? If they are not willing to protect the section's natural resources, they should terminate the lease and allow the state to find a responsible party to manage the land.

Forest P. Porter, Colorado Springs

TEN COMMANDMENTS/ Being a good role model is better than words

Regarding the recent debates on the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools (both national and in this state), I felt that I should interject what seems to me and many other people my age (young adults) the flaw in any such plan. I will avoid, for the moment, the simple fact that by posting the Ten Commandments, the government is endorsing one religion above others.

Instead, focus on the posting itself. How hollow and empty it is to make a so-called sign of morality, and post it upon the wall, yet lie, cheat, and continuously provide poor role models for America's youth. Instead of righteously supporting or opposing the legislation of morality, consider how you could actually affect some person's life. It seems that many people are all for doing superficial acts of goodness and responsibility, but few are actually willing to make an effort themselves to do something that would have a lasting, positive effect for our nation, local community, or even one person.

Sacrifice some of your time to mentor a kid or give a kid a job. Live a respectable life, one which will be worthy of emulation. As long as the youth of America grow up in a society that does not show them what it is to be a good citizen and honorable human being, they will continue to act in unfortunate ways.

Daniel Hiltbrand, Colorado Springs

GUN CONTROL/

Bill would put burden of proof on buyers

Gov. Bill Owens and his liberal allies in the Colorado legislature succeeded in stripping Colorado citizens of critical constitutional protections originally contained in Senate Bill 125, the CBI gun buyer background checks bill. As originally drafted, SB 125 required the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to prove, within three business days, that gun buyers have actually been convicted of a crime before they could deny them their constitutional rights to own a firearm. After arm twisting by Owens, however, that key provision was removed in committee, and now the burden of proving one's innocence has shifted from the state of Colorado to buyers. This is absolutely contrary to our constitutional rights to due process, equal protection of the law, and the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. It is also a very dangerous precedent of putting way too much power over our lives in the hands of nameless, faceless state bureaucrats and political demagogues like Owens.