Gun club needsmore time to move

The Redmond Rod and Gun Club’s lease with Deschutes County expires May 31, and the club will close, unless the Deschutes County Commission extends our lease. The club has been actively working with elected officials to find a suitable and permanent location to move to.

Those efforts are ongoing, but additional time is needed to determine if they will be successful. I believe there are only three publicly accessible shooting ranges in Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties and RRGC is the only range offering shotgun, archery, pistol and rifle ranges centrally located to Bend, Redmond, Prineville, Sisters and Madras. I believe RRGC is also the only range in Deschutes or Crook counties that provides enhanced safety by having Certified Range Safety Officers present during rifle, pistol and archery range operation.

RRGC serves youth by sponsoring shooting for 4-H, Scouting, the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Hunter Education and the NRA’s Youth Hunter Education Challenge programs. Local first responders also use the facility for training and practice, because of its quality and convenient location.

I believe Redmond has a very valuable asset that serves and supports an important part of our outdoor sporting lifestyle and national heritage. I cannot understand why the property the club has occupied for 79 years is so unique and irreplaceable that it’s imperative that they vacate by May 31 without a place to go.

If it’s so important that RRGC move, why not give them the time to find a location that will enable the club to continue in operation and rebuild as good as it was?

Ed Boock

Redmond

Facts about water dispute

It is time to speak the truth and disclaim false statements made concerning Terrebonne Water District board recall.

Facts not reported:

• All water customers received a 20 percent discount on their August 2013 water bills.

• Approximately 57 customers received a second adjustment on August 2013 bills.

• Board of directors approved a volunteer committee of water customers and district employee to identify customers who received out-of-the-norm water bills in August and agreed on a methodology to readjust approximately 57 customers.

• Money the board has saved the district (employee insurance, wages, no water rate increases).

False statements on recall petition:

• Board’s negligence (no proof provided on recall petition).

• No explanation for high August 2013 water bills (nonliable explanation was offered).

• Demanding payment (12-month payment plan has been offered to relieve hardships).

• Customers received bills exceeding 900 percent of typical monthly usage stated on recall petition (no proof provided).

Counter measure made:

• Complaint lodged with Oregon State Elections Division for investigation of fraudulent statement on petition.

• Asked The Bulletin for another recall article reporting all the “provable facts” they left out of first article — nothing issued to date.

It would certainly be nice to see an article that was not so one-sided, which was printed in The Bulletin on Jan. 26.

Kay Walters, Terrebonne Domestic Water District Board Member

Terrebonne

Temperature studyover time

I have been tracking the daily record all-time high air temperatures as listed in The Bulletin with interesting results. Tracking from January 1928 to December 2013, the midpoint of this time period is Dec. 31, 1970. Normal weather would have 50 percent of the highs before December 1970 and 50 percent after. My count had 182 highs before 1970 and 185 highs after 1970. However, the weighted average of the highs is December 1969. When one considers the tendency for higher temperatures increasing over time, because of urban heat sinks, one must conclude that the high temperatures over this time period is normal and is easily within any error of observation. I repeat, normal.

Some other interesting notes: The period from 2001 to 2013 had 53 all-time highs and the period from 1928 to 1940 had 85 all-time highs (that’s 60 percent more). The year 1934 had the most all-time highs with 15. Even though my study only tracks one aspect of temperature in one locale on the planet, it still coincides with the dust bowl period of the ’30s, the supposed global cooling (13 highs) of the early ’70s and the warming of the ’90s and 2000s.

Regardless, the science isn’t settled on global warming, and one must keep an open mind on the subject.

Tom Clark

Redmond