Letters to the editor

Staying here, too

Dear Editor:

With regard to Dan Watson’s response to my letter concerning funds collected by Mammoth High School’s Interact Club, sorry to disappoint, Mr. Watson, but I feel that in these times it would be more beneficial for Interact members to have the opportunity to witness how impoverished people in their own country live.

There are plenty of homeless people in this country who desperately need the opportunity to participate in a project wherein they feel supported by fellow Americans who empathize with their dreadful living conditions, and who are willing to do something about it. I think you missed my point entirely. What’s wrong with establishing an emotional bond with our own citizens who are in such desperate need?

As for “life changing experiences” for young volunteers, could their lives not be changed and a tremendous educational experience be obtained through helping their own countrymen?

Nope, probably will not be volunteering to go with you next May.

Lyn Dunlap
Mammoth Lakes

I’m with her

Dear Editor:

I might understand your dismay with Ms. Dunlap if the economy in this country had not taken a nose dive 3 years ago. Frankly I think there are far more people living in 3rd World conditions here at home than you may realize. I think you will find that the kids who might be involved in this type of activity will be just as inspired to help someone who was a victim of a hurricane or economic crisis as they would by going to a clearly dangerous foreign country.

There is nothing wrong with pointing out that those funds would be put to good use at home, so I’m with her.

Susan Berger
Crowley Lake

The jagged edge 

Dear Editor:

In the ‘60s and ‘70s the saying went “as General Motors goes so goes the U.S. economy.”

So where am I going with this you ask? If the quotes are true that Supervisor Hazard thinks Mammoth is a cesspool; if Supervisor Hunt thinks the people of Mammoth will find similarities with the people of Walker; if we have one supervisor no one wants, so leave his district alone (they have to live with him); if one supervisor is worried about a jagged district (one district becomes Walker and Mammoth represented by the same supervisor); if we are accepting lousy answers because we are to lazy to find good answers … THAT seems a bit jagged to me!

Please stop and reevaluate what you are doing and what you are saying.

And then, of course, there is the conspiracy theory that the Town wanted to “hijack” the County budget. Could a supervisor really believe that OR that it could even be done? Please say you don’t believe this.

You think you have friction now between Mammoth and outlying areas in Mono County? Ask yourself why? Could people be following the lead of their elected representatives? Of course, from what you are all saying now, YOU have created friction between June and Lee Vining, Walker and Mammoth, and, of course, the east versus the “cesspool.”

Supervisor Hansen doesn’t want anything to do with June or Mammoth, but at least he was willing to vote “NO” for this choice and keep working.

Don’t you people realize how many people work in one part of the county but live in another?

And one of the best parts is 200 voters mean more than 700! Is that fair political practice? I thought one person, one vote and the majority wins. Isn’t that why we are redistricting?

How do you fix this? EASY! Stand up and be Supervisors for the people of Mono County. Do the right thing and repeal the decision you have made and get back to the drawing board.  Then, chart out the plan that brings the county together and start acting like Supervisors of Mono County  —  the whole county and nothing less.

In closing are there any houses for sale in District 3?

Tom Cage
Mammoth Lakes 

Back to the Future

Dear Editor:

I am writing to express my discontent with the current medical marijuana options in Mono County. Our local government, which does not always seem to make all the best decisions, decided that there would be only two options for local residents to get there green medicine. One must decide between Steve Klassen’s Green Mammoth, or Robert Calvert’s Mammoth Lakes Wellness. The council must have been impressed by Klassen’s speech in which he tried to quote a Steve Winwood song, but forgot the lines.

Most other counties in California offer a discreet delivery service, but Mammoth’s local delivery guy [Bill Crosby] was arrested.

The general consensus is that both of these “dispensaries” are too expensive, and this is more than just opinion.

In other parts of California, advertisements run for medicine capped at $45 an eighth. For those that do not require this expensive medicine, an eighth of an ounce is, maybe, a weeks worth of medicine for your average patient. Our local Green Mammoth and Mammoth Lakes Wellness cap their eighths at $65, which is more than 140% of the cost “donated” for medicine “on the other side” or “down south.” Other dispensaries also offer heavy discounts for patients willing to pick up a month’s supply or so at once. This is not available in Mono County with prices for ounces reaching as high as $440. I do not know many locals that can afford this, so who are they serving? To put things into perspective, an eighth is about $50 on the black market and ounces go for $250 to $400.

I believe that other Mammoth Lakes retail owners would like to enjoy their profit margins as well. These can be easily calculated using some of the numbers found in the classifieds section of WeedMaps.com, where one can purchase a quarter pound for as little as $800 for high quality medicine. This means that the profit margins at these medical dispensaries, that I compare to Rite Aid’s pharmacy in my mind for laughs, are well over 50% gross profit.  Ask retail store owners, such as Klassen, if they are pulling in anything close to that on a t-shirt or sweatshirt sale. It also must be nice to finally have found a business that is not seasonal.

I could go on, but there is only so much room for letters to the editor. And this probably isn’t even news to most.

Michael King
Mammoth Lakes 

Hap-py days 

Dear Editor:

Your editorial comments in the Aug. 27 paper (page 2) went far beyond outrageous to downright insulting both to me and to the citizens of Mammoth Lakes. Let me quote from the offending paragraph, so those new readers will have a reference point.

Your printed quote: “Then it was decided that the demographics of Hap Hazard’s District 2 are largely unchanged so why mess with it. Besides, as [Supervisor Vikki] Bauer explained, “Hap begs off every issue involving Mammoth that comes before us. He views Mammoth as a cesspool.”

First let me say that before starting this letter I contacted Supervisor Bauer to obtain what her comments were while speaking with you. She denies ever saying anything about me making any reference to Mammoth Lakes being a cesspool. She went so far as to write a rebuttal on thesheetnews.com website.

For the record, I have never referred to Mammoth Lakes as a cesspool or any other such statement. So let’s review the facts.

Hap begs off every issue involving Mammoth that comes before us: I have the greatest respect for the Town of Mammoth Lakes and its political structure. I was here when Mammoth incorporated and I listened to the community debate prior to that vote. Mammoth incorporate to have local control and their own funding source for projects that they felt were important. I honor that position and use it as a guiding principal in every debate involving the Town and County. There are programs that serve both the Town & County, and I always look for those cases to be able to support joint efforts. In most cases using joint efforts for common programs and goals reduces cost for both the Town & County.

On issues that solely involve Mammoth, I try and stay away from injecting my county perspective into the discussion. When an agenda item request consideration of a topic that I believe is a Town issue or one that should be handled by the Town, I will frequently attempt to push it back to the Town to deal with. I don’t want the Town inserting itself in county affairs and I won’t insert the county in town affairs without being invited to participate.

When an agenda item requests County dollars to support a Mammoth issue, I again revert back to the Town’s desire to be a standalone government and their vote to fund their own projects.

I will always take credit for any statement I make and any position I take. If I am shown to be wrong I will correct my position or apologize for a comment. I don’t need an editor to insert words in my mouth that are hurtful and demeaning. I feel you owe me and the citizens of Mammoth Lakes an apology.

Thanks, Ted, for your attention to this topic. I’m sure I’ll provide you with something to write about next week.

Duane “Hap” Hazard
Mono County Supervisor District 2

Editor’s reply: I stand behind the veracity of the quotations attributed to Supervisor Bauer in last week’s editorial.