There’s no excuse for abuse

To the editor:

We all remember the “The Trial of the Century,” when the O.J. Simpson media storm brought the brutal realities of domestic violence into the homes of millions of middle Americans. Not that it hadn’t been lurking there all along for far too many women and children who lived out Stepford-like existences with clean facades and dirty secrets. But for many of us, myself included, the words “domestic violence” weren’t exactly part of our vocabulary until we saw the swarm of crime scene investigators at the home Nicole Brown Simpson had once lived in with her two children and the documentary photos of her badly beaten face, images from her life in an abusive relationship, which surfaced along with allegations that her ex-husband was responsible for her untimely death.

Now, 15 years after her sister, Nicole, was ruthlessly murdered, Denise Brown is determined to break the silence that domestic violence imposes on victims and their families. Ms. Brown will provide a community presentation in La Grande entitled, “There’s No Excuse for Abuse,” which will detail her experiences with domestic violence in her own family and her brave commitment to creating community safety nets for victims/ survivors. Her visit is part of the inaugural Rural Institute on Child Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence, sponsored by Mount Emily Safe Center: Regional Services, which is a two-day conference event designed to provide attendees with the skills to examine, understand, intervene in, and prevent violence and abuse.

Please join us for this important community event on Monday, Sept. 21 at the Blue Mountain Conference Center in La Grande. Wine and hors d’ oeuvres will be available beginning at 6 p.m. and the presentation begins at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at The Dragonfly Boutique for $20 each and all proceeds will go to support Mount Emily Safe Center. For more information about the conference, please visit www.mtemilysafecenter.com or call 541-963-0602.

Jessie Zimmerer

La Grande

Reckless stance by the editor

To the editor:

I cannot believe the editor of the paper wrote an article on how the marijuana cleanup was the cause of that poor young man’s untimely death. This shows a reckless and unbiased stance as an editor of a newspaper on so many levels. I will no longer read your paper.

Laura Downey

North Powder

A great tour of Australia

To the editor:

Just a note to let Baker City people know of a fabulous way to see Australia guided by our own local people, George and Lynette Hauptman, who reside in Halfway during the summer.

In February of 2009 we had a dream come true when we booked a trip to Australia with Hauptman Tours. We had talked to several local people and they recommended George and Lynette. Since Lynette is from Australia, and they live there six months out of the year, she definitely knew her way around the area.

They totally spoiled us! We traveled a variety of places and saw so many fantastic things. The weather was wonderful, the accommodations were spectacular, and the local people were so caring. Our guides went out of their way to make our tour a memory of a lifetime. We would highly recommend traveling with them.

Alan and Lynda King

Art and Shirley Payne

Baker City