THANK YOU ...

... to honesty and integrity

We have been blessed with two exceptional acts of honesty that have greatly increased our faith in our fellow man. Late in the summer, while gassing our ski boat, one in our party inadvertently left her wallet and cell phone on the wheel cover of the boat trailer. Both vibrated off somewhere between the gas station and Lucky Peak. We searched in vain. Miraculously, two days later, a man showed up on her doorstep with the wallet with everything intact, including credit cards and $100 in cash.

More recently, a member of our family accidentally left her purse in a grocery cart in Walmart. Again, after a frantic search, we called Walmart; and they reported one of their employees who helps gather up the grocery carts in the parking lot had turned it in. Again, no cash, credit cards or ID were missing.

The feelings of gratitude and appreciation for the honesty and integrity of our fellow citizens in Boise has been greatly increased and admired.

MORRIS BASTIAN, Boise

... to Rake Up Boise volunteers

I wish to thank all those involved in Rake Up Boise. What a bunch of nice people. I wouldn’t have been able to do it myself. So thank you, thank you ever so much.

LIN MARCH, Boise

... to Rotary Club, delivery person

We would like to say thank you to the Boise Southwest Rotary Club for its great job of raking our yard during Rake Up Boise Day. As usual they did a great job.

Also, an extra big thank you to our paper delivery person. No matter what the weather is, our newspaper is on our front doorstep every day.

Thanks to them all.

PAT AND JIM SPEARMAN, Boise

UNDERAGE DRINKING

Alcohol puts teens at risk

Will anyone be held accountable for student injuries resulting from falls from fraternity house windows in Moscow and Pullman? The basic problem is excessive alcohol consumption. Most of the victims were under age 21 so the alcohol providers were violating the law.

The underage drinking epidemic is not limited to the college population. A recent survey suggests that 18,000 Idaho high school students engage in binge drinking, five drinks or more at one time.

Many parents don’t know how damaging and dangerous alcohol is for adolescents and don’t counsel their children.

Research shows that teenagers, whose brains are still developing, are at great risk for alcohol dependence. A child who starts drinking at 16 is four times more likely to become alcohol dependent than someone who starts at 21. A child who starts at 13 has a 45 percent chance of dependency. Most adult alcoholics were underage drinkers.

Underage drinking limits brain development and fosters risky behavior resulting in death and injury. It contributes to depression and to Idaho’s exceptionally high youth suicide rate. It can also result in students dropping out of school and failing to pursue further education.

KEN ROBISON, Boise

NETWORK CRITIC

Book not so good after all

Unfortunately, the historian who wrote the recent best seller, “The Generals," which I had recommended, appeared on TV for an interview to discuss the inadequacies of the recent debacle at Benghazi, came on strong, not as a historian, but as an ideological idiot, striking out that Fox Network is an arm of the Republican Party.

Well, of all the credit I give him as a historian, apparently he doesn’t read his own writings. He severely criticizes MacArthur and others as not being able to keep separate their political leanings from their military/career objectives in his writings, but can’t follow his own findings. When asked about the administration’s incompetence on Benghazi, he first lashes out at a network. So that destroyed any reason to think that he would ever have some academic background to be a commentator on any military subject. So I take back my recommendation on his book since it begs that any comments in his book are tainted.

As the combat leaders that we were, it appears that we must now take a back seat to the political ideologies/political correctness of the new age over the needs of our troops.

TOM WOODALL, Boise

LUNA

‘Human side’ act not convincing

Gee, isn't it nice that Tom Luna decided to show his human side by becoming the judge to select grade school winners for the Idaho State Department of Education’s annual holiday card contest? I’m sure his credentials qualifying him as the selection judge are impeccable. Then again, they could include a mail-order Ph.D. in art appreciation. As far as showing his human side, most Idaho teachers and students will not likely be convinced.

DAVID RANSOM, Boise