Don't forget Oregon's ports

At one time the port of Coos Bay had close to 400 ships a year and 400 longshoremen working there. Now it gets 46 ships a year. Our port went from 16 to four docks. ... Shippers have been requesting to ship cargo from here.

We have 1,300 acres to develop that's zoned for shipping that we could build docks on. Ocean Terminals is building a new log dock, the first dock built in years. We went five years without shipping export logs. This is a big boom for the Southern Oregon coast as many logging companies were about to hang it up.

This was also good for the state's economy. The state says it will have a $200 million shortfall when it could invest in new docks to ship cargo out of Oregon's international port of Coos Bay -- an investment that could pay back loans and make jobs for many in Oregon.

Mills are shipping lumber through California and Washington ports to China that Oregon could be exporting.

Frank Williams

Coos Bay, Ore.

Too many questions

Upon trying to purchase some fire insurance, here are a few of the questions I encountered. Now I am going to put the same questions to people who buy Christmas trees from me:

1. What's your name?

2. What's your wife's name?

3. When were you born?

4. When was your wife born?

5. Do either of you smoke?

6. Where have you purchased a tree before?

7. What was the price?

8. What is your Social Security number?

9. What is your credit rating?

10. How old are you and your wife?

11. How old is your house?

12. How old is the roof, wiring, etc?

13. Do you own a wood stove?

14. What was the name of the tree farm where you bought the tree?

15. Do you have visitors, and do they smoke?

No wonder this country is in the mess that it is in.

Ed Unversagt

Warren, Ore.