100s of ways to help air quality

To the Editors:

Please take a few minutes and review the Four Corners Air Quality Task Force Report, now available for public comment until July 13 at: http: //www.nmenv.state.nm.us/aqb/4C/PublicReview.html. The Task Force, of which Lee Conger and I are members, consists of more than 200 people including representatives from public interest groups, universities, industry, federal, state, tribal and local governments and private citizens, and has been meeting for 18 months. We have generated hundreds of ideas for reducing air pollution in the Four Corners region in the categories of power plants, oil and gas exploration, and many types of engines. We have also come up with ideas for promoting energy efficiency, renewable energy and conservation. These suggestions will be used by the various governmental agencies as they consider permitting pollution-emitting activities in the Four Corners.

Comments on these mitigation options can be made online. If you don’t have access to the web, contact Mark Jones at the New Mexico Air Quality Bureau, Farmington office, (505) 327-6854.

Pollution-producing activities, especially from energy production, will continue indefinitely in our area. Look over our suggestions before July 13 and attend the rescheduled hearing on the Environmental Impact Statement for the Desert Rock Energy Project on Wed., July 18, 5-8 p.m. at the Iron Horse Inn.

– Marilyn Brown,

League of Women Voters of La Plata County

The danger of sexual violence

Dear Editors,

The terror and violation of sexual assault marked the last moments of a woman’s life this month as she died

in the Spanish Trails Inn and Suites. With news that three men will face first-degree murder and felony sexual assault charges in her death, the very serious danger of sexual violence is a demonstrated reality here in

Durango. Although most sexual assaults are not widely publicized to protect the privacy of the victim, Durango-based Sexual Assault Services Organization (SASO) helped 143 people who experienced sexual4

violence in 2006.

Most sexual assaults are not fatal, but most victims describe experiencing a genuine fear of death during the assault. For a person who has previously experienced sexual violence, hearing about such a traumatic and violent sexual assault case could bring back feelings of terror and violation. I encourage anyone who feels affected by sexual violence, whether directly or indirectly, to reach out for help from someone you trust will believe you and empower you to decide what is right for you to do next. SASO offers a 24-hour free and confidential crisis hotline staffed with trained SASO volunteers who will listen and help provide information and options. The number is (970) 247-5400.

We know sexual assaults impact not only the person violated but can also be devastating to their friends and family. My heart goes out to the family and friends of the woman who was killed.

According to an Amnesty International report, one in three Native American women are sexually assaulted in their lifetime, a rate 3.5 times that of all other races. Amnesty International’s report, “The Maze of Injustice” for Native sexual assault victims states, “Rape is always an act of violence, but there is evidence to suggest that sexual violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women involves a higher level of additional physical violence.” These statistics demonstrate a continued injustice toward people who have been historically persecuted in this country that is simply unacceptable.

It appears the victim knew the perpetrators, as is true in most sexual assault cases. Perpetrators of sexual violence use this trust to gain access to victims. Regardless of the prior relationship to the victim, in the moment of the assault the perpetrator becomes a stranger to the victim, because until that moment the victim did not believe the perpetrator could do something so violating.

– Dawn Haney,

executive director, Sexual Assault Services Organization

Sometimes

Sometimes love flowers like a summer meadow.

Sometimes love moans like a hope under fear.

Sometimes love winces like an open wound.

Sometimes love flees like a seed to the sea.

Sometimes love whispers like a prayer in the night.

Sometimes love hides in the heart like a scar.

Sometimes love lingers like an old memory.

Sometimes love stings like a slap in the face.

Sometimes love cries like a wolf in the night.

Sometimes love seduces like a breath in the ear.

Sometimes love lies like a mirrored denial.

Sometimes love falls like the blind in the dark.

Sometimes love sleeps like an oak in winter.

Sometimes love dies like a crimsoned vein.

Sometimes love whimpers like a dying pup.

Sometimes love begs like a starving child.

Sometimes love laughs like a drunken clown.

Sometimes love soothes like the word that is love.

Sometimes love teaches like a scripture verse,

And

Sometimes love knows the nature of your heart

Better than you do.

– Burt Baldwin