THE SANDBOX ~ Petty Gripes, and Cat Fights Issue #127 ~ 07/21/01 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7 Bombers in THE SANDBOX today: Mike Clowes (54), Judy Willox (61), Sandra Genoway (62), Linda Reining (64), Sean Lewis (77), Jenny Smart (87), Jim Moran (87) ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø >>From: Bob Carlson, aka Mike Clowes (54) Where are Neal McClure, Thor Hauf and Grover Dawson now that we need them? Things do not sound good in the Atomic City, what with some politically correct upstart school superintendent making semi-official noises about "bomb removal". We're lucky he didn't call for an E.O.D. team. So, it is time for all good Bombers to come to the aid of our symbol. I could add "rally 'round the bomb, boys!' but that might be "overkill" (sorry about that). Re: the Finley "whatevers" Further research found that there was a group advocating the Finley "Acmes", but withdrew when it was pointed out that the word "acme" had evil connotations. Something to do with coyotes, I believe. Let the Bomber Cheer be "Save our Bomb!" -Bob Carlson, aka Mike Clowes (54) ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø >>From: Judy Willox Hodge (61) To: Ray Ballard (63), Burt Pierard (59) and Those That Contributed Our Bomb: I am deeply sorry that Rich Semler and whomever else was involved did NOT have the respect for your "masterpiece" that it deserved when removing it from the RHS foyer!! As my husband said, "Why the h*** couldn't they have just unbolted it instead of cutting it out and damaging it? And better still, why the h*** couldn't they have just left it alone until the matter was settled? This is all a bunch of bulls***! Not political my a**!!" Yeh, this from a non-Bomber hailing out of the state of Texas that has seen and learned what pride we all have in our heritage and is proud to at least be married to a Bomber!! I say here that those that do NOT come from here, were NOT here in the beginning, DIDN'T pay the price with the young death of a parent riddled with cancer, DIDN'T perhaps pay with the poor health that many of us seem to have (yeh, I know that this is still up for debate as far as the government is concerned!!), did NOT go through their childhood riddled with the fear of air-raid drills and the unknown of what was to come from those drills, did NOT bond to the rest of us whom were and did and become a member of our proud Bomber family should stay out of our way!! We WILL fight to the end for our Bomber name and our mascots and logos!!! We have paid dearly for and earned the right to them and by God and all that is sacred, we will prevail in keeping them!!!!! And to those that fight us over this issue, I say, LIVE with it and DEAL with it!! World War II was a fact; we here in Richland help build the bomb and that's a fact; the United States dropped the bomb and that is a fact; we ARE and chose to be Bombers way back then and that is DEFINITELY a fact!!! So, let us alone and leave us our rights to our heritage and our pride in it and the Bomber family. Leave our green and gold mascot alone and display it with the pride it deserves!!!!!!!!!! I will be at that meeting and hope to see a lot of you there. Even my grandson is angry over this matter and wants to be there. You can read his entry [in the Sandstorm] as that is how strong he feels over this!! And he HATES to write! He is a Bomber through and through!! Bomber Cheers to All, -Judy Willox Hodge (61) ~ Richland ~ where the weather is cool, but the heat is high!! *G*! ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø >>From: Sandra Genoway (62) Re: BOMB So, the TCH still requires letters to be no more than 200 words! I remember trying to get all my pro-energy activism words into such a small amount and still be able to say everything necessary during the early 1980's when I and others in the TCs were fighting to keep our nuclear reactors running and producing electricity. Also, Hanford workers' activists were trying to convince the politicians that we needed to keep building reactors back then. I think some of the politicians should have listened a little better! Anyway, I think it is a good idea to write the TCH about the bomb shell and the school administers. If you demonstrate in front of the Administration Bldg. on Aug. 14, you can also bring signs then, too. I have used good grade poster board found at art suppliers, or even drug stores or Fred Meyer. And for paint, water based acrylic works very nice, and it is not expensive; or, you can use the large-sized felt pens, if it is not raining on the 14th. If you think it may rain (something we Puget Sounders have to contend with many times), you put clear plastic wrap around your sign then tape it in the back. For sticks, you can find some cheap ones at the Fred Meyer; I have used duct tape around the bottoms (handles) so you don't get slivers in your hands, and they are more comfortable to hold for long periods of time. Use the flat, about two inch type, and staple your signs onto them with a large-sized staple gun, down the middle. And remember, if you don't go into the streets with your demonstration, you probably don't need to get a permit. The sidewalks in front of the buildings, next to the streets, are public property and you can legally be there. Also, if you make up "chants", get a battery-run bull horn for a cheer leader; this really helps to get people revved up and doing the yelling. Write the chants out on pages you can hand out to the demonstrators as they come, and make some extra signs for those who don't have any when they come to the demonstration. You may wish to start a loose-knit organization and give yourselves a name. Put out a press release to all of the television stations and papers telling them you will be at the Administrative Bldg. on Aug. 14 and why you will be demonstrating. Give them at least two weeks' notice, so the programers can allow for the time they will need to film you. A press release is double-spaced, all capitals, with "PRESS RELEASE" typed at the top along with the date you type it. This can be faxed or sent in snail mail. Be sure to include someone's phone number so they can call and ask questions if they need to; also, perhaps an E-mail address they can use. At your demonstration, you may also include a "blown up" large-sized photo of the bomb shell to show what you are concerned about. It would be good for the media to see this and get it on tape, also. -Sandra Genoway (62) ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø >>From: Linda Reining (64) Re: our mascot I think all of us that do not live in the Tri-City area should "fire" off an email to the Richland School board and demand that they leave the "bomb" alone!!!!! They must not have attended Col-Hi or they wouldn't be trying to "mess" with us!!!!! I am so sick and tired of this "politically correct" crap!!!!!! -Linda Reining (64) ~ Bakersfield, CA - outside temperature is nice, but mine is at the "boiling point"!!!!) lol ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø >>From: Sean Lewis (77) Fergodsake, people, let's keep a reasonable and level head about this bomb/gift thing. From my perspective, no one's trying to "change the mascot name" (at least by this action) as has been implied; I truly doubt that there are "plants" from other communities on our school board who are trying to infiltrate our city and muck up our mascot and campus adornments; and if there's an established school board policy about accepting and installing gifts to the school, let it run its due course. Why should this be an exception??? It's unfortunate that those who installed it were not aware of, or ignored, the policy, but it does not in itself imply a conspiracy that it was removed so that established procedures can run their course. Of course, once the school board does meet, I expect there will be overwhelming support of re-installing the bomb and it'll be a done deal. "Bata-bing bata-boom," I believe, is the expression. Yes, it's still somewhat of a controversial image, but it's a bomb, we're the Bombers - it's all the same, and I for one am proud of what it symbolizes and the work that many generations our community contributed toward it. Cool it, folks - many of you sound like National Enquirer reporters! In fact, letting the school board process proceed, and getting it "officially" approved, will pretty much shut up anyone claiming that the bomb installation was railroaded through and that it has no right to be there. If the community clearly supports it being there, it ought to be there, period. And I expect it will. Sheeeeesh!!! That's how I see it.... -Sean Lewis (77) ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø >>From: Jenny Smart Page (87) Re: Cancer Although I lost my mother to thyroid cancer within the last couple of years, I am not yet convinced that it was caused by something "brought home" over the years while living in communities where nuclear plants were common. Why do I say this? Simply because as our technology and medical knowledge advances, so will the discovery of "new" cases of various diseases. Perhaps there appears to be an "increase" in cancer simply because the doctors are better able to diagnosis it, where as 50 years ago someone with the type of cancer my mother had would have simply died from "unknown" or "natural" causes, because it was a rare, unresearched (and relatively unknown) form of the disease. The cancer levels of the Tri-Cities may or may not be any higher than anywhere else in the world. We all know someone who has this, that or the other, especially when you deal with a community like Richland, where after living here for a while it seems you know every other family in town (so to speak), and thus the number of occurrences may actually self-perpetuate, because everyone is thinking of the "same" neighbor two blocks over. And, let's not forget that there are other carcinogens in the environment that are just as, if not more so, abundant than the stuff that has floated around out of the Hanford Reservation over the years. -Jenny Smart Page (87) ~ West Richland, WA ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø >>From: Jim Moran (87) It is very interesting to read everybody's comments about the RHS mascot. Should the bomb stay or should it go? Frankly, I can see both sides of the issue. As an alum, I hold the bomb and mushroom cloud with great pride. But, I understand why many people around the nation and world would not see it as such. However, what truly saddens me, is how much energy and time people would spend over a symbol, such as our beloved mascot. But many people would not write a letter of support for a school bond or increased teacher pay. In fact how many of you have worked on a committee to pass a school bond? (not counting Jenny Smart) I mention these things as an educator in the public schools. I see parents and a communities rally around an issue like mascots, school names, or when football programs are endanger of being cut. But the same people or community would demonstrate very little interest in regards to a school district funding of new text books, new technology funding, or the continued financial support of a music or arts program in the public schools. In short, I would encourage people not only to write a letter to the TCH for (or against) our mascot, but also for improved public education funding and more internet access for students. Take the time to attend a school board meeting when the issue is other than a school mascot and have your voice heard on a variety of school issues. In closing, forever a Bomber in my heart (whatever the mascot will be), -Jim Moran (87) ~ Nampa, ID ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø ~127~