THE SANDBOX ~ Petty Gripes, and Cat Fights
Issue #127 ~ 07/21/01
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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)
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>>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)
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>>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*!
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>>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)
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>>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
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>>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)
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>>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
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>>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
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                   ~127~