Letters for August 15, 2002

I liked the editorial on the nuke dump and the demand for answers as to why Yucca Mountain.

My question is why do they, the government, not only want to store it underground but to cover it up and entomb it forever?

It wasn’t that long ago the “experts” said that the waste could be kept in barrels and buried in landfills like they did at Hanover, Wash. That resulted in leaking of radioactivity into the ground water. The experts have come up with other ways of storing the waste and all are in the process of failing. The results are radioactive leaks into the environment.

To put the waste underground is one thing, but to cover it up, entombing it, is like building a pyramid on top of a waste pile. It’s not practical. The waste dump is being built next to a volcano, an earthquake fault and other natural defects in the earth. What if the ground water were to rise? What if a canister were to crack and leak? The waste would have to be moved. How long would it take to dig it all up? And could it be done in time?

Also, are they planning to hide evidence of other activities in the waste site that they want to keep secret? Who would look for evidence inside of a nuke waste container that is buried miles down and if they wanted to how could they accomplish it? There is something sinister going on and that question needs to be addressed.

Dewey Quong
via e-mail

More busted TVs
Re “Too Much Power to the People” [RN&R News, August 1]:

Glad to see someone is brave enough to shed light on the dirty little secret of Sierra Pacific Power Company. The RGJ would print a word of the story back when I tried to shine a spotlight on this consumer rip-off. (But the RN&R did run a piece, as did the Carson Appeal.)

SPPC destroys a fortune in home electronics and refuses to pay a penny. Yet we are forced to pay them thousands of dollars in electricity bills. SPPC is a monopoly, so we have nowhere else to shop for power.

We lost about $10,000 worth of electronics—computers, TVs, VCRs, etc.—in three separate power surges. One actually blew up the inside surge protector and blackened the wall where it had been. Another power surge, at the pole, set the back yard on fire. Imagine coming home to find your backyard bustling with fire trucks, the indoor wall blackened and the electronics fried … yet again!

We spent uncounted hours attempting to get SPPC to even talk to us, much less accept responsibility, much less pay damages. (Our insurance company, Farmers, was always very good about paying—after we paid the $500 deductible). Meanwhile, SPPC always had dozens of reason why the damage was not their fault, such as, “A bird did it.”

SPPC actually told lies. For instance, they said the house was not properly grounded. We hired an independent electrician who said that not only was it grounded to code, but actually exceeded code. SPPC lied about the birds, claiming that hundreds of pigeons nested in a shed on a nearby property. That was just b*** s***.

We used to live in the north woods, which is literally full of birds! We never had such problems in any of the other 20 places we have lived in the United States.

Pat Patera
Washoe Valley

Bard guy responds
Re “Marring the Bard” [RN&R Letters, June 20]:

I would like to take this time to comment on the letter that was printed about me [as a response to “The Bard Gone Mad,” RN&R Theater, May 30]. First, I would like to address the fact that I was misquoted throughout the interview. I know that pubescent boys used to play the women characters in the Elizabethan era. I think most people do. Thanks to a wonderful theater teacher, I learned that as a freshman. So I hope that the anonymous person whom felt compelled to attack my intelligence will sit back and think before they react. If the person would have read closer, they would have seen that I did mention the men playing women in Shakespearean plays. Also, to say that I was trying to “shock” people is an absurd comment. The Shakespearean women were used as the tie in, not because of shock value, but because I love the heart and strength of the monologues chosen. Let me leave this person with a thought: God bless you for your ignorance and have a great day!

Adam Whitney
Reno