Letters for January 27, 2011

For the animals

Time to check your linen closets and storage areas for spare towels and blankets.

Nevada Humane Society is in need again—or still.

As a no-kill shelter with the economy as it is, more and more pets are being surrendered or abandoned.

Washoe County and NHS takes responsibility for their fragile existence until forever homes can be found.

Please check your storage areas and linen closets for towels and blankets as all pets need beds and blankets.

This is a great community service project for any kind of area youth group or adult civic organization or even your office.

Everyone has old towels and blankets not being used. It seems simple, but is greatly appreciated by four-footed creatures who can not say thanks, so we will! I am willing to pick up your donations.

NHS will send a receipt if you need one, or you can drop off at the regional center at 2825 Longley Lane.

Washoe County opens at 10 a.m., and Nevada Humane Society opens at 11 a.m.

Peggy Rew
American Red Cross Dog & Cat First Aid Instructor

The more you know

Re “Bulb busters” (Green, Jan. 20):

Regarding Myth No. 1: “… can last up to nine years.” The life of a CFL is significantly shorter if it is turned on and off frequently. In the case of a five-minute on/off cycle, the lifespan of a CFL can be reduced to close to that of incandescent light bulbs. The U.S. Energy Star program suggests that fluorescent lamps be left on when leaving a room for less than 15 minutes to mitigate this problem.

Lauren Scott
Reno

Back in the pool

Re “War & Peace” (Feature story, Jan. 20):

I’m very pleased to see this all finally put in print. I learned of Spread Peace Reno and began volunteering with their organization within the first month they were in town. From the beginning, something felt a little off to me about the whole enterprise, which is why I chose to never donate any money, just food and my time. One of the things I liked about their approach to helping the homeless was that they were just giving food directly to people; no forms, no intake process, just simply feeding someone who was hungry. As I watched the organization grow and continued to observe Chris and Tysha Tinney, something felt even more “off” to me. I chose to stop volunteering. When I learned they were opening Spread Peace Café, I became highly suspicious of the funding and their claims that for each meal sold one would be donated to a homeless person. I did not believe that the enterprise was above-board and decided I would not patronize that business. I’m happy to hear that the Tinneys are no longer affiliated with the restaurant, and I agree that a name change and rebranding are necessary. I have thus far been unwilling to set foot in that place. I’ve even skipped seeing friends perform at music shows there because of my feelings about the Tinneys. Now that I understand the Tams are running it solo, I might actually go check it out. Thanks for your reporting on this issue.

Tami Arnold
Sun Valley

Try it again

Re “Good intentions” (Foodfinds, Dec. 30):

I have eaten many times at the cafe and have always enjoyed the food, service and atmosphere. While I can understand that mistakes were made, and poor service will definitely leave a sour taste, perhaps it was an isolated incident or more hopefully, they are aware of the problem and have made corrections with staff and/or food as necessary. The cafe has always been such an enjoyable experience for myself and others who joined me, I find it hard to believe things haven’t been corrected. I say, try it again! You don’t know what you’re missing! We love the cafe and the fabulous staff. Trials and errors are always to be expected in new establishments.

Sheryl Ohm
Reno

The back story

Re “War & Peace” (Feature story, Jan. 20):

It’s been a long year and a half since the Tinneys became people of interest to me. I called the Nevada Department of Taxation in November 2009 after being emailed a copy of their tax-exempt status. I spoke to the person in the department and asked them then how they had obtained it and what documentation was provided. I was told that it was because the house was a church (as it was stated again by their office), and I told the department then it was a residence. I never heard whether they went back out to re-investigate. I called the Secretary of State’s office in February, and in March, I mailed them everything I had found at that time—links and information I later gave to Teresa Peña—and tried to file a complaint anonymously. I can understand Pastor Ron Sapp’s fear. I never did let them get close to me, but when the SOS office called me about the complaint I sent and said that I would have to do it with my name and that my complaint would be sent to Chris Tinney directly, I was afraid. I had a lot of friends who had gotten in pretty deep by then, and I also had a family, and I didn’t know if it was going to make me some sort of target. It was not too long after that I connected with Teresa, who was willing to be braver than I was, but when I first met her, she was a defender. She took what I gave her, and she kept fighting when I felt I couldn’t. She gave me the strength to openly say something. She put herself out there as the target, and she took a lot of the heat, but as we now see, it was all worth it because it’s all coming out now. I also appreciate Randy Tam’s statement. I hadn’t been to the cafe and never planned to set foot in there, and I eventually became quite open about it. I think the Tams were targeted for their financial success, and I now feel they were taken in. I think a name change would be a great way to completely sever the nasty ties they had.

Michelle Beck
Sparks

Pursue justice

Re “War & Peace” (Feature story, Jan. 20):

Justice will come to those who have taken advantage of the system. The Tinneys’ need to face what they have done and quit running. They seemed to lose perspective on what the goal was with Spread Peace Reno: to feed the homeless. The documentation will hold up to any of these so-called slanderous accusations. I feel it’s about time that justice be brought forth, and they pay for the evil done.

Tom Bowlin
Dayton

Watch your money

Re “War & Peace” (Feature story, Jan. 20):

It is about time I see this news about Spread Peace Reno made public. After questioning things peacefully—trying to make sense of what didn’t make sense—directly to Chris and Tysha Tinney, I was removed from various Facebook groups, never received any response to my valid questions. It makes sense that, if the questionable spending was valid, they’d have addressed the reasons for it early, rather than taking eight months to come up with a very shady cover. Good works were done and were inspired by the Tinneys. But good works aren’t a free pass for activity which benefited no one but the Tinneys. I hope people don’t buy into the rhetoric in Vegas they way they did here. Do good works. Do, in fact, spread peace and feed the hungry. Be wary, though, of to whom you pledge your bank account.

Danielle Swinehart
Sun Valley

Corrections

In “Blues Brothers,” Jan. 20, we misspelled Moondog Matinee guitarist Travis Axe’s name, which we spelled “Ax.” In “Rough Sleepers,” Dec. 9, 2010, and “War & Peace,” Jan. 20, we identified Willie Puchert as belonging to the group Spread Peace Reno. He has not been a member of the group for several months. We regret these errors, and apologize for any confusion or distress we caused.