Letters to the Editor.

MSU class boon to visually impaired

I have just returned from a month on the MSU campus in Bozeman. This month was spent attending a free Summer Orientation Program for the visually impaired through the Montana Association for the Blind.

There were 24 students attending from ages 20 to 80, and they wer all in varying degrees of blindness. Training was intensive; I had seven classes a day.

Some of the required classses were mobility, cooking, discussion, and aids for daily living.

I strongly recommend this school for anyone with with severely impaired vision. It was the most valuable month's education that I have ever received.

Can you imagine the inspiration when I realized that five of my teachers were totally blind. If they can do it with no vision, there is no reason to let anything stand in or way of learning. I can't stress enough the importance of taking every opportunity available and living life to the fullest. Check this school out, get an application in early and join this industrious group next summer. For more inforamtion contact Helena MAB chapter president Jim Hopkins at 442-2144.

Audrey R. Anderson

1400 Mt. Helena Drive.

Letter was right

Orval A. Mix had a guest letter in the IR paper. It was right on target. If this nation doesn't get back to God soon, it is lost.

The Bible says, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. Psalms 9:17.

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance." Psalms 33:12. God is the answer to the world's problems.

Gladys Armstrong

Townsend

Ideas on condoms fit for the tabloids

A recent issue of Weekly Work News featured articles on Saddam Hussein's plot to use killer dinosaurs to destroy the United States, European werewolves succumbing to kennel cough, and a secret United Nations plot to bar-code every American man, woman and child.

I wrote to the paper's editorial office in Boca Raton, Fla., to see if it would be interested in reprinting the recent editorial by the Montana Family Council, which would fit right in with the supermarket tabloid's other content.

The group claimed in an Aug. 15 Independent Record editorial that reproductive rights groups such as Planned Parenthood are distributing condoms as part of a far-reaching conspiracy by aborton providers to increase teen pregnancies and thus reap a "fat profit" from abortions and the sale of "harvested baby parts."

I'm still waiting to hear back from the tabloid's editors, but I suspect the family council's claims are too absurd even for them.

Tom Dickson

P.O. Box 317, Helena

Education is not anti-family stand

Is anti-education "pro-family?"

There is no doubt that the decision to become sexually active is a private matter between individuals, their loved ones, and the advisors they place their trust in (their physicians).

Although I strongly disagree with Montana Familiy Coalition's behavior during the fair and in the recent publication, I hope that I am not reaching too far in my assumption that we all believe in protecting our youth from life-altering events such as acquiring an STD or teenage pregnancy.

The fact of the matter is that many pre-adults, sometimes with their families consent, do engage in sexual activities and do need accurate medical advice. You cannot guarantee that 100% of youth will be able to fight the natural desire for sexual contact during this hormone-high age and choose abstinence.

Educating them about responsible sexual behavior, preventing them from acquiring a terminal STD and decreasing the chances of teenage pregnancy IS pro-family; ignoring the need for education is not.

The threat to our young adults who lack this education is simply too great; you can never DIS-acquire and STD.

Donci Bardash

327 Broadway #3

Never leave dogs locked in cars

To the person who left their black lab dog locked in a car at County Market in over 100-degree heat. Shame on you. Bravo to the lady who broke out the car window and pulled out the dog, which was almost dead.

She took the dog immediately to the vet to save his life. Thank you, whoever you are.

Why do people have to take their animals with them animals with them on hot days and lock them in a car for who knows how long?

Try putting yourself in the animal's place. Would you like to sit in a hot car with no air while a member of your family shops? I think not.

A dog can withstand the heat for only a very short time before suffering brain damage -- or even death.

Please if you love your animal, leave him at home and hopefully all animal lovers will be happy you did.

C.M. Repplinger

4502 Woodchuck Drive