Editor,

I read where a skate park is possibly in the works for the city. I believe there needs to be recreation available for kids but I have one concern that I've not seen addressed to date.

A few years ago the City of Oologah removed a large slide from a park area because of lawsuit concerns if a child happened to get injured on it. It was not long after that, I noticed the big, decades-old slide at Claremore Lake Park was also removed. My son, (now grown) spent many hours on that particular slide, and I felt was never in any danger.

With the inherent dangers that are actually the draw in a skate park and the very litigious society that we find ourselves living in, I'm wondering who gets sued when a youngster tries going down a banister on a skate board, breaks his neck and is paralyzed for life.

A few years ago we chalked it up to one of the "tragedies" in life that we should've known better than to be doing in the first place. Today it is different. Society tends not to take the blame for its own actions, instead blaming others for our risk-taking.To be sure however, a lawsuit will be filed because "someone" didn't do "something" right to protect the public from themselves.

If you think I'm being ridiculous, does anyone remember the woman that spilled hot coffee in her lap while driving out of a McDonalds drive through and then sued McDonalds for selling her hot coffee? She and her lawyers collected millions on something that any sane person would've said,"Well, I should've known better in the first place."

I do not particularly oppose a skate park but I do believe the city had better have all the bases covered when it opens one.

Jack Cumbee, Claremore

The ‘black’ side of coal mining

Editor,

Although the weather may not cooperate, it would be a eye-opening drive to head out on Highway 88 six miles past Rogers State Univeresity to see what Phoenix Mining does with its pursuit of digging coal that doesn't even warm our homes here in Claremore.

The coal-blackened road caused from the trucks exiting the mining area doesn't quite cover all of the new cracks that are surfacing from the weight and quantity of those same trucks.

When the wind blows, and lately it has been blowing a lot, the black soot can be seen all over everything that is downwind. I'm not sure what the health consequences are, but the cattle across the road are surely getting that dust into their system and forwarding it to whomever eats beef from there.

The land on the East side of 88 where the mine is has been completely denuded of trees and such. Good for digging coal, but bad for global warming. In addition, coal is a big factor in global warming no matter how you try to cleanly burn it.