Letters to the editor

Shop locally this holiday seasonWhy shop locally? Let me think. It’s more than the fact you’re helping support me and my grandchildren. By coming into my shop you’re supporting your community.The sales tax that some of you avoid paying by shopping solely on the internet supports, at the very least, our emergency services. Say you were cooking the turkey in the deep fryer, didn’t allow for the displacement of the mass of the turkey and hadn’t let it defrost completely causing an unfortunate event. When the simmering oil came in contact with the partially frozen turkey, it boiled over and hit the flames. You now have a video-worthy explosion that has set your patio roof ablaze. The sales tax you didn’t pay would’ve gone towards paying the firefighters who came to put out your roof, the officers who controlled the video-taking spectators in front of your home and the emergency medical technicians who tended to your injuries caused by the unwilling turkey.I’m not saying the event would have been prevented by your shopping locally and paying sales tax, I’m just saying that the compassionate and caring men and women who have been specially educated and trained to come to your rescue would know that you cared enough about them to be sure the financial infrastructure of the town could afford to pay them for the services they provided.Thank you for allowing me to present my side of the argument for getting out and shopping where you live.Joan SeymourCarson CitySupervise children around windowsOn Nov. 8 you ran an article of a child falling from a window. At the end of the article it was advised that windows be outfitted with screens, implying they would prevent a fall. This is incorrect advice! Retention is not the purpose of window (insect) screens. They are not engineered for that purpose nor are the materials used strong enough. In fact, window manufacturers put a required warning on every screen that they are not to be considered fall protection.Children should be supervised at all times and kept away from windows and doors.Pauline BeaudetteCarson City