South Dakota flood holds lessons for Texas
The recent Guadalupe floods in Texas brought back horrible memories of the June 1972 Rapid City, South Dakota, flood, which took the lives of 238 people. I am incensed that news organizations did not mention the lessons learned from that flood, which brought changes that were successfully implemented in Rapid City. Steps like upstream monitoring, sirens, forced relocation out of the flood plain and redesign of dams to handle flood debris. Prior to the Rapid City flood, the National Weather Service did not have an office in the Rapid City region; a permanent office was established post flood.
The cause of the Rapid City Flood is similar to the Guadalupe flood — an extremely rare weather pattern parked over a known flood basin during the evening. Books exist about the Rapid City flood; are Texas civil engineering departments and zoning organizations not able to access these books?
I visited the flood area in late July 1972 and saw the damage myself. Four years later, I moved to Rapid City and observed recovery from the flood damage. During the Guadalupe flood, I contacted six news organizations pleading for them to report on the Rapid City success. None to my knowledge enabled learning from the past.
David Thompson
Lower Macungie Township
Picture with article is misleading
The prominent picture for a recent article that appeared in The Morning Call is outrageously misleading and provocative. The skeletal child is presented as if she were a typical victim of famine in Gaza. Only in the bottom half of the sixth column of the article do we read that her condition is probably caused by a rare congenital condition. Thankfully, the suffering child’s application for medical evacuation was approved and she is already on her way to hospital treatment in Italy.
There is doubtless real hunger in Gaza. Misleading images like this will inevitably be unmasked, so distributing and highlighting them will only prolong and intensify that suffering.
Roger Chapman Burk
Bushkill Township
US ignoring lessons of history
Whose side in the Ukraine/Russia war are we on? The side of peace? At what cost? Moving to the middle rewards whom? How did that work for the Sudetenland? Where is the Western world’s defense of our Munich Agreement promise in 1992 to protect Ukraine from such an invasion? Wasn’t that supposed to be the equivalent of an Article 5 commitment by the United States for Ukraine? Where are the consequences of no ceasefire at this moment? Leverage and therefore pressure is needed on the Russians …. Where are the tough sanctions on everyone who deals with these thugs?
This Russian economy is vulnerable. Why don’t we force a just peace and break this criminal behavior? Do we really have to relive another Neville Chamberlain moment? Where is the unanimous outrage at all of this? Where are the congressional voices about respect for human rights and economic might? How do you “tighten the screws” on a warmongering criminal, if you roll out the red carpet? Don’t respond to me, tell your answer to the families in Grozny, Aleppo or Mariupol.
Gary S. Wegman
Oley Township
Trump endangering democracy
A Los Angeles Times article in the Aug. 19 Morning Call says Donald Trump “would renew his assault on mail-in voting” after Russian President Vladimir Putin “told him to do so” at their recent cringe-worthy meeting in Alaska. The president of the United States taking orders from Putin? Reason No. 1 of dozens why Trump should not be involved in our government in any way, much less as president. Reason 2? His overt efforts to coerce GOP governors in Texas, Ohio, Indiana and other states to redraw district lines to favor Republican victories in the coming elections. He will do anything, regardless of legality, to improve his chances of staying in power, including Reason 3 — his deployment of the military to Los Angeles and Washington without legitimate reason to do so.
Our voting rights are at risk. Our democracy is in serious danger. If you’ve never contacted your congressional representatives or attended a protest, now is the time to start. We need frequent, sustained and well-attended rallies and protests now.
Linda D. Reinbold
Bethlehem
Both parties indulge in gerrymandering
To argue that the other side does gerrymandering may be more a distraction than a legitimate justification. Gerrymandering has a long history. The Texas Legislature is now attempting a voting redistricting that the Illinois Legislature has already successfully accomplished, the former to favor Republicans, the latter favoring Democrats. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a presidential hopeful, is outraged that Texas Gov. Abbott is now doing what he did only a few years back. And another presidential aspirant, Gov. Gavin Newsom, equally outraged, will be putting forth a gerrymandering initiative to redistrict the California landscape to even more favor Democrats than it currently does. What’s new? Certainly not the howls from the other side.
Perhaps there are better ways of defining voting districts, but gerrymandering can at least make a claim to be in keeping with our democratic commitment to majority rule. Republicans hold an elected legislative majority in Texas; Illinois and California, a Democratic majority. Will red state Florida be far behind? The majority has the votes; the majority rules. The suppression of minority voices was a concern that Madison, especially, and Hamilton expressed in the Federalist papers. Democracy may be the best of all government possibilities; but, it’s not perfect.
George Heitmann
Salisbury Township
Mackenzie not representing all of the Lehigh Valley
In reading about the day-to-day activities of Rep. Ryan Mackenzie and his staff, it appears that they have digested the Republican mantra better than any NFL rookie ever memorized a playbook. His guest column in The Morning Call on why he supported the “Big Beautiful Bill” could have been summed up in five words. Because I was told to.
Mackenzie seems to be more interested in accumulating pats on the head from Republican leaders instead of representing our district. Like the term or not, the Lehigh Valley is a diverse district and deserves better. And we had better.
Francis Tone
Palmer Township
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https://www.mcall.com/2025/08/28/letters-response-to-1972-flood-offers-commonsense-approach/