Stoney in my local paper.

[rockrighter]

Hey ya'll. Those of you who lurk and occasionally post at Synergy might already know this, but I wrote a letter to The Chilliwack Times in repsonse to this letter: http://www.chilliwacktimes.com/033202/opinion/033202le3.html

They printed it today, and at first glance, it doesn't look like they edited anything out or made any structural changes to my writing, which is cool. When they update the site, I'll post the link. (The other letter will be gone by then, I would think.) The headline the paper gave my letter was, "The Last Straw".

Anyhoo, my letter talked about the 'house of straw' comment McNulty made and I took the opportunity to spread the word about The Red Feather Development Group and strawbale housing techniques. I mentioned the support of Stone and actor Robert Redford and Oprah Winfrey's recent recognition of the Group.

this is boring / all we talk about is you

[jamijams]

i just read an AWESOME story in one of my mags about the MOST amazing straw house. really cool stuff. and if you can afford it up front, a very nice way to go. can't wait to read what you had to say!

Tell me,and I will forget. Show me,and I will remember. Involve me,and I will understand.~Confucius

[Highway23]

Awesome!!!

(º·.¸(¨*·.¸ ¸.·*¨)¸.·º)
«.·°·. *hope* .·°·.»
(¸.·º(¸.·¨* *¨·.¸)º·.¸)

[rockrighter]

It was an 'informative' letter more than anything else. Educate the masses. :o)
Straw houses aren't actually that expensive, either.

this is boring / all we talk about is you

[Highway23]

I've lived in a poop house. Some people complain about the smell, but I just tell them that my septic tank is backed up and they believe me.

Little do they know that the white door that they just opened is just painted poop!!!


mmmmmuuuuhhahahahahaha

I'm so evil when it comes to my home and poop. /images/laugh.gif

(º·.¸(¨*·.¸ ¸.·*¨)¸.·º)
«.·°·. *hope* .·°·.»
(¸.·º(¸.·¨* *¨·.¸)º·.¸)

[rockrighter]

Quit wussy-footin' around, Jake -- it's a shithouse. So the paint stayed on okay? I was fairly certain latex would work. The water-based stuff would get the door flushed, probably.

this is boring / all we talk about is you

[Highway23]

probably.


hehehehe

(º·.¸(¨*·.¸ ¸.·*¨)¸.·º)
«.·°·. *hope* .·°·.»
(¸.·º(¸.·¨* *¨·.¸)º·.¸)

[reallygroovN]

straw bale houses are an excellent source of low cost housing.

good friends of mine in virgina recently built a straw bale home...now, dont get me wrong, they spent a fortune on this house, its HUGE, uses solar heating as well as a radiant heat/cooling system.

my family helped them build it. we had folks from arizona come out and hold a seminar on how to build these types of homes. very interesting.

first thing, you cant see the hay bales, they are encased in chicken-wire and stucco on the inside and out. so, what you have is an adobe looking type of home. my friends have wooden beams thoughout and a wood floor on the 2nd floor and attic level. on the main floor, they have radiant tile.

also, straw bale homes are very safe...the hay is cut after harvest, so the actualy hay is removed and all that is left is the cellulous (-100 for terrible spelling...quick call johnnycarwash /images/wink.gif) stalk which doesnt burn.

their house is nestled in the foothills of the blue ridge mountains in nelson county, va, where this type of home building is becoming quite popular. one of the most expensive aspects of building this home was the archetecht(again with the spelling) and the design aspects.

however, building a simple structure in an area of the world that is dry would be extremely cost effective and very safe.

[rockrighter]

I don't feel like waiting on the paper to change the site. :oP

--

There's only one major edit that I can see so far . . . I wrote, "Thank you for your time" at the end and apparently that's not a big deal so they took it out. :oP
Grammatically, they changed my misuse of a colon (which I noticed 10 seconds after I sent it off) and de-capitalized 'aboriginals' as well. D'oh!

This is what appears in The Chilliwack Times, Tuesday, March 26th, 2002.

Editor:
Tammy McNulty wrote, "Do you honestly think that anyone would live in a house of straw?" Granted, she wasn't asking me, but I thought I'd give her an answer.
I would. Some people already do. Strawbale construction is one of many popular sustainable building techniques, and it dates back to the early 1900's. An organization known as the Red Feather Development Group, which is supported by actor Robert Redford, Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard and has been recently recognized by Oprah Winfrey, primarily uses the energy-effecient strawbale housing technique to build houses and community buildings on poor reservations for their country's aboriginal people, mainly elders.
Using straw as a building resource is a far better alternative than what is generally done with it. Straw is sometimes thought of as a waste product, so it is burned, thus creating more pollution problems. Using the straw for housing instead of wood decreases the need to log old-growth forests as there is a reduced need for lumber. There is no such thing as "old-growth straw"; it is a annually renewable agricultural byproduct. Selling the straw for construction can also bring in extra income for a farmer. There are strawbale buildings in every province in this country and in many states, including Washington, whose weather is as diverse as British Columbia's. Properly built, load-bearing style strawbale houses are able to withstand harsh climates, including an earthquake above 5.0 on the Richter Scale in Wyoming (as reported in Mother Earth News).
Strawbale walls have been found to be more fire resistant than conventional building materials by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The houses cannot be blown over by even the most powerful of wolves. (Ha, ha.)
This is just the surface of the mountains of info regarding the strawbale housing technique. There are a lot of informative websites available to browse for anyone interested. I'm not saying this technique is the be-all and end-all, it's just information about another alternative.

R. Kudhail
Chilliwack

this is boring / all we talk about is you

[jamijams]

good stuff Reena! i like the wolf comment - ALOT!

Tell me,and I will forget. Show me,and I will remember. Involve me,and I will understand.~Confucius

[yer ardy]

excellent rockRR..well done..nice & succinct..
good goin!
(remind me ~not~ to light my lighter there..hehe)

"Mom? I'm gonna listen to more Pearl Jam..the music on the radio is crap!" ~My Daughter~

[peacefulness]

it's my field of study. /images/smile.gif

~Melanie

"the music industry has already de-valued itself...i'm no threat
" Ardy

[peacefulness]

ME TOO! hehehehe

very excellent writing, reena. /images/smile.gif

~Melanie

"the music industry has already de-valued itself...i'm no threat
" Ardy

[Beta]

that's really cool, rock!
nicely done.

Beta http://betapearljam.homestead.com/files/dancer.gif

[rockrighter]

http://www.chilliwacktimes.com/034102/opinion/034102le2.html

Surrounded by headers and links and ads, oh moo! (I live in a cow town.)

this is boring / all we talk about is you

[prism]

Cool that so totally rocks that you are now published /images/smile.gif

[rockrighter]

I had a letter in the same paper when I was 13 but it sucked and I would like to forget it completely.

Thank you for your cooperation.

this is boring / all we talk about is you