The Edmond Sun

Letters to the Editor

June 11, 2012

Resident: Sister City relationship suspect

EDMOND — To the Editor:

I recently witnessed an unbelievable meeting of the Edmond City Council on May 14. Up for consideration was the approval of a proclamation between the City of Edmond and Engles, Russia, for the development of Sister City relationship. Several well-informed Edmond residents spoke before the council to object strongly to the proposal. Their objections were well researched and professionally presented.

Among the several problems that was pointed out with the Sister Cities proposal was that Edmond’s commitment to be part of the Sister Cities International (sponsor of the program) involves their involvement in Agenda 21 as outlined by the United Nations adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Sister Cities at the time of the meeting lists ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives) on its web page as one of its four organization partners. This information was all documented by those who spoke against the proposal. That reference cannot be found at this time on ICLEI web page for some reason. ICLEI is the Agenda 21 organization that implements programs at the local level.  

Why in the world does a beautiful Edmond need a sister city located in communist Russia? How can they possibly profit from such an arrangement? It seems to me that Russia would be the only beneficiary to the arrangement.

What was truly amazing was the fact that the City Council, without discussion on their part quickly approved the proposal unanimously. With the sincere concern expressed by citizens at the meeting who had all of the facts mentioned above. I would have thought that they would at least had further discussion and would make a decision at a future meeting after doing their own research. It was obvious that their minds were made up and the outcome was already decided.

Needless to say, I was very disappointed to see our city government act this way. I doubt that they will learn how to conduct better meetings from their Russian friends.



Bill O’Hare

Edmond

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Letters to the Editor
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    May 8, 2013

  • LETTER: Senators give criminals a pass

    To the Editor:
    Oklahoma’s U.S. Sens. Tom Coburn and Jim Inhofe were among 45 senators who recently helped block a sensible measure to reduce gun violence. Specifically, they voted down a measure to expand background checks for gun buyers — a step favored by 86 percent of Americans, according to recent polls. Our senators were not even asked to vote for tougher measures like bans on military-type assault weapons or high-capacity magazines, also favored by 56 percent of Americans, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.
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    To the Editor:
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    May 6, 2013

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    To the Editor:
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    May 6, 2013

  • LETTER: Senate bills will help veterans living in centers

    To the Editor:
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    March 4, 2013

  • Senate bill potentially denies women’s rights

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    March 1, 2013

  • Edmond’s state senators and representatives can do their part to help the economy

    To the Editor:
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    February 22, 2013

  • Remembering good friends

    To the Editor,
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