Letters to the editor for Wednesday, Dec. 17

As the director of the Peace Corps and as a proud Minnesotan, I can tell you with all certainty -- our agency is doing well.

As I visit volunteers in their communities around the world, I see and hear how we continue to spread international goodwill.

The Peace Corps has adjusted to change since the days when my wife and I served in the '60s in rural India, but the inspiration continues in its strong impact worldwide. The Peace Corps' goals have not changed in its 47-year history. President John F. Kennedy's idea of the Peace Corps remains the gold standard of international volunteer organizations.

In response to the Dec. 12 commentary by William G. Moseley regarding our Minneapolis office, I made the decision to merge our local office with the Chicago office as an effort to get more recruiters out in the field. Rather than have recruiters in an office, this is an effort to get them closer to the areas from which they are recruiting. This move will enhance our ability to recruit the best and brightest. The main purpose of the merger is to promote better recruitment strategies and increase the number of Peace Corps applicants.

Just as we are all making tough choices in the current economy, so is the Peace Corps. My goal is to leave the agency in as solid a financial shape as possible for the next administration. For the first time in 47 years, in 2007 and again in 2008, the Peace Corps received a completely clean financial audit.

Americans can all be proud to be part of a dynamic agency that currently includes over 7,800 volunteers in 76 countries around the globe.

RONALD A. TSCHETTER, WASHINGTON

With the distraction of the recount, let's not lose sight of the fact that Minnesota had the highest voter turnout in the country. He is handling a very difficult situation with firmness and grace. I appreciate the open reassurance and explanations he provides us about the process.

SHERI SMITH, ST. PAUL

As a veteran of the U.S. Navy and a Minnesota resident, I have voted absentee in the past. Every year that I voted, I was 100 percent confident my vote would be counted because I followed the instructions.

In the Dec. 15 article "A nasty bug in the system crawls out," a survey from the Pew Center for the States found that only 61 percent of the absentee voters expressed confidence that their vote would be counted. The article also pointed out that nearly 2,000 absentee ballots were rejected from 27 Minnesota counties because the name and address didn't match or due to signature or documentation errors.

If you can't even remember to sign the ballot or provide the correct documentation, then how in the world do you expect your vote to be counted?

BRIAN STEENERSON, ST. HILAIRE, MINN.

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So we're adding ballots that were "missed" in the final count on Election Day, and ballots "missing" during the recount will be counted too? I thought that's why we were recounting the ballots.

GARY FISCHBACH, ST PAUL

There have been incidents on the Midtown Greenway (as well documented and publicized by the Midtown Greenway Coalition as well as by the Star Tribune). Though it's of little consolation to the victims, the number of crimes in proportion to the many cyclists and walkers who use the greenway is very small. I also want to remark that your coverage of this incident in the Variety section smacks of sensationalism.

FORMER MEMBER, BOARD OF DIRECTORS,

MIDTOWN GREENWAY COALITION

I am wondering why two Minnesota Vikings football players are not being held responsible according to team rules. The NFL has rules that players have agreed to and must follow. One bans the illegal use of steroids or masking agents, which can hide the use of steroids when the players are checked by a doctor.

Instead of paying the cost with a four-game suspension for these two players, they chose to get a Minnesota judge to block the suspension and allow them to continue playing the rest of the season. Meanwhile, high school students are held to "zero tolerance" rules.

My suggestion to these two players is to accept their punishment as other NFL players have and start playing by the rules.

Thank God I don't live in Minneapolis anymore. I just wonder how Mayor R.T. Rybak and the City Council will explain to voters why they will waste $3 million of their tax dollars on a green roof for Target Center, when they will be letting go hundreds of police, fire and other employees due to cutoffs in state aid in 2009.