With the holiday season approaching we are making plans for our 12th annual “Let’s Talk Turkey” Thanksgiving food distribution, which will take place on Nov. 19th. Last year, with your help, Project MANA was able to provide 409 families with food baskets complete with all the trimmings for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Nearly half of the individuals receiving these meals are children. We hope to provide families in need from our communities with the same Thanksgiving gift again this year.In order to accomplish a successful holiday food distribution we are asking for your help. We hope that you will choose to support this event by making a tax deductible donation at whatever level is comfortable to you. Your donation will be used for turkeys, produce, and our Americorp’s program. Your support for this event will be greatly appreciated by all of us at Project MANA as well as the community members who will benefit from your generosity during this year’s holiday season. George LeBardExecutive Director Project MANA(775) 298-0103Take responsibility for your actionsThis past Saturday my family went to church. It was rather crowded due to the fact Church of the Mountains did not have its usual Saturday night service. The parking was made worse by the fact that the recreation center was open for people to pick up their equipment from the ski swap on Saturday. We had to park in the rear lot of the rec center.While we were at church someone ran into the back of my wife’s new van. This person did not leave a note of any kind. Yes, another hit-and-run story.This crime, yes it is a crime to leave the scene of an accident, will become another statistic for the insurance companies to raise rates. I do not expect that this person will ever confess to his or her crime, but I feel that he or she needs to think about the difficulty that they may cause other people. This is the main thing that the society in which we live today is missing, taking responsibility for your actions.Charles HarringtonTruckee Admit parking was poor planIn talking with my friends and neighbors around town, I have found no one in support of the recent paid parking regulations through downtown and surrounding areas of downtown Truckee. Many of the Commercial Row business owners and employers are commiserating right along with us locals. So, I wonder, what was the true consensus of the members of the Truckee Downtown Merchants Association, in agreeing to partner with the Town Council?Was this plan created and promoted by the Truckee Downtown “Merchant” Association? I speak to the few wealthy and influential individuals building their empire downtown that have absolutely no regard for the locals who work in this community, pay taxes and purchase the limited affordable items in downtown Truckee; there are still a few shop owners that actually price their items with common sense and welcome locals to their businesses. Our children work for them too. Now our children and many struggling single parents must grapple with the added expense of paid parking – just for the privilege of working downtown, making a minimum (or slightly more) wage. It’s nice that some of you business owners can afford to pay for your employees’ parking permits, but what about the other shop owners barely getting by with astronomical rents? In short order, I presume many of us will end up paying for parking on Jibboom and Commercial Row, in order to get into the Post Office, where parking is free and, for the most part, not regulated or monitored for parking abuses. I believe the actions of the downtown merchants and Town Council have burdened and alienated our community from downtown. Please, look beyond your personal agendas, admit that this was a poor plan and remove the distasteful signage from our Downtown. And, count me out of your Follies this year. I will not be in the mood to “poke fun” at the paid parking proponents, i.e.; business/civic/political “leaders” of Truckee.Joanne ZahnTruckee