Don’t be a nonhuman primate in Nebraska. As a human who has lived and worked with primates 24/7, for more than a decade, the article on the three chimpanzees who were shot and killed near Royal just made me sick.

It’s the animals who need to be protected from the humans, not the public who needs protection. In countries in Africa, where chimps are native, people coexist with primates no differently than people here in Nebraska do with raccoons, opossums or deer.

Would the law officials of Royal have reacted the same for a gang of teenage boys causing criminal mischief in town and shoot them? It’s been my experience with tranquilizers that more often than not, that they take longer than five minutes to take effect. Who was watching the clock? If the deputy was close enough to shoot with his revolver, why then wasn’t a second tranquilizer dose tried first?

What happened in Royal and how it was handled just gives a black eye to all of the good private owners and small zoos across the nation. The Zoo Nebraska was shamefully irresponsible and inadequate in their housing and emergency reaction plan for the animals. The people of Royal must all be a bunch of ignorant wimps who are afraid of their own shadows, and it’s too bad that Johnny Carson threw away so much money on a zoo such as this, when there are so many good educational conservation programs out there for simians in the United States.

Janet Fogleman, Fairbury

Nowhere to run

There are so many scenarios that could result in a person making the decision not to leave the Gulf Coast before a hurricane, Mr. Martin D. Mortensen (letter, Sept. 12). And not just because of medical conditions or old age.

The average cost for a family of four to evacuate, according to one evacuee, is around $1,000 for two to three days with food, gas, hotel and other costs figured in. I can completely understand how this may make it difficult for lower-income families to not leave.

Lack of transportation is another extremely viable reason. Your suggestion that these people simply walk astounded me. Walk to where? After your bypass you were walking four miles every day. Four miles down the road and these people are still in harm’s way.

Even if the people could walk for 50, a 100, 200 miles out of the storm’s way, they could possibly arrive somewhere safe, but only to find no room available at any hotel. This storm covered thousands of square miles. Walk to where, Mr. Mortensen?

Donna Adams, Lincoln

Just where are we going?

What parent could not relate to Councilperson Dan Marvin’s Local View (LJS, Sept. 4) about “are we there yet?” Marvin’s answer was, “not yet.” He espoused smart planning and leadership but mostly addressed funding issues. He concluded by answering to the “are we there yet?” question by stating, “No, but we are covering ground.”

Somehow this doesn’t ring of smart leadership and planning to me. We’ll never be able to answer “are we there yet?” if we don’t define where we’re going.

And, why are we in such dire financial difficulty? Growth pays for itself, doesn’t it? That’s what we’ve been told. The city has increased by 75,000 people since I’ve been a Lincolnite. My taxes and utility bills have never gone down during that time and the city has fallen behind in infrastructure.

Why didn’t growth pay for itself? And, if it didn’t pay for itself in the past, why would anyone believe it will in the future? Get bigger. Grow or stagnate. It’s like driving your car toward a brick wall at midnight with your headlights off. You won’t know when you get there until it’s too late.

When my wife asks me if we’re there yet, and I answer, “no, but we’re getting close,” she’ll insist that I stop and ask directions.

Ronald M. Case, Lincoln

Fuelish advice

The other day I was reading the local section of the Lincoln Journal Star and I happened to see a short article labeled “Today’s primer on the pump.” The article is nice for consumers because the free advertising offered by the article creates an incentive for local gas stations to lower their prices. However, I feel the need to comment on a tidbit in the article labeled “fuel-saving tip.” The tip for Sept. 10 essentially advised consumers to fill up in the morning because when gasoline is cold, you get more gasoline per unit cost.

Before setting your alarm for 5 a.m. however, consider that the gasoline temperature does not change as much as the outside air temperature since it is stored underground. My wife says I’m a dweeb, but I did some rough calculations and found that the amount of savings associated with buying gasoline when it is coldest is less than a penny a gallon at today’s prices.

One final dweebish factor to consider: Since the gasoline is stored underground, and ground temperature does not adjust as quickly as air temperature, the coldest part of the day is probably not the time when the gasoline is the coldest.

In my estimation, unless you own a Hummer, it’s probably not worth your time to optimize the time of the day that you fill your gas tank. A far better tack is to ride your bike to work and avoid filling up altogether.

David Admiraal, Lincoln