Friday, 10.16.15 ON THE WEB: www.yankton.net views VIEWS PAGE: [email protected] PAGE 4A PRESS&DAKOTAN The Press Dakotan THE DAKOTAS’ OLDEST NEWSPAPER | FOUndED 1861 Yankton Media, Inc., 319 Walnut St., Yankton, SD 57078 CONTACT US We Say PHONE: (605) 665-7811 (800) 743-2968 Dry Autumn NEWS FAX: THUMBS DOWN to the dry conditions and the asso- (605) 665-1721 ciated fire dangers that currently prevail in the area, ADVERTISING FAX: creating added danger during the harvest season. Of (605) 665-0288 course, the lack of rain certainly helps farmers get WEBSITE: into the fields; in that respect, this dry October — www.yankton.net Yankton has not received any measureable precipita- ––––– tion so far this month — has been a great help. But SUBSCRIPTIONS/ that lack of rain comes with a price, and the high winds that have CIRCULATION swept through a couple days this week magnifies the fire dangers. Extension 104 Sometimes, all it takes is a rock dinging off a combine to set unfortu- [email protected] nate circumstances in motion. Thus, extra caution is needed, espe- CLASSIFIED ADS cially with a possible freeze in the works and no significant chance Extension 116 of rain in sight for a few days. [email protected] NEWS DEPT. Extension 114 Mussel Warnings [email protected] Even though summer is over and we’re deep into SPORTS DEPT. autumn already, THUMBS DOWN to the invasive Extension 106 species of zebra mussels, the tiny filter feeders that [email protected] have been growing across Lewis & Clark Lake by Who Lives And Dies: ADVERTISING DEPT. attaching themselves to visiting boats and spreading Extension 122 into freshwater reservoirs. They can cause serious [email protected] damage to the river’s ecology and infrastructure. Lo- BUSINESS OFFICE cal officials are going to take their campaign against the mussels up Extension 119 a notch or two to get the word out about the threat posed by this Apologies Of War? [email protected] specie. Boaters should follow all regulations to prevent the spread. BY KELLY HERTZ NEW MEDIA: But I also understand the history. Don’t move a mussel. So, what would I say to the victims of the Extension 136 [email protected] [email protected] atomic bombs — those who died, and those This year, we’ve remembered numerous an- who were never born, so that I might live? COMPOSING DEPT. Safety Boost niversaries tied to the end of World War II 70 I would say, “I’m sorry.” Extension 129 THUMBS UP to the Yankton City Commission and years ago. But there was one anniversary that But don’t confuse that for an apology for [email protected] property owners along Douglas Ave. between Anna remains uncomfortable to contemplate. what was done seven decades ago to bring a * * * St. and 31st St. for coming up with an agreement In August 1945, the United States dropped bloody war to a conclusion. MANAGERS to move forward with the long-proposed recon- atomic bombs on two Japanese cities, forcing Instead, I’m sorry that those people who struction of Douglas. The stretch of road currently the Tokyo government to finally surrender were vaporized or died a lingering death were Gary L. Wood boasts a large population along it, but the roadway instead of undertake what would surely have placed in such a position by their ruthless Publisher has not been developed. This has created a danger- been a bitter, suicidal defense of its homeland. government, which killed millions in a furious Michele Schievelbein ous situation for pedestrians who use the road. The project, set to The bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. bid for empire. Theirs was a regime Advertising Director commence next spring, is a welcome solution to this issue. 6, 1945, instantly killed an estimated that ignited wars, massacred civil- Jim Gevens 80,000 people; three days later, Na- ians and looked down upon other Circulation Director gasaki was struck, resulting in 40,000 cultures. They saw expansionism as Resounding Silence more deaths. Tens of thousands more a divine right and death as a divine Tonya Schild THUMBS DOWN to the gradual dimming of outrage died in both cities during the following wind. Business Manager following the massacre at Umpqua Community years from radiation poisoning. I’m sorry there has still been no Tera Schmidt College. This is neither new, nor was it unexpected, And perhaps the only reason I’m reconciliation on either side. Classified Manager but two weeks after eight students and an assistant here to talk about it today is because There’s still a deep bitterness professor were gunned down on a college campus, it of those bombs. in China about what that na- Kelly Hertz Which leads to another looming tion endured at the hands of the Editor seems the outrage that’s felt after such an event has subsided. Advocates of change have drifted off, and anniversary — this one for what never Kelly Japanese; it’s the stuff of legends, James D. Cimburek the pro-gun lobby has quickly moved on from advocating for better was. Had Japan not surrendered, the nightmares and war crimes. An Sports Editor mental health as a distraction from the fact that the shooter had Allies were prepared to launch Opera- HERTZ anger still smolders in some Allied 13 legally purchased firearms. It seems the only ones talking about tion Downfall, a ground invasion of veterans over what they saw and Beth Rye Kyushu, the large island at the bottom experienced. From Pearl Harbor to Digital Media Director Umpqua still are GOP candidates — and mostly to fantasize about someone having a Harry Callahan “Make My Day” moment. At this of the Japan chain, on Nov. 1, 1945. This would Nanking, from Bataan to Singapore, the old Kathy Larson rate, a “next time” is inevitable. Will that be the time the outrage have set the stage for the final assault on wounds still ache. Composing Manager sustains itself? Tokyo in the spring of 1946. Japanese military This past August, Japanese Prime Minis- and civilians were already digging in for an ter Shinzo Abe declared his support for past all-out defense in early August. The invasion official apologies for his nation’s wartime would likely have been a bloodbath: The expansionism, and he admitted Tokyo inflicted * * * ONLINE OPINION expected Allied casualty rate was estimated, “immeasurable damage and suffering (on) DAILY STAFF on the low end, at 20 percent — a figure admit- innocent people.” But he stopped short of The results of the most recent Internet poll on the Press & Dakotan’s Web site are Reilly Biel tedly dwarfed by the number of predicted formally issuing a new apology, declaring that as follows: Cassandra Brockmoller Japanese deaths. future generations shouldn’t be “predestined” Brandi Bue LATEST RESULTS: Such an invasion would have altered many to apologize for the past. Rob Buckingham Do you think President Obama could win a third term if he were allowed to run thousands of family histories — possibly Meanwhile, Time magazine and the BBC Caryn Chappelear including mine. My father turned 18 in 1945, noted a tide of denial rising within Japan Randy Dockendorf for re-election? Jeannine Economy No .............................................................................................................................75% and he might have been part of the invasion toward its war crimes: A top Japanese media Rachel Frederick Ye s ............................................................................................................................25% force. How destiny might have changed — for official (and a close friend of Abe’s) dismissed Jeremy Hoeck TOTAL VOTES CAST ...............................................................................................320 me and so many others — is a cold thing to such charges last winter as fictions concocted Nicole Myers The Press & Dakotan Internet poll is not a scientific survey and reflects the opinions contemplate. to whitewash such U.S. “crimes” as the atomic Robert Nielsen only of those who choose to participate. The results should not be construed as an ac- Of course, there is another way to look at bombings and the firebombing of Tokyo, Diana Smallwood curate representation or scientific measurement of public opinion. ——— it. which also killed tens of thousands. Decades David Stephenson What of the generations of people that later, Japan’s former adversaries remain wary. Cathy Sudbeck CURRENT QUESTION: JoAnn Wiebelhaus would have sprang from those who died at The corpse of the long past marches on. Brenda Willcuts Do you think alcohol sales should be allowed on college campuses? Hiroshima and Nagasaki? What do you say to I’m sorry to see that, too. Alissa Woockman To cast your vote in the PRESS & DAKOTAN’S Internet poll, log on to our website those ghosts, and to those souls who never But I cannot apologize for a decision, fright- at www.yankton.net. were? ful though it was, that likely saved lives — * * * Out of grim interest, I once tried to including potentially those of many Japanese Published Daily IN HISTORY compose such a response. “To whom it may that might have otherwise perished in a hope- concern ...,” it began. But I struggled to speak less homeland defense. It really was a decision Monday-Saturday By The Associated Press visit Poland, the homeland of his prede- from there. What do you say to spirits who of last resort in the face of brutal alternatives. Periodicals postage Today is Friday, October 16, the 289th cessor, John Paul II. The Chicago White day of 2015. There are 76 days left in the Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-3 to died, or who never existed, so that you might I am sorry there is still no real peace for paid at Yankton, South year. win the American League Championship live? the living or the dead.