Solution for fox thefts could cause them harm
Regarding the story “Foxes finally foiled in Arkansas newspaper caper; carriers ‘salve’ case with dab of Vicks VapoRub” on Aug. 12: Virginia Litchford and Joy Salazar, newspaper deliverers in Eureka Springs discovered newspapers were vanishing from doorsteps, apparently stolen by foxes. To stop this foxy fraudulence, the mother-daughter duo have taken to applying Vicks VapoRub to the newspaper bags, a tactic they also apparently use to keep their cats off furniture.
This might seem like a benign solution, but Vicks VapoRub can harm animals. Foxes belong to the Canid family, and are therefore more closely related to dogs than cats. The active ingredients in Vicks VapoRub are synthetic camphor, eucalyptus oil and menthol. According to the Food and Drug Administration, Vick’s VapoRub has been ruled as toxic to animals, causing physical damage to an animal’s intestines and kidneys. Camphor, an active ingredient in VapoRub, is always poisonous to cats and dogs, and in some cases deadly.
I hope that Ms. Litchford and Ms. Salazar were simply unaware of the dangers of exposing animals to this toxic product, and, after being made aware of the threat they are posing to Eureka Springs’ delicate ecosystem, reconsider their deterring methods.
PAULINA PORTILLA Bentonville
Newspaper’s defense fails to satisfy reader
I was glad to see the editors of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette had an explanation for their decision not to participate in the Boston-led tea party defending freedom of the press — though to me an unsatisfactory one.
You said you were “not a joiner,” though some things may be worth joining. That’s fine, but was it necessary to characterize this marchin-print for one of our constitutional freedoms as (to borrow your words) a “members-only clubhouse” or a “conspiratorial” exercise in “groupthink?”
What you revealed to this reader was not how wonderfully independent you are, but that you chose to exploit the occasion to brag about yourselves and to bash the news outlets that did join in — hardly a useful tone to adopt in the current climate. I read a diverse sampling of the participating editorials from around the country. (CNN, accused by some as a purveyor of fake news, conveniently assembled links on their website.) Far from echoing the “groupthink” of a “mob” (again, your words) all were different. Each writer in each paper expressed a unique voice addressed to each community.
It’s regrettable that this paper could not manage in its own unique way, even a day late, to do the same without delivering a back-handed slap in the face to fellow journalists.
DEBORAH SABO Fayetteville