The true meaning
Dear Editor:
I have been privileged to participate in a series of early Sunday morning (8:30 a.m.) worship events done by the Rev. Don Ford and the folks at Methow Valley United Methodist Church. These have been quiet services that have encouraged me to ask who I am and why am I here? These have helped me understand and continue to ask about the meaning of life. I realize that in my busy life it is easy to lose sight of the true values in life, in the relationships that I do not nurture and cherish! I can only encourage others to pause and “smell the roses.”
Bob Hoffman, Twisp
Thanks for support
Dear Editor:
We want to thank our community for the unbelievable support over the eight years that we owned Old Schoolhouse Brewery (OSB). The friendships and relationships we created would have never happened without all the connections that were made possible because of our little community gathering place. Our “untirement” party last week, filled with our OSB family and friends, was a grand finale to our tenure at OSB. We are certain the three couples who bought OSB will continue the fun traditions that we all have grown to love. And for the rest of life, there’s nothing a Ruud Awakening can’t cure! Cheers!
Casey and Laura Ruud, Winthrop
String of failures
Dear Editor:
Re: Lloyd Holdco LLC offering $18,000 in “services” to compensate Twisp for costs incurred when they reneged on the waterfront trail easement.
Twisp would not need the easement had the town not given them Wagner Street. The vacation, illegal under state law, was part of a public/private partnership with the Lloyds to build a business park to boost the local economy. They received a $600,000 interest-free loan subsidized and secured by the citizens of Twisp, and the taxpayers of Washington provided substantial improvements to their property through a grant from the Community Economic Revitalization Board.
Lloyd Development took the easement, money and improvements, but made no serious effort in 23 years to complete the project. Their representative, enjoying a seat on the Twisp Town Council, blames an “unfavorable economic climate” for their not meeting their obligations to the partnership. But the economy was the whole point of the project.
The cost to the town is incalculable. This was our largest project, our chance to pull ourselves up with new businesses, clean industries, jobs, revenues. We got nothing. We lost our waterfront access. How many communities moved forward with successful revitalization projects during those 23 years, despite the obstacles?
Why did we fail? A succession of feeble and gullible town administrations with too many conflicts of interest and not enough courage to stand up to the Lloyds. Deficient legal counsel. Forgetting the agreements that initiated the project. Okanogan County.
The mayor’s claim that Lloyd Holdco has met its obligations is whitewash. We have yet to hear a single voice on the council stand for the truth in this matter. This recent agreement is as meaningless as every agreement we have made with the Lloyd corporations. As meaningless as Bob Lloyd’s claims to recuse himself. His seat on the council should go to someone who represents the town’s interests.
This is how public assets are transformed by those with privileged access into private unearned wealth. When this happens in Washington, D.C., we react with outrage. Why do we put up with it here?
Mike Price, Twisp
