Getting engaged
Dear Editor:
The New York Times just published an op-ed in the form of a 12-step program for responding to president-elect Trump on Nov.17. You can Google it.
Take your time to choose where to get engaged as you read about all the problems that need fixing. Not everything is a problem, of course. Go where you know you can make a difference!
People are already engaged in doing what they can to improve the lives of everyone in the valley. May I suggest the following:
Methow At Home has established a partnership with the staff at Methow Valley Elementary School.
Go to the elementary school and let a child read to you! Share with that young student the beauty and the power of words. Listen to that young voice trying to understand the world. You will know then that you have made a difference!
Call 997-0717 for information, or contact Stacey Cooley at the school.
Marie D. Tracy, Twisp
Thankful for Kiwanis
Dear Editor:
I’m feeling thankful for our Kiwanians. Let’s not forget all the wonderful things done for the valley by the Kiwanis from play yards to new roofs to the Bite of the Methow; from fundraising, scholarships, paying for glasses, to helping the pool and so many silent projects funded by this wonderful group of people with money and their sweat. We cannot forget their contributions to 300 or 400 kids who come to see Santa at the Barn and have their pictures taken during Christmas at the End of the Road. The Key Club keeps the kids entertained with various tables full of crafts to make while they wait to visit with Santa.
I’m feeling thankful we have the Kiwanis and all they do.
Patty Yates, Twisp
XC coaches say ‘thanks’
Dear Editor:
The Liberty Bell High School cross country team(s) would like to extend their thanks to all the parents, groups, businesses and community interests that followed our season and supported us into the post-season. Not only did the athletes work extremely hard this fall but our community was fully involved in the teams’ outcome as well.
Thank you Chase Rost, LBHS athletic director, The Chewuch Inn, East 20 Pizza, Winthrop Kiwanis Club, Liberty Bell Booster Club, Winthrop Mountain Sports, Cascades Outdoor Store, KTRT, Methow Valley News, Winthrop Physical Therapy and Fitness, Brooks Sports Inc., and the various personal financial donations.
Thank you all for your continued support.
The LBHS cross country coaching staff: Craig Herlihy, Erik and Sarah Brooks
Water issues are important
Dear Editor:
Thank you for the in-depth coverage of the issues we are facing regarding water availability (“County adopts emergency rule to deal with development restrictions,” Nov. 9).
This is an important subject that affects all of us, and one worth paying attention to. The state Supreme Court has issued a decision that confirms the county’s responsibility to determine water is available before issuing a building permit or subdivision approval, but they have left the details up to the county as to how it will achieve compliance. At the recent Methow Watershed Council meeting, representatives from the county presented a plan, which they are apparently eager to approve and finalize.
The public will have a couple of opportunities to comment on these water issues. The first will be on Dec. 19 at the commissioners’ Hearing Room in Okanogan at 1:30 p.m. At this hearing the commissioners will take public comment and decide whether to adopt the emergency ordinance that was discussed in the Nov. 9 article.
At the Watershed Council meeting there was mention of another hearing sometime in January, date to be determined. That meeting will be to discuss the specific details of the plan that will be implemented to meet the state requirements. Although the county seems to have already decided how it will proceed, there are other options that could and should be considered. Some proposals make sense on the face of it (water banks, for example), but without appropriate language, some of these proposals could result in making water a commodity that is bought and sold to the highest bidder, with the consequence that only the wealthy would be able to afford it.
I hope the Methow Valley News will continue to cover this issue and that all concerned citizens will make the effort to attend meetings and submit comments. For those who are interested in learning more, the Methow Watershed Council has open meetings on the third Thursday of every month at the Riverbank Building in Twisp at 5 p.m.
Katie Haven, Methow
Appreciation from Kester
Dear Editor:
I would like to congratulate Jerry Asmussen in becoming our newest Okanogan Public Utility District (PUD) commissioner and thank him for all he has done for our community and will continue to do. Throughout my campaign for PUD commissioner I have enjoyed meeting many people across Okanogan County and I would like to sincerely thank all of my supporters for your votes and assistance. I look forward to helping our community any way I can where I am currently involved as well as meeting new people where I have yet to become involved.
Aaron Kester, Tonasket
Chamber offers gratitude
Dear Editor:
The Winthrop Chamber of Commerce and the downtown businesses would like to thank the Methow Valley Snowmobile Association for gathering and providing the evergreen boughs. Many downtown businesses took advantage of the greenery to decorate their storefronts and every year this makes for a very festive display. Thanks also to the guys from the Okanogan County Electric Cooperative for putting up the new downtown lights. The Christmas at the End of the Road lighting was a success! The fireworks were spectacular, thanks in large part to the work and enthusiasm of Doug Mohre, as well as the generous contribution from Winthrop IGA and many others. Thanks to everyone who contributed to making this a wonderful event.
Board of Directors, Winthrop Chamber of Commerce
Standing with Standing Rock
Dear Editor:
Thanks to Laura Love and Terry Hunt for standing with Standing Rock recently and to everyone who came with donations to support our native brothers and sisters in their fight to protect clean water and sacred land.
The media has largely ignored what is happening at Standing Rock and when they have, the framing has always been “the protesters say this and Energy Transfer Partners/the police/the state government say that.” Might they twist and ignore the facts because they receive ad revenue from Energy Transfer, Sunoco and other vested corporations such as HSBC, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Wells Fargo? Or that politicians hold shares in these corporations?
Look past CNN to find that the police resemble an occupying military force complete with anti-mine armored vehicles, full riot gear, assault weapons, pepper spray and attack dogs. They have physically assaulted and arrested many non-violent, peaceful Water Protectors. A private security force released attack dogs into crowds of people, some of whom were ferociously bitten. There is video of a journalist being shot with a rubber bullet while only asking a Water Protector questions, not protesting.
We are witnessing a re-enactment of the pro-corporation police state from the Bethlehem Steel protests of 1910 Pennsylvania. We will inevitably see escalation of similar clashes between citizens and corporations if we continue to allow our state and federal politicians to be personally funded and enriched by these corporations.
The land on both sides of Lake Oahe is unceded territory of the Sioux Nation as per the 1851 Treaty of Laramie. Ancestral gravesites have already been desecrated, but, historically our federal government has shown little interest in abiding by treaties with the First Nations.
How fortunate we are to have a largely white and somewhat wealthy population in the Methow Valley. So far, we have been successful in protecting our own watershed from a mining corporation with the help of some state politicians and the U. S. Forest Service. I am glad for this. Just imagine if this area was called the Methow Reservation.
Kyle Northcott, Twisp
