Bryan Raines, right, got a tour of TwispWorks during his visit last week to the Methow Valley and discussed local economic development efforts with Soo Ing-Moody, left, Hannah MacIntosh and Don Linnertz.
Variety of federal programs have big impact here
By Ann McCreary
A representative of Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, spent a day in the Methow Valley last week and heard the concerns of local elected representatives, business owners, economic boosters, social service providers and emergency responders.
Twisp Mayor Soo Ing-Moody arranged a full schedule of meetings for Bryan Raines, Cantwell’s eastern Washington outreach director, who visited the valley on June 28.
During a meeting at TwispWorks, the conversation focused primarily on economic development, and the important role of federal funding for cash-strapped rural communities like Twisp and Winthrop.
Big-ticket items, like transportation and telecommunications systems, are out of reach of rural communities without federal assistance, Ing-Moody said.
“It’s really about helping us so the growing economic disparity between rural and urban communities doesn’t get any wider,” she said.
“Rural broadband is a passion of Senator Cantwell,” Raines said. “It’s critical infrastructure. It’s important to education, health, public safety and economics. Many rural communities see it as a No. 1 issue to address.”
Don Linnertz, TwispWorks executive director, and Hannah MacIntosh, director of programming at TwispWorks, joined Ing-Moody in expressing concern about proposed cuts to rural development included in President Trump’s recent budget proposal.
The budget calls for drastic cuts to the rural development program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which provides support and funding to rural communities.
“This is a big problem. If Rural Development is not going to be funded, I will go to Washington, D.C., to fight it. If there is a program that the town of Twisp has used consistently, reliably, it is Rural Development,” Ing-Moody said.
Cantwell and 27 Senate Democrats sent a letter to President Trump protesting the proposed cuts. Raines noted that “the administration’s budget is likely to change.”
The local representatives, including Twisp Chamber of Commerce President Sandy Moody, also put in a plug for keeping the North Cascades Smokejumper Base in the Methow Valley.
The U.S. Forest Service has been conducting an analysis to determine the extent of renovations needed to buildings at the 77-year-old base, and whether it would make more sense to relocate the base to Yakima or Wenatchee.
“I toured it recently,” said MacIntosh. “I was shocked that I did not see reinvestment in that facility for decades. We want some reinvestment in it.”
The smokejumper base “has an impact on our economy because of the families … that would have to relocate, and that would be a loss to us,” Ing-Moody said. “We are in a fire-prone area. We want to make sure Senator Cantwell realizes this is a very big deal for us.”
Wildfire disasters that have devastated the Methow Valley twice in the past three years, Ing-Moody noted.
“The Senator is passionate about minimizing these megafires,” Raines said. “Whether it’s prescribed burning or harvesting our forests to an acceptable level to make them healthier.”
