By Don Nelson
There’s talk, and then there’s follow-through.
The relentless push to move past ideas and into action distinguishes the Methow Valley from many other rural communities facing similar economic and life-style challenges. If something really needs to be done, we usually find a way to do it. Examples of concepts becoming real are literally rising out of the ground, or are about to, in several valley locations.
For years, the valley’s community leaders have identified and quantified a couple of persistent needs: enough affordable housing so people who want to make a long-term commitment to the valley can settle in, and more child care options to help working parents balance their lives.
This week, the Methow Housing Trust announced that it is purchasing a second parcel where it intends to develop affordable housing. Only recently, the housing trust bought its first lot in Twisp, where it plans to build about 15 houses. The second parcel is in Winthrop (see story on page A1 in this week’s issue). It’s anticipated that the Winthrop site will accommodate about 25 houses.
On the child care front, Little Star Montessori School just opened its Little Star South Collaborative in remodeled space on the TwispWorks campus. The new space provides care for toddlers and infants. Meanwhile, a new Little Star facility in Winthrop is now being framed at a site next to the existing school.
These exemplary efforts are the result of untold hours, most them volunteered, that were devoted to research, planning and fundraising. There are many other examples of similar determined efforts around the valley, such as the Winthrop Rink, TwispWorks, the Wagner Memorial Pool, the Methow Conservancy and the Methow Trails system — none of which would exist without consistent community support and involvement.
Despite all that commitment, the hard reality is that such things usually require a lot of money to get them going and keep them going. The Methow Valley is blessed with benefactors who are willing to support important projects with big donations, often anonymously. The Little Star and Housing Trust efforts are only the most recent examples.
That largesse is something we should never take for granted or frivolously exploit. It is given out of love for the valley and concern for its future. The payoffs on those returns are meant to be lasting. Hence, the other requirement for such imaginative projects is a patient, long-term view. Solutions take time, and goals must be anchored in manageable expectations.
Sometimes, when I consider all the issues this community has rallied behind in recent years — the Mazama copper mine threat, the proposed continuous beacon at the state airport, the North Cascades Smokejumper Base, the county commissioner races, among many — I wonder how we manage to do it all. Passion, principle and pride explain a lot of it, but all those things require time and energy as well. Believing it’s all worth it is the best motivation, and is the most precious thing that unifies us. The next big project is looming out there somewhere. I expect that somebody is already thinking about how to get it done.
Talking the walk
I guess you could say it’s the kind of story you stumble on to. When I joined other folks on Winthrop’s recent “walking audit” of downtown challenges for all things moving — pedestrians, bicycles, motor vehicles — I wasn’t sure what to expect (see the story in last week’s paper, or find it on our website). Turns out it’s a matter of what you’re looking for.
Our small groups of walking auditors were asked to pay particular attention to any impediments, inconsistencies or potential dangers one might encounter when strolling around town, or making one’s way in a wheelchair. Those are not the kinds of things you overtly notice, except as subliminal annoyances, when trying to get from one place to another on Riverside Avenue. You bob, weave, swerve, step up, step down, step aside, get stuck, go around, look out for vehicular traffic, dart cross when you safely can. We’re used to it.
It’s small-town, Old West charming — up to a point. I wouldn’t want to see a bland, homogeneous system of uniform boardwalks. Some variety keeps it real. But tidying things up, especially for safety’s sake, isn’t a bad idea.
