Supporting the mayor
Dear Editor:
Really? These guys want to dump our mayor, arguably the most competent we’ve had in 20 years? And they want to replace her with a person using the campaign slogan “Common Sense?” (We have a disastrous president of the United States who was elected using the same or similar buzz words.)
What’s needed these days is uncommon sense. We citizens of Twisp are fortunate to have as our mayor an intelligent, professional and competent person whom I, as well as many others, trust to bring this town along. Replacing her with a so-called common sense candidate will be a step backward, not forward.
Wilson C. Hicks, Twisp
Examine your conscience
Dear Editor:
For those devout Christians among us who still support President Trump regardless of his obscene cruelty toward innocent children: Isn’t it time you asked yourself what your savior Jesus would do?
The continuing support for our president amongst conservative Christians seems to be based upon the idea that achieving a Supreme Court that will overturn Roe v. Wade is the ultimate goal and worth any collateral damage. Maybe you are being played.
My guess is that the last thing the Republicans in power in Washington, D.C., want is for abortion to become illegal again. That issue has been at the core of their political support among social conservatives since 1973. They have milked it relentlessly and often, I believe, cynically.
What will become of the Republican party if Roe v. Wade is overturned? At the national level they will be toast. Social liberals will be galvanized, while social conservatives can take a victory lap and relax. Not good for a party clinging to power by gerrymandering and suppressing the votes of the young, the poor and people of color.
Back to those kids locked in cages for weeks on end, in violation of a law signed by President George W. Bush limiting detention of immigrant minors to 72 hours. Without adequate bedding, food, access to showers, clean clothes, soap or toothpaste. Traumatized and sick, with no idea where their parents are and when they will ever see them again. Sleeping huddled together on concrete floors. Seven-year-olds caring for inconsolable toddlers that they are not even related to. Is this how a great country treats the innocent and vulnerable? How does this make our country “great again?” Are you okay with the abuse of innocent children if you can just get another anti-abortion Supreme Court justice?
Seriously, what would Jesus do?
Gina McCoy, Winthrop
What about Firewise?
Dear Editor:
Last year about this time, we called the Okanogan County Conservation District to request the free Firewise wildfire risk assessment of private property the district had provided to Twisp citizens for years. This and other Firewise services had been available due to Twisp’s membership in the Conservation District. Much to our surprise, the evaluation was no longer available to Twisp residents.
We discovered that a couple of years ago, about the same time the Town of Winthrop had wisely joined the Conservation District, the Town of Twisp had dropped its membership. Citizens whose residences lie within the town limits no longer qualify for these services.
We see an increasing number of Firewise homes in our neighborhood, but we also see brush piles in back yards near homes, large firewood piles directly under conifers close to homes and neighbors, and other unwise practices that endanger everyone.
We are concerned, especially since the recent Scott study risk analysis (USFS) listed Twisp’s risk of mean annual burn probability as seventh in Washington communities and 12th in a combined list of Washington/Oregon communities. We would welcome any news as to why the town took this step and if anything is being provided in its place to help protect the town’s residents from wildfire.
Richard Tingelstad, Isabelle Spohn, Twisp
