Hunt where you’re welcome
Dear Editor:
Folks, no hunting means no hunting. It doesn’t mean that it’s OK for you to drive onto my property, walk up into the back country, shoot a deer, then drag it onto my driveway leaving a bloody trail in the dirt. It’s posted. No hunting. That means that if you kill something on the WDFW lands beyond my lot, I don’t want you dragging it out on my land. It’s a violation of basic community norms to violate these signs. If you choose to hunt, hunt where you’re welcome. It’s that simple.
Crystal Bacon, Twisp
Vote incumbents in Twisp
Dear Editor:
I had the pleasure to serve on the Town Council with Mayor Soo Ing-Moody, and have since watched her in action since my council term ended. We are lucky to have such an effective leader guiding the town through these times of tight budgets and the challenges small towns face all over this country. Mayor Soo has done a fantastic job, and I encourage the voters of Twisp to re-elect her.
Alan Caswell and Mark Easton have been contributing members of a great council that has worked together to bring infrastructure projects (and the funding that drives them) to this town in an unprecedented way. These projects don’t just drop out of the sky — they take diligence, hard work and a cohesion that hasn’t always existed at Town Hall. Now that we have that cohesion and teamwork humming like a finely tuned engine in the Town of Twisp, these three deserve to be re-elected to continue their great contributions to our community’s health. Mayor Soo and council members Caswell and Easton, you have earned my vote. I hope that anyone in doubt about how to cast their ballot will join me.
Dwight Filer, Twisp
Questions remain
Dear Editor:
Re: Okanogan County Fire District 6 concerns (available via records requests) expressed by planners that need to be addressed as soon as possible.
What are the storm water requirements for retaining same on site?
Has the district applied for Construction Stormwater General Permit and Ecology Underground Injection Control Program and complied with program standards?
What are the acreage reductions due to set aside for vegetation/habitat area and what is the change in site development?
As Horizon Flats Road does not have adequate shoulders and poor existing pavement, how will the district meet AASHTO or ITE standards?
How will vehicles or pedestrians safely remove themselves from harm’s way during an emergency on an inadequate road without shoulders?
Why hasn’t a roadway and traffic generation report been published?
Have SEPA requirements for water and sewer been resolved ?
What have the reports for fire apparatus maneuvering public roadways recommended?
Will there be additional architect fees? If so, then these plans can be used elsewhere.
What will be the costs to meet new building code standards in July 2020?
It’s a mistake to represent that the district is anywhere ready to proceed with the Horizon Flats site. There’s a considerable volume of work required before the district can apply for any type of financing, including a levy. Voters need to examine the district’s response prior to voting this November.
Duncan Bronson, Winthrop
Re-elect Mayor Soo
Dear Editor:
As both local business owners and citizens of Twisp, we are writing in support of the re-election of Mayor Soo Ing-Moody.
Her advocacy for the town of Twisp and the entire Methow Valley is unmatched, well documented, and has resulted in millions of dollars of grant funding for important infrastructure projects that we would never have been able to afford otherwise.
She has improved the business climate in Twisp in several critical ways:
• Recapturing the town’s water rights and making it possible for people to open and run businesses as well as build new homes.
• Creating financial accountability and stability in our town government.
• Hiring and retaining top-notch, professional staff.
• Advocating regionally for Twisp and raising the profile of our town as a desirable place to live and work.
• Bringing fairness and transparency to town government.
Mayor Soo’s integrity and commitment to representing the citizens of Twisp in a totally non-partisan way is unfaltering. In a time of global and national uncertainty and instability, we need Mayor Soo’s commitment to our town’s economic and cultural well-being, now more than ever.
We need a mayor who represents us full-time, and who doesn’t quit, even when the going gets tough.
We need to re-elect Mayor Soo Ing-Moody.
Meg and Dan Donohue, Blue Star Coffee Roasters, Twisp
Thanks to Hank’s
Dear Editor:
On behalf of the Methow Valley Community Center (MVCC), the board of directors wish to thank Hank Konrad for the monthly donations of nickels the center receives. The board also thanks the community members who drop their nickels in the MVCC jar. We were able to buy our director a much-needed new office chair among other necessary purchases. Again, thank you!
Kathy Balam, Twisp
Grizzly facts
Dear Editor:
Grizzly misinformation from sincere but ignorant and gullible people was an integral part of my long career as a national park ranger and naturalist. Only wolves created more emotional angst, but together these two predators attracted the most people, and parking challenges, for the parks.
Last month in Glacier National Park, crowded trails filled with happy hikers carrying bear spray bore witness to the economic activity these bears can generate, even in the shoulder seasons. The previous summer we volunteered for The Museum of the National Park Ranger in Yellowstone and witnessed the mid-summer crowds there, with hikers carrying bear spray. Maybe we should be thankful that our wildlife here in the North Cascades is less visible in our thicker forests. The Mountain Journal, out of Bozeman, Montana, has some of the best writing I’ve read lately about this. They’re proud of their Montana wildlife, or as they say, “Go Grizzlies.”
Denali National Park required most visitors to ride in buses, while the hikers I dealt with as a backcountry ranger had to be kept away from moose moreso than grizzlies. This was before bear spray but the bus drivers did a good job of educating their riders about wildlife safety.
We did occasionally close trails where there was a grizzly guarding a fresh kill. But we backcountry rangers also had problems with ignorant wildlife technicians who were too new to their profession to overcome the myths perpetuated by the kind of emotional and ignorant people — like those shouting at last week’s grizzly event at the Winthrop Barn.
Eric Burr, Mazama
Say no to grizzlies
Dear Editor:
Restoring grizzlies to the North Cascades to me is reckless and poorly thought out. All a person has to do is look at the bear-to-human conflicts in Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park.
In 1970 there were 150 grizzly bears. Today there are 700 grizzly bears. In 2014-18 there were four deaths from grizzlies to humans. Sixty-five grizzlies died last year due to human conflicts in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park.
To those grizzly bear enthusiasts who think they know grizzly bears, you should go online and read about Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard in Katmai National Park. They thought they also knew grizzly bears before they were eaten alive.
So here we are, the way I see it they are going to plant the grizzlies whether we like it or not. Hikers will have to become very defensive. What a great experience that will be when the tranquility in the wilderness is broken by a parade of hikers blowing kazoos and yelling “hey, bear,” and wearing six bells on each backpack.
Rod Sullivan, Oak Harbor
Yes on Prop 2
Dear Editor:
I write in support of Okanogan County Proposition 2, funding much-needed improvements for our emergency communications systems and facilities.
Existing systems are 40 years old, outdated and prone to failure when we need them most. Replacement parts are no longer available, and vendor support will end next year. All first responders — fire, emergency medical services and police — are currently using a single radio talk system throughout most of the county. The Carlton Complex and Okanogan Complex fires highlighted the need for improved disaster response. Effective and rapid communication is a critical component that is simply not supported by the existing system. The current situation is causing delays in emergency response, increasing risk to citizens and first responders.
I have observed meetings between our county commissioners and Emergency Management personnel while the need for these improvements were discussed. The commissioners asked thoughtful questions and received detailed answers. Our commissioners are quite conservative about proposing tax increases. However, in this case they were convinced of the necessity of putting this proposition on the ballot.
Our emergency services should not rely on technology that predates personal computers and cell phones. At $2 per $1,000 of taxable purchases, I am convinced that the improved capabilities for rapid emergency response is a terrific bargain. Homes and lives will be saved (maybe yours) and crime reduced by these needed upgrades. Please vote “yes” on Proposition 2.
Gina McCoy, Winthrop
Keep the mayor
Dear Editor:
Ballots have been mailed out, it’s time to vote and if you’re a Twisp resident I hope you join me in supporting Soo Ing-Moody’s bid to continue as our mayor. The Opinion section has been full of endorsements of Soo’s campaign listing off her many accomplishments and attributes so I won’t try cover the same ground. What I would like to add is a discussion about the Police Department.
Like most municipalities the cost of law enforcement is one of the highest budget line items. The cost of hiring, training and outfitting new officers can quickly kill a town’s budget. If you look around the county the list is long of city police departments with a revolving door for personnel.
The Twisp Police Department has been remarkably stable and consistent under Mayor Soo’s tenure, saving the town big money while maintaining a well-rounded line-up of personnel which includes the chief, two officers and even a reservist. No easy feat, and just another example of Soo’s competency and leadership.
Keep Soo in office, we’re lucky to have her.
Dave Rodriguez, Twisp
Support your firefighters
Dear Editor:
Community means working with and for others. Your firefighters give up their time, family, financial abilities, their mental health, and sometimes their life. The valley and county are familiar with the loss of firefighters’ lives. When it happens, people mourn and exclaim, “I would do anything …”
There are other ways firefighters lose their life. Your recently retired chief (my father) is dying from cancer. The state has determined this cancer comes directly from his time as a firefighter. Since he was a full-time employee, they are helping with the fight, but if he had stayed a volunteer, he would be out of luck. We have a good idea of the causes of firefighter cancer and deaths at fires. At fires, we need the best training and equipment, which takes financial support. For cancer, we need to have up-to-date facilities with safety protocols for the cleaning and care of the equipment.
You have been asked to fund some facility updates, and it has yet to pass. There is a small group of self-centered people that do not want to spend a few bucks a month to ensure your firefighters have the safest environment possible. Those self-centered people are not putting their lives on the line to volunteer to protect the community. I have worked for and with numerous fire departments across the state. The Methow Valley pays one of the lowest tax rates for the fire department in the state and has the worst facilities I have seen. Most would not meet standards or many laws.
Firefighters give of themselves protect the community in many ways; most will affect them and those around them for a long time to come. They give up time with their family, sometimes permanently. The least a community can do is give firefighters decent, safe areas to work by passing levies and bonds and this year. Vote Brandenburg for commissioner. I know this would be his only wish.
Don Waller, Deputy Fire Chief, Spokane
