Be a member
Dear Editor:
The Methow Valley Community Center Association (MVCCA) is conducting its annual membership drive. This year, the goal is to have every household in the valley, whether full-time or part-time, become a member.
Thanks to the visionary folks in the 1970s who believed the old Twisp High School should assume a new life as a center for community events rather than being torn down, this historic building has been transformed into a vital and valued space which hums with activities throughout the year. Total expenses in the 2021 budget is projected to be $142,000, which does not include any major improvements to the building or land. Approximately 50% will be generated from rental income with an additional 15% from special events and 10% from the Visitor Information Center.
That leaves 25% or $35,500 which we hope the membership drive will raise.
This is both a call and an opportunity to help out and become an active participant in this marvelous building. The annual report was sent to members’ homes in January which asked to renew your membership. We are also encouraging and recruiting new members which one can find on the website, https://methowcommunity.org. Please contact Kirsten at the community center for information (997-2926). The response to the membership drive has been positive to date but it could be so much more.
And don’t miss the April Tools event, Saturday, April 3, which is open to sellers and buyers.
Charlene Burns
Board Member, MVCCA
Twisp
Saving our trails
Dear Editor:
I would like to respond to Ric Bailey’s My Turn column in the March 17 paper. Being a hiker, nature lover and president of the Methow Valley Backcountry Horsemen (MVBH), I too would hate to see all the large, old growth Douglas firs logged out of the Twisp River. I guess we are not protecting the spotted owl anymore and since global warming is going to kill off all the firs and be more favorable to the pines, we should use them before they burn.
I do have a strong disagreement with Ric about the trails and trailheads up Twisp River. Having spent many hours on a crosscut saw I appreciate when I can use a chainsaw for the job. Adding more wilderness seems like a good ideal but it also puts that land into handsaws only. At present the MVBH maintain the 14 miles of Twisp River trail No. 440 and log out the first part of numerous trails in the area to the wilderness boundary. We have also spent days chain-sawing trees up Cedar creek and Crystal Lake trails. We have staged two statewide work parties out of the Twisp River horse camp over the last eight years.
Closing the west side road would not be as simple as putting in a few foot logs. Horses can’t use them and it would mean that they are walking through the river disturbing fish. Have you seen the engineering and size of the bridges we built across Eagle Creek and South Creek? How about parking lots big enough for trailers and expensive bathrooms at all those trailheads?
I would love to see the U.S. Forest Service have a decent trail budget to maintain the trails like 25 years ago but at present they can’t even come up with funding for a Trail Supervisor (for the third year). I would hate to see the few usable trails looking like Maple Pass Loop. In the meantime the Backcountry Horsemen, WTA and others will try to save our trails. How about you?
Cathy Upper
President, MVBCH
Reality check
Dear Editor:
For some, the idea of the latest solution proposed to complete the construction of Twisp Town Hall has lent itself to fear and loathing among the natives –making them more restless than usual.
To most, the reasons are obvious. To others, not so much. Here is what I found in my first-hand experience working with a petition that asks the USDA to put the brakes on fast-tracking this loan until a balanced view of the request can be heard.
Nearly 98% of residents were clear and eager to sign and knew what they thought and why. A smaller percentage took the petition as a friendship loyalty poll to the mayor and council. Kind of willfully overlooking core data. Showing instead a nearly 0% ability to express why they support the project. Thank you to those who signed, helping others help you!
Regarding mayor and council — not one signer I encountered spoke badly of them. I personally like them and recognize how hard to fill these important seats can be. Simply having a mayor that can conduct meetings legally according to Robert’s Rules of Order is a blessing! I do not perceive the mayor to demand blind loyalty from anyone — so where does this misguided stance come from?
I know when I try to use tomfoolery to sneak in mashed cauliflower into my kid’s mac and cheese not even his demure cousin Sheila Subterfuge can give cover. I invite anyone — myself included, I am not immune to being daft — to start by adding up the bar bill for the last five to seven years and determine how everything gets paid for. New shop, vehicles, equipment, added employees, mayor salary etc. … repeated dates with an architect that clearly does not have the knowledge to produce a product Twisp can afford.
The budget has historically been a chore to balance — not a job I want. But sometimes funny pencils produce funny math that glosses over a true snapshot of indebtedness. Is it possible there has been an uncoupling from reality to the point that some simply don’t believe the project could have an unhappy outcome? You bet it is.
Dara M. Perez
Twisp
