Support Miles
Dear Editor:
It’s election time in Winthrop, and we have a different situation this election cycle than we normally do.
Seth Miles is working to get elected to be the next mayor of Winthrop through a write-in campaign. Seth’s a local businessman who has had enough of the current mayor and her policies and he wants to see them change. He believes that there are things in the community that should have been done by now. Too many projects are still in the “design and survey” stages. That list includes water system assessments and sewer surveys, a Susie Stephens Trail crossing at Highway 20, the road up to Horizon Flats, the RiverWalk, the Englar Street fire station’s future use as well as the old library’s future use, and the list goes on.
Seth doesn’t see a Winthrop government that is cohesive and strong. He sees a strong council who is not being united to work out the issues that are going on here in Winthrop.
Seth owns a business in town and has had to struggle through the pandemic for over a year and a half and through the fires this past summer. He’s seen the other businesses that have had to cut hours or close due to these issues. Imagine his surprise when the mayor of Winthrop declared that the tourist season was over and not to come to Winthrop until the snow came. One of the mayor of Winthrop’s top priorities is to protect the town and to put it into a positive light, not to discourage people from coming here.
Seth is committed to getting things done by reaching out to the council and the community to prioritize the projects and issues that need to be addressed. Once those issues have been defined, he will work toward getting those things done working with the town’s staff and departments. It will be tough to get the votes as a write-in candidate with a late start in the game, but I will be writing his name in and I hope that you will see that a change is needed and that you will also support him.
Rick Northcott
Winthrop
Library funding
Dear Editor:
Thank you for sharing the exciting news about NCW Libraries plans to invest in upgrades to its 30 branch library facilities in Okanogan, Chelan, Douglas, Ferry and Grant counties. As you shared in your article, NCW Libraries will partner with the owners of its branch locations to engage in community-led design that will inform the improvement of existing facilities, most of which greatly need facility upgrades to serve their communities.
Your article stated that the new Winthrop branch library, now under construction, will not be part of this project. That is not true. In fact, our new library will share in the distribution of NCW Libraries project funds the same as all the other branch locations in the system. What differs is the schedule for Winthrop’s participation in the funding because Friends of the Winthrop Public Library (FOWL) — working in partnership with the Town of Winthrop and NCW Libraries — has already engaged and completed the community-led conversations that identified the needs, hopes and dreams that defined the design of its new library. The NCW Libraries improvement funding will therefore be contributed quickly to help complete the interior build-out of the new facility.
It is an exciting time for libraries in North Central Washington! NCW Libraries’ significant investment in its network of branches will create inviting, safe spaces that are accessible to everyone. This will enhance our library patrons’ experiences and also bring communities together at a time when we all need to see more of each other.
Jill Sheley
Executive Director, Friends of the Winthrop Public Library
The highway is no place for a garden
Dear Editor:
People should be thought of first. Twisp residents and visitors and passersby all use the highway in front of Hank’s Market. Why was the concrete garden made in the middle of the highway? Who will keep it up?
In summer with campers and motor homes and log trucks. In winter with the snow and ice. Is Twisp looking for a lawsuit to happen?
The highway should be for traffic and not a garden that takes up road space.
AeroMethow Rescue Service needs money for powered stretcher-loading systems. The cost of that highway concrete project needed to go to the people of Twisp and taxpayers, not for cement in the middle of the highway to cause accidents.
This is my opinion. What do the people of Twisp think?
Phyllis Sansaver
Twisp
How about a tax break?
Dear Editor:
I am a property owner directly affected by the subdivision ordinance the county just extended. My 30-acre property near Twisp is virtually unsellable as long as I cannot get water. I blame the county for not informing people like me of the problem when I bought the property.
I have read the DOE opinion and studied much of the history of the Methow Rule. Like it or not, it seems clear that DOE’s interpretation of the Methow Rule was legally correct and necessary to protect our watershed. Thus, the subdivision ordinance was also required.
At the same time, there is something the county can do right now for people like me while it looks for a long-term solution. It doesn’t require ignoring the law or making believe there is more water available than we all know is the case. (I know people who have already had their wells run dry, and farmers whose irrigation was shut off due to low river levels.) Nor does it require that we deny that climate change will make the situation even worse.
I appealed my tax assessment after the subdivision ordinance went into effect. I asked for a substantial reduction in the supposed fair market value. I got a reduction but it was way too little. The reasoning was that the property could be used for a “dry land cabin.” Really? Any real estate broker would laugh if I wanted to market the property anywhere near the assessed value.
What the county can do right now is give all us affected landowners a very substantial and realistic reduction in our tax assessments until the water availability issue is resolved. This seems only fair under these circumstances.
Randy Brook
Twisp
Excellent column
Dear Editor:
Wow! What a poignant and evocative column last week, Ashley Lodato. Nice work. It was a tearful reminder of what all of us parents eventually go through. Inspired writing indeed.
Linda and Wayne Mendro
Twisp
Great production
Dear Editor:
I went to The Merc Playhouse fearing that its production of “CoronAnthology” would be depressing and bring back bad memories. I was surprised at how entertaining it was. Sure, there were heavy parts but they were offset by comedic breaks — “Emails to Ma,” the “Ski Slope Lift Tales” and the “Mystery Motel” puppets.
It reminded me even though we were isolated we all went though this together and I came away uplifted.
Thank you to The Merc and Phil Quevillon for presenting this. To all the performers on stage and behind the scenes, thank you for all your time and effort. Bravo!
Sue Sabin
Twisp
Shriners say thanks
Dear Editor:
Okanogan County has supported the Shriners, who raise money to help local kids who need specialized care so they can become the best they can be. Even the COVID impacts did not keep us from continuing this mission to help kids get needed surgeries or go to the many out-of-area appointments.
The Okanogan County Shrine Club supports the Spokane Shrine Hospital in providing orthopedic services for kids from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Nationwide there are 21 specialized Shrine hospitals plus one in Canada and Mexico. We also support the El Katif Shrine (Spokane) Travel Fund so these kids and their families can afford to go to distant facilities, like the burn center in California.
People bought our raffles at different events, including the Okanogan County Fair, where we drew the winners. As we have in the past, we raffled off three livestock and a kid’s-sized four-wheeler. Buying fair livestock assures first quality meat and supports the kids who raised them. But it is the special donations from people like Hank and Judy Konrad, Twisp, who bought and donated the beef and hog; Bob Lloyd, Twisp, who bought and donated the lamb; and the slaughtering by Wyatt Radke, Oroville; the cut and wrapping by Juarez’s Valley Meat Packing, Ellisforde, that really makes the difference. These people generously donated time and money to improve the life of a child.
This close connection we have with the kids who need medical help and those who donate time and money, and those who buy our raffles — this connection is the reason why we do this year after year. Friendships, caring for others, seeing the smiles, and getting hugs — drives the true meaning of community home.
Thank you all!
Blaine Sullivan, President
Okanogan County Shrine Club
A proposal
Dear Editor:
There are some things going on in our country which defy logic and common sense. To vaccinate or not to vaccinate has been debated for months without consensus is just one example. So the unvaccinated, especially those refusing to wear a mask as well, can put my health at risk for the sake of their “personal freedom.” Are these individuals more valuable than me? These citizens are telling us the election was stolen and Jan. 6 was not a violent insurrection threatening our democracy.
Then there is an effort in certain states to ban abortion after six weeks. “Personal freedom” does not apply to women, apparently. I have never met a woman who did not describe the choice other than one of desperation.
I wish to make a proposal: If life begins at conception and abortion is banned after six weeks, then the father of the child will be required to start paying child support at the sixth week of pregnancy. This will provide good prenatal care, assist with shelter and nutrition for the mother and the child.
Sandra Momilani Clarke
Carlton
Please be safe
Dear Editor:
Generally the valley feels very safe on the roads. We’re all very respectful of each other and cognizant of road safety. However, it seems a reminder may be in order that the school zone is 20 mph, solid yellow means do not pass, and even if it is dashed yellow, passing should be done only when safe. Please don’t pass by driving into oncoming traffic. One saves mere seconds at most, but risks a lifetime of pain and suffering for everyone on the road at that moment.
Please also remember that the corner on Twin Lakes Road is very narrow, and the shoulder is often full of debris. Be ready for a member of the cross country team out training or a family biking to school to be taking the lane to avoid crashing. Be extra cautious with those passes there too. There’s very little room for error on that 500 or so yards and lots of families driving and biking to and from school.
Thanks all of us for being so safe over all! I appreciate the full lane when a car passes me while cycling and the respect of the speed limit that means I’m not constantly tailgated on the highway or passed by folks going 80. Let’s keep it up and keep each other safe.
Oh, and maybe the state and county could help out with some speed bumps in town or a turn lane in front of the school to help remind the vacationers.
Murray Sampson
Winthrop
