You could nitpick, cavil or quibble over the list of improvements and repairs that would be paid for by two tax levies placed on the April 28 ballot by the Methow Valley School District. But there’s no arguing that the items on the list are needs, not luxuries — and that they represent only some of the […]
Editorials
In the weed patch
Sometimes it seems like county government just can’t help contradicting itself, which would be perversely comical if it didn’t affect people’s lives. From a board of county commissioners that rails against what it sees as precipitous, unchallengeable state or federal actions that are taken with no regard to local concerns comes this gem: cancellation of […]
A learning process
Please, everyone: Just. Calm. Down. As more information has emerged about the International Baccalaureate (IB) program that the Methow Valley School might — might — elect to pursue after a lot more exploration and discussion, it seems that some kind of Internet hysteria has gripped a portion of the valley’s population. Online discussions have generated some good questions about […]
Editorials: January 24, 2015
Need some reasons The Winthrop Town Council will likely have an item on the agenda of its Jan. 21 meeting to discuss acquiring GPS tracking and information-generating devices for the vehicles used by the police and public works departments. As suggested by council member Vern Herrst, who requested the agenda item, the devices could be […]
Clearing the air
After the election, the letters to the editor, the talk on the street and comments at last week’s meeting of the Okanogan County Fire District 6 commissioners, it would be helpful if everyone associated with the district understood this loud and clear message from the public: It’s not about the firefighters. It’s about the fire […]
Editorials: October 1, 2014
FEMA fails us Last week, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) denied the state of Washington’s appeal of a FEMA decision not to provide individual assistance to victims of the summer’s fires and floods. Gov. Jay Inslee had asked the Obama administration to reverse FEMA’s denial of a disaster declaration that would have made some […]
Editorials: September 10, 2014
Getting it right In the aftermath of calamity, there are always questions. Some of them pop up right away, some of them develop over time, all of them arise out of the human need to know how and why something happened and, in some cases, who is responsible. From the beginning of the relentless siege […]
Editorials: September 3, 2014
Needed: big gestures, bold strokes Two of the most important artistic institutions in the valley are looking for new leadership. The timing is strictly coincidental, but the concurrent searches for executive directors at Confluence Gallery & Art Center and The Merc Playhouse come at a crucial juncture for each. Jane Hubrig is leaving The Merc […]
Editorials: Aug. 20, 2014
Reclaiming the image A cynical person might ask, what can you accomplish with $150,000, against the millions of dollars the Methow Valley tourism industry has lost to the vagaries of wildfire this summer? But just as there are, according to the adage, no atheists on a sinking ship, there likely are few cynics questioning the […]
Editorials: July 9, 2014
Thanks, Clint Public service is something of a family tradition for the Estes family of Twisp. Long-time Twisp Town Council member Clint Estes, who recently stepped down after nine years of meetings and countless hours of conversations with residents, followed in his father’s footsteps when he first joined the council. Twisp owes a big “thank […]
