Letters

Make sure you vote Dear Editor: Election day for Washington’s 2026 primary is Tuesday, Aug. 4. Nearly everyone should have received their ballot by now. If you did not get a ballot yet, call the Okanogan County Elections Office at (509) 422-7240 or go to voter.votewa.gov, where you can print your personalized replacement ballot or […]

Watch for wildlife Dear Editor: To our Methow Valley friends — in case you haven’t noticed, all the does in the valley decided to give birth all at once. So there are tiny fawns everywhere, some most perilously on the road, including Highway 20. We humans still heedlessly roar along in our giant metal shells, […]

Great response Dear Editor: On behalf of all of us at the Methow Conservancy, a big thank you to so many people for the heroic efforts during the Hamilton Fire. We recognize that these efforts are both seen and unseen — from the courageous firefighters, first responders, and talented air support crews to the community […]

Thanks from Methow Pride Dear Editor: As Pride Month comes to an end, Methow Pride extends our gratitude to community members and businesses for the support. Pride Fest 2026 was both expected and deeply unexpected. We came into the day already carrying grief — mourning the loss of a dear friend and community member. That […]

Why we protest Dear Editor: I’ll be protesting our government’s policies and actions with friends and neighbors in Twisp this coming Saturday for the 72nd time since Feb. 17, 2025. Over the past year, the weekly number of participants has averaged from the lower 70s to over 940 — unheard of in our small valley! […]

The ballroom backers Dear Editor: More than half of the publicly identified donors to President Trump’s Whitehouse ballroom project have won new or expanded contracts worth more than $50 billion. I wonder if deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro donated to Trump’s ballroom fund, he’d get a pardon? We’ll see … Brent Tannehill Winthrop Lookout history […]

WATV problems Dear Editor: I am a full-time Winthrop resident urging our community to very carefully consider the proposal now before the Town Council to allow wheeled all-terrain vehicles on Winthrop streets — a prohibition that has protected our town for over a decade and should not be lifted lightly. Proponents argue that WATVs are […]

Truth about wolves Dear Editor: There are many misconceptions about wolves and prey. Calling the relationship between predators and prey a balance is misleading in that it implies a static relationship when in fact it is a dynamic, constantly changing world effected by many variables. Deer and elk populations vary according to many factors. Snow […]

WATV questions Dear Editor: Have you been to historic Silverton, Colorado, in recent years? I urge any Winthrop Town Council members who are considering allowing WATVs in town to make a visit. The main drag is lined with businesses catering to WATV riders. There are rental shops with fleets of WATVs outside. Restaurants and other […]

Rules are for everyone Dear Editor: The lupin and balsamroot are waning, but the wildflowers are still blooming galore, the birds are out in hordes and springtime in the Methow feels especially beautiful after a dark and dry winter. I had the misfortune of scaring a white-tailed ptarmigan out of the underbrush on the Rex […]