By Aspen Kvicala An article recently appeared in NPR news that detailed a report published by Greenpeace. The report claims that most of the plastic in the United States does not get recycled because plastic is “practically impossible” to recycle. It’s easy to get shocked and outraged whenever a piece like this comes up in […]
My Turn
My Turn – Not too late for grizzly recovery in North Cascades
By Rebekah Jensen I spent my 20s and part of my 30s in western Montana. For much of that time, I lived in backwoods locales with few neighbors. One neighbor I’ll never forget, though, is the grizzly bear. Here in the Methow, I’ve contemplated what it would be like to have grizzly bears on the […]
My Turn – Reflections on building businesses in the Methow
By Patrick Law When I first came to the Methow Valley, I was in between jobs and had recently moved out of a house on the west side. My friend, who lives in Twin Lakes, offered me a place to crash. My plan was to stay for a week or two and figure out my […]
My Turn – Let’s keep Winthrop’s RiverWalk project alive
By Sally Ranzau We have an untapped asset in the Chewuch River which runs behind our downtown businesses on Riverside Avenue. It is a beautiful and sometimes tumultuous waterway which is rarely viewed. If you walk behind these buildings today, trespassing on private property, you will see trash cans, cars — private parking for business […]
My Turn – Practicing an ethic of responsible recreation
Submitted by Methow Trails and Methow Valley Citizens Council The Methow Valley has an incredible, unique network of connected trails that wind through diverse habitats and support bountiful wildlife. The lands these trails pass through have been home to the Methow People for thousands of years. We are privileged to have these trails in our […]
My Turn: Real action on basic gun laws would save lives
By Sam Lucy While I’m pleased that our elected officials are finally agreeing, and agreeing to spend hundreds of billions to help protect children elsewhere, I am sickened that we as a country refuse to stop the slaughter of our own. It doesn’t get any more “un-American” than to allow what should be our children’s […]
My Turn – The Haubs’ heritage lives on at Sun Mountain Lodge
By Lee Hicks An era has ended in the Methow Valley. For only the second time since it was built, Sun Mountain Lodge and related properties including cabins at Patterson Lake are under new ownership. Sun Mountain is well known, even “iconic” as the recent sale announcement in the News reported. But not as much […]
My Turn: Forest collaboration bearing fruit for Okanogan-Wenatchee
By Chris Branch and Mike Anderson The North Central Washington Forest Health Collaborative — which we proudly co-chair —– is a broad coalition of local and tribal governments, public agencies, and private organizations working together to improve forest and stream conditions in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in Okanogan and Chelan counties. Our 22 members range […]
My Turn: Protecting our children from sexual predators’ ‘grooming’
By Megan Schmidt Recently, my 9-year old daughter was subjected to grooming behavior and sent pornography on her cell phone by an unknown adult. I was 2 feet away from her. Driving home from our mid-winter break vacation my daughter let me know she was texting — she thought — with one of her classmates. […]
My Turn: Committed to affordable housing in a safe environment
By Danica Ready and Nancy Nash Mendez In recent weeks, there have been some concerns expressed in letters to the editor regarding Methow Housing Trust’s (MHT) proposed Cascade Meadows North Development in Winthrop. To address these concerns, we’d like to share some information about MHT, our partnership with Housing Authority of Okanogan County (HAOC), and […]
