By K. C. Golden The first snow falls on Sandy Butte and Thompson Ridge like soothing ice on a raw burn, a cool drink for a desperately thirsty landscape. But the smell of the burn is fresh. Images of torches on the horizon still leap up in our minds. The flames have died for now, […]
My Turn
My Turn — Time to step up on affordable housing crisis
By Andy McConkey The Methow has a housing crisis. For some folks reading this it will seem like old news, for others it could be the first you’ve heard of it. This place of beauty that so many of us love so very much is staggering beneath the weight of a very real, a very […]
My turn — Winthrop library will be a special place for kids
By Ree West I take a peek around the bookcase to see if my help is needed; no, the child is still snuggled into a beanbag, completely absorbed in a book. His mother appears content as she browses the collection and adds to a growing stack of books. At an opportune moment I mention how […]
County leadership has failed us on COVID precautions
By Okanogan County Watch As volunteers who regularly take notes at meetings of the Okanogan County commissioners for Okanogan County Watch, we support Gay Northrup’s thought-provoking recent letter regarding the county commissioners’ failure to step up to the plate by addressing the physical, emotional and economic pain the COVID-19 virus is causing residents of this […]
My turn — Behind the tree-cutting decisions during summer fires
By Chris Furr I want to express my thanks to the Methow Valley for your support this summer. It was a long fire season, but once again the residents of this valley have shown their resilience and dedication as they responded to evacuations, smoke, and area closures. This was an extremely successful season given conditions, […]
The Wagner Ranch Acquisition — an Opportunity for Land Justice in the Methow Valley
By David LaFever The ways that our lives entwine with this place are as varied as the people who call it home, and yet something common flows through us all. What is it that holds us all together? A deep and powerful connection to the land and waters, mountains and rivers? Many of us are […]
My Turn: A brief history of Afghanistan explains everything
By Dana Visalli I traveled to Afghanistan four times between 2010 and 2014, volunteer teaching at a girls’ school in Kabul. In the process I learned something about Afghanistan’s history over the past 200 years, which I think helps explain the drama unfolding in that country today. Surprisingly to many, England has been a major […]
My turn — Community campaign needed to protect our forests
By Gina McCoy As fires rage, aren’t we getting good and tired of evacuations, choking smoke, lost homes and devastated forests? Not to mention the ever-present risk to lives. Surely, the large majority of Methow Valley residents — particularly, those who have been here long enough to have experienced the changes — understand that extreme […]
My Turn — The federally approved wildlife slaughter you pay for
By Sam Lucy Some irony within the pages of last week’s paper. You printed two informative features on “varmints” ( beaver and fishers ) as well as a darker piece by Ted Williams on wildlife killing contests. Planned irony or not, I found it powerful reporting. Thank you. Many taxpayers realize they (we) already pay […]
My Turn: Love in an Arizona border town
By Casey Ruud In Nogales, Arizona, an amazing effort is happening to protect the community by getting its people vaccinated. On a Thursday in February, my wife, Laura, and I showed up to volunteer for 64 hours (eight 8-hour days each) to earn our vaccine shots. We both expected it to be a boring, drudgery […]
