A lot of comments from one person
In a recent edition of the Whidbey News-Times the forum was given to educators to give their take on teacher salaries. In the article they pointed out an individual who had previously been published in the forum who was in opposition to salary increases.
On its surface it would just seem as though we are seeing both sides of the coin. Yet, the one side of the coin not representing teachers was not the individual I would post in my forum if I was running a newspaper.
May 22, 2012
9
Don’t betray the public trust
Thanks to Helen Price Johnson for her stand for Conservation Futures. This has been an essential tool for preserving the rural beauty of Island County and for keeping some small part of the islands available for public access. So many of us have worked so hard and spent huge numbers of hours to get Conservation Futures provisions enacted, it would be a major betrayal of public trust to disband it now.
May 22, 2012
2
Beauty found along the highway
What a pleasure it is to drive by the Allen property on Highway 525 just south of Greenbank and see all the beautiful rhododendrons in full bloom. Just another of Whidbey’s caring, loving property owners. Thank you Don and Jan Allen for helping our island to be beautiful.
May 18, 2012
0
Cleaning the beach is reward
When I read letters such as Mr. Sharpe’s it saddens me. I hope Mr Sharpe has contacted Penn Cove Shellfish to voice his concern privately in addition to publicly.
I regularly walk a stretch of beach and pick up debris. In the past few months I have found a dozen or so discs. I have also collected eight large garbage bags of assorted garbage including plastic bottles, pieces of fiberglass, a few tires and so on. Because I love the water, I choose to believe no one deliberately tosses garbage in it.
May 18, 2012
0
Gentlemen prefer hats
One of the first things I learned in boot camp was the hat comes off as you pass the threshold going into a building and the hat goes on when you pass the threshold coming out of a building.
They were teaching us to be gentlemen. Nothing more. Courtesy simple as that, not to mention what you look like sitting there with a hat on. This applies to all public buildings including restaurants.
May 18, 2012
1
Stay warm in your mobile
I lived on Whidbey for ten years and would just like to share this great energy program that I used with your readers. It is an awesome opportunity to help save the environment and it cost nothing for most people that own manufactured homes.
May 15, 2012
0
Joyful news on the Navy
I was joyful to hear from Congressman Larsen at the May 1 Navy League NAS Whidbey Island luncheon that, “The role (that Whidbey’s electronic attack squadrons) play in current and future conflicts in fact only solidifies the importance of Whidbey Naval Air Station in my mind, the men and women who are stationed here, the people who support the base being here. My assessment is that we can plan on the base being here for a long, long time,” a comment which was met with spontaneous applause.
May 15, 2012
3
Bailey dances to ALEC’s tune
Imagine a political system where corporations have secret access to state legislators and then meet with those legislators to craft legislation that directly benefit their bottom line. Then imagine that their proposed legislation is introduced by their cohort legislators in state houses across the country as their own brilliant ideas and important public policy innovations -- without disclosing that corporations crafted the proposed bills.
Such a system does exist and it is directly responsible for the ongoing right-wing assault on democracy across the country. The organization responsible for such devastation is ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council. Along with legislators, most of whom are ultra-conservative Republicans, ALEC membership is open to corporations. ALEC was founded by the infamous Koch Brothers.
May 11, 2012
2
Grateful for Hearts & Hammers
I would like to thank the following people who worked on my home Saturday, May 5: Hearts & Hammers team captain Jeff Tasoff, Gary, Susan, Jesse (the electrician) and his wife, Sarah. Jesse did a wonderful job fixing my smoke alarms, which was the main reason I needed Hearts and Hammers in the first place.
May 11, 2012
0
Rain doesn’t stop National Day of Prayer
A letter of thanks to the communities of Oak Harbor and Coupeville is in order. The weather was not so great but the spirits of all those who attended the 61st Annual National Day of Prayer observances on May 3 were high and cheerful. Rain gear and umbrellas were the order of the day. Thanks to all those who committed to be on the programs by praying, singing, leading music and technical assistance. Thanks to both mayors, the military and other community leaders for their support and participation. We truly live on a beautiful island with a lot of great people.
May 11, 2012
0
Where to put the pet poop
We appreciate the front page article about the Pet Poop Patrol on Oak Harbor’s Waterfront Trail. It’s great to raise awareness about the health and water quality hazards that pet waste presents. However, just after the article appeared in the paper, I got questions about what should be done with pet waste, an essential piece of information that the article was missing.
Over the years different agencies have recommended flushing it or composting it, but after studies showed problems with both of those methods (as stated in the article), and because most Whidbey residents get drinking water from an aquifer, we suggest people bag it and throw it in the trash.
May 11, 2012
1
