Letter: Questioning ramblings of letter writers

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Editor,

I occasionally check out the ramblings of our friends, the Proud Baby Boys – Fred Wilferth, Ty Welch, Terry Sparks and others.

In his Jan. 24 letter, Terry Sparks attacks two former Marines. He says they are disgusting and deplorable; just for kicks he tosses in the words TDS, “woke culture,” terrorists, DEI; and he says our fellow Americans should be “censured and demoted.”

Speaking of TDS – Terry’s Deranged Silliness – he only mentions Donald Trump six times!

Terry also wants the Secretary of War to go after these two Americans, so Keyboard Warrior Sparks – call sign “Sparky” – wrote to his buddy:

“Dearest Secretary Hegseth: two Marine veterans wrote a letter I do not like. I want you to do something about it, so help me God!”

In conclusion, while I may not agree with everything that Sparky and the Proud Baby Boys utter, I will defend their constitutional right to provide entertainment for the rest of us.

David Freed

Clinton

Editor,

At the recent February City Council workshop, the subject of how to provide a place for pickleball players that they could meet and play was an agenda item. Pickleball is indeed a growing sport, here and all over the country, and they need a place of their own. In spite of the obvious similarities, pickleball and tennis require different size courts, nets and fencing. As a life-long tennis player and more recent pickleball player, I appreciate their wishes, but I don’t want tennis players to lose a resource when we have fought for and maintained this resource as our only day time use courts for much of the year.

At the same City Council workshop, the city met with representatives of the Oak Harbor School Board and discussed ways in which they could work together. It is my understanding from talks held with the Oak Harbor Parks Department head that an effort to form a Metropolitan Parks District has been proposed but has not come to full fruition yet. One of the astute points that several city council members made was that they want to solution to be collaborative and not a win/lose scenario. This cause is the perfect opportunity to move this issue forward and calls for the necessity to have everyone with an “iron in the fire” involved as it is chiefly constituents from their district that are asking for this resource.

The North Whidbey Parks District has too long been regarded as “the Pool District” and, indeed, they provide very little in resources when compared with the South Whidbey Parks and Recreation District and charge taxpayers more per assessment then South Whidbey Parks and Rec. They should be included in any discussions regarding additional resources and costs.

It would be unfortunate to lose the existing courts at Rotary Park. People will continue to play on these courts even though they are in poor condition even if additional courts temporary or permanent are constructed. Myself and my family play pickleball there occasionally and it is a wonderful, centrally located, visible resource. Ft. Nugent Park will never have the centrality and visibility for kids and adults. A joint effort to address this situation would also allow everyone’s voice to be heard. Please work on a joint solution that will not pit players against each other. Multi-sport courts may seem like a solution but in reality everyone dislikes the many lines that complicate enjoying play.

Barbara Strother

Oak Harbor

Editor,

Child care is not optional. It is part of our infrastructure, just like housing, roads and hospitals. When childcare fails, everything else does too. Yet Gov. Bob Ferguson’s proposed budget treats childcare as expendable.

Families across Washington are already stretched to the breaking point. The cost of child care, not just for infants but for toddlers and school-age children, is unaffordable for many working families. Despite this reality, the governor’s budget proposes $322 million in new cuts to child care, on top of more than $1 billion in cuts already made in the current budget. Families and providers are still dealing with the fallout from those decisions, and lawmakers are now being asked to deepen the damage.

If these cuts move forward, 16,000 families will lose access to Working Connections Child Care. We do not have to guess what happens next. The data is clear. When families cannot afford child care, parents leave the workforce. Businesses lose workers and productivity. The broader economy takes a hit.

We have been down this road before. During the Great Recession, lawmakers used child care caps and waiting lists as a budget solution. The result was parents forced out of jobs, businesses struggling to fill positions, and an economic recovery that took more than a decade. Cutting childcare does not save money. It shifts the cost onto families, employers, and communities.

Balancing the budget on the backs of children and working families is short-sighted and irresponsible. I urge House and Senate budget writers to reject these cuts and protect childcare as the essential infrastructure it is.

Voters will remember who stood up for working families and who did not.

Ida Keeley

Children’s Campaign Fund Action