The editorial on the Aug. 21 opinion page disturbed me to a great extent. It ended by stating, “Obviously publicly safety has to be the first priority … there are programs that help people and help the environment that commissioners have been defending that can no longer be justified in light of the budget crisis.”

This is at best a gross simplification of the dilemma we as a community face and at worst, and I fear at heart, a call to return to the “status quo” that gets mired in short-term, reactionary fixes.

It is my opinion that public safety rests more surely on the shoulders of the programs that help people and the environment than it does law enforcement and deputy prosecutors. A law enforcement team is vital to our community, but by the time law enforcement and the court system are utilized, we as a community have failed.

Desperation in all its forms brings forth the worst aspects of humanity. If safety is really our biggest concern, cutting social and environmental programs makes no sense. Will we continue to only look at our own property taxes and what might provide short, profitable gain, or are we willing to suffer a bit so that future generations may have a healthy community and environment in which to live?

We must be willing to do the hard work within ourselves, and our community, to ask for and support sustainable solutions, rather than quick, palatable fixes.

Theresa Sanders

Coupeville