City should consider what public wants
To the Editor,
Once again I am confused about our local government’s comments in the paper. The City says they want to support events that are only in the city limits. Wait a minute, what about the rock crawls, the tractor pulls, the motorcycle events, and the skaters? I know what the skaters did, but you simply cannot ban all of them from coming back for the misjudgment of a couple people. These events can’t be held in the city limits, so it’s unfair to not support them. I also understand that the city may not fund these events. However, I feel the City should help support those events so they become better events.
I also feel the City wanted to make it look like the skaters caused so much damage. As it turns out, they caused about a quarter of what the city said in the first place. Talk about blowing things out of proportion!
I think the city government should focus on what the people of Goldendale want, not what the city government wants. We need to keep supporting events so that we don’t lose what we have gained over the last couple years, thanks to our events coordinator. I also feel that everywhere within 15 miles of Goldendale is in our backyard.
Andy Halm
Goldendale
Stay the course with current commissioners
To the Editor:
Klickitat County may be the only county in the state of Washington whose balance sheet and bottom line is in the black. This is testimony to the effectiveness of our sitting commissioners and the effectiveness of commissioners past who played a vital role in setting the path to sound fiscal management. To keep the county in positive fiscal territory, while providing quality services within the budget constraints put upon them, is testimony to their dedication and capability.
The people who are affected by the White Salmon water problem should know that Rex Johnston was the catalyst who brought our district’s legislative delegation, along with the lieutenant governor and executives from the Department of Ecology and Department of Health, to the table to move the problem off dead center and headed toward resolution. It would be a travesty to lose that kind of dedication and effort, as well as the ability to get attention and action from Olympia, that Rex has demonstrated. Make no mistake: he played a major role in not only getting necessary attention from Olympia, but in getting county participation in financing the solution.
Ray Thayer is the “wise old bird” on the board. He plays a key role in keeping the county fiscally sound and has played a major role in the landfill project that brings revenue to the county, the creation of the overlay zone, and provided the necessary support to the port expansion that is a proven success. His years on the board have given him a rare insight into the county, what makes it run and, more importantly, how to run it.
It would truly be the county’s loss to lose the talent and experience of these two commissioners. Rex Johnston and Ray Thayer deserve our support and our vote on Election Day.
Jim Fritchey
White Salmon
Apology to Goldendale residents
To the Editor:
This is regarding the article in the paper about the Festival of Speed.
To the people of Goldendale: Please accept my apologies for putting that really big sign in my store window promoting Arletta Parton for mayor. It certainly won’t happen again.
Joyce McKay
Goldendale
We’re known by the company we keep
To the Editor:
When I was a teenager, I was often admonished by my parents: Watch who you make friends with because you will be known (and judged) by the company you keep. True to form, they would help me with my judgment by meeting my friends — and their parents. They would inquire of their jobs, their churches, their beliefs, as well as getting a grasp on the company their families kept. Of course, as we all do, I grew up and left home and then it was my responsibility to keep track of the reputation of the people I chose to call friends.
The 2008 election gives us the opportunity to choose a new president who will lead us into our future, for good or bad, in these economically and politically tenuous times. As I evaluate each candidate, I cannot help but look at some of the company that Barack Obama has chosen to keep in his adulthood.
Convicted felon Tony Rezco has had a close association with Obama in his campaign financing and engaged in dubious real estate deals in connection with Obama purchases. Obama and his family attended the church of Jeremiah Wright for more than 20 years. Rev. Wright has a radical belief system in which he blames the U.S. for 9-11, calls upon God to damn America, and refers to the U.S. as the United States of KKK.
Of greater concern to me is the association with Bill Ayers - an unrepentant, homegrown terrorist who participated in multiple bombings in the United States and who on 9-11 clearly emphasized he had no sorrow for these activities. Indeed, he wished he had done more.
Unfortunately, I could go on about the people that Obama has chosen to associate himself with over the years. Has he engaged in domestic terrorism? Illegal campaign financing? Called for God to damn America? Likely not. But - and this is a big but - he has chosen to keep the company of those that do and have.
With my long-departed parents’ words ringing in my ears, I know I must not choose to associate with those who keep company with people that do lest I reap the consequences of their associations. Just as I, my siblings, and now my children will be judged by the company we keep, Obama must be evaluated by the company he has chosen to keep.
I will be voting for John McCain and Sarah Palin.
Elle Rowley
Goldendale
Obama is the clear choice
To the Editor:
A big election is about to take place and, given the ramifications of the last two, our individual lives, community, nation and world will be significantly affected by its results. Here are reasons to vote for one of the two candidates for president of the United States:
1. You want a change in the direction of the country. McCain voted with the current administration 90 percent of the time. Obama provides a different direction.
2. You are concerned about taxes. If you make over $250,000 per year, it makes sense for you to support John McCain. If you do not, it benefits you to vote for Obama.
3. If having health insurance is important to you, Obama proposes making healthcare more accessible to all.
4. You are concerned about the environment. Obama has proposed a long-term initiative to clean up the environment by supporting clean energy.
5. The Iraq Civil War. If you feel it is time for the Iraqis to accept responsibility for their own affairs, given there were no weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein is gone, this is consistent with ideas first proposed by Obama two years ago.
6. When it comes to style, the choice is clear. If you like drama, McCain showed his stuff the week of the Wall Street bailout negotiations. First he was in the debate, then he wasn’t, then he might be if certain conditions were met. By comparison, Obama was in continuous contact with the major rescue package negotiators, keeping a low profile and allowing the process to take place.
If you want a thoughtful, collaborative, inspirational leader who puts us on the path of realizing our potential as individuals, as communities, and as a nation; one who will work for a cleaner, healthier environment, support a woman’s right to choice, more affordable education, community service opportunities and a more peaceful world, then the choice is clear. Choose Barack Obama for President.
Bob Hansen
Lyle
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