We need the library levy
To the Editor:
Our county library was very important to me as a child. Midwest, wartime, we had plenty to eat, but, as Dad would intone with a shake of his head, “times are hard.” My sister, 10 years my elder, read to me and taught me to read. Thank goodness for the library and the bookmobile!
Recently, I had the privilege of riding along with our Goldendale Community Library Bookmobile to Wishram and Dallesport. I watched with warm admiration as the librarian called children by name, remembered what kind of books what kids liked, pulled out special books she’d brought for particular ones, dealt with missing or forgotten library cards, and helped shape up the couple of boys who just wanted to wrestle around. The books were efficiently arranged so that ones for the younger were lower, ones for the older, higher. It was a record day, with about 100 children and well over a dozen adults.
As well as the Friends’ annual book sale in Goldendale, outreach efforts include a book and craft table at the Klickitat Pirate Fair, a return box in Klickitat for books by mail, and a special book sale in Bickleton on Aug. 8.
Again, “times are hard.” Our library is even more important now than in times of plenty, and despite recent cuts, we are relying on it more. This is a hard time to speak of tax increases, but I entreat you to vote yes on the levy lid lift in August. The lid lift only increases taxes within the already established legal limit, and, on a quarter-million dollar house, amounts to less than $1.75 a month. Isn’t it worth that to regain staff and service hours, keep our collection current, and enrich the lives of our children and families?
Nancy Barron
Goldendale
Unusual wildlife spotted
To the Editor:
The following details are as true as I can remember.
I first saw the three-foot seven-inch tall white hair pygmy yeti in White Salmon while sleeping in my friend Ronnie’s shed. I was out at 2:30 a.m. in her backyard between her house and the shed.
The area was well lit by numerous street lamps in the area.
The pygmy yeti loped slowly by me, on all fours like a shaggy dog, across Ronnie’s lawn to the west, not five to seven feet away from where I was standing. It looked at me, slowed down, and stood up on its hind legs. Or feet.
It, or he, smiled at me nicely while standing upright and continued walking upright like a human at a comfortable pace over the vacant lot and across the street towards the alley.
I call it the pygmy yeti because it looks nearly identical to the commonly depicted Tibetan yeti. It is a third of the size or less than a typical Tibetan yeti, however. It looks wizened, intelligent, and purposeful, while amused or even slightly mirthful in demeanor.
A week or so after the first encounter, I was again out behind Ronnie’s house late at night. The same “fella” came right by me, again walking upright. He looked at me as he walked several paces away. He smiled at me and looked over his shoulder. Walking behind him upright and normally was a female, three and a half feet or so high and covered in the same soft-looking six-inch long white hair.
I got the feeling it was his daughter. She half acknowledged me smiling, and I felt her almost blushing, it seemed. They both casually kept walking across Ronnie’s lawn, over the vacant lot, and west across the street into the alley.
Erik Jon Csizmazia
Goldendale
Wars are not won at home
To the Editor:
In response to Mr. Seborer’s letter last week, I must say that while I agree that it is unfortunate that we are in the Middle East fighting a seemingly never-ending war of ideals, I also must point out that bringing all of our troops home so they can defend American soil is a bad idea. You see, no war has ever been won defensively; many battles have been won that way, but in the end, if one is going to succeed, the fight must be taken to the enemy.
Bringing American troops home would put them in a position to defend, or to react, to what the enemy is doing. That is poor tactics. Ask yourself, “What would the enemy want us to do in this situation,” and you will probably find that the answer to that is that they would love for us to pull out as quickly as possible; they would then be able to use that to claim both a military and political victory. We cannot stop fighting a war simply because it will make people angry. They must be fought on our terms, not theirs.
Dan Durant
Goldendale
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