Letters On The Thanksgiving Storm

--------------------- Chairman Lichter Is Overstepping
To the Editor:

I do believe Mr. Lichter has overstepped his bounds by making decisions regarding whether the county will be open this week. As far as I can see, he had absolutely no authority to make this call. Doing so was stepping on the rope of our new County Administrator. The only consolation is that our three new elected reps start Monday. Things are going to change.

Article 2 Section 2.31 of the Charter reads in part:
"...individual Legislative Body members shall not interfere in the administration of the Executive Branch. They shall not give orders to, or direct, either publicly or privately, any officer, or employee subject to the direction and supervision of the County Administrator, Executive Branch, or other elected officials".

Stephanie Johnson O'Day
Friday Harbor---------------------Why Was County Government Shut-Down?
To the Editor:

Is there anyone out there besides me who is incredulous about the county offices being closed during the recent bad weather. These are not children riding in yellow buses but responsible adults who have jobs to do. Instead, we have the chair of the BOCC again demonstrating his ineptitude and total lack of administrative know how by closing down government even though it was definitely possible for most of its employees to get to work, maybe a little late, but still possible.

Didn't anyone notice that the employees of the grocery stores, lumber yards, restaurants, medical clinics, etc managed to be on the job. Instead, we the taxpayers of San Juan County, will foot the bill for 4 days of time off for roughly 200 individuals (lets hear it for public works and the sheriffs office who were on the job) and it won't even count as sick leave or vacation time.

Never mind the real estate transactions and court filings that didn't get done due to this poorly thought out decision. Its time for a policy change for our county government, to one that more closely resembles the real world i. e. private enterprise. In times of unusual weather, the employee is expected to try and find his or her way to work, and if its not possible, then they can take a sick day or vacation day so that there will be no financial loss.

That's real life with the customer (read in this case the general public) in mind. It was interesting to observe that a few "critical" employees made it in on the Thursday so that payroll could be done. Ah well, priorities.

John Bird,
Friday Harbor

PS Large kudos to the Opalco Employees for another job well done under adverse circumstances.


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Newcomers Will Rescue Us!

To the Editor:

I suggest some of the most interesting residents are those who have moved here and have been here for less than five years. For some reason, "newcomers" seem to believe they are rescuers and are desperately needed for the islands future guidance. In an effort to ease the entrance transition, I suggest a few simple rules will aid those folks and give some comfort to their new life. So…once you get here:

Join something…anything. Just join. Assuming you just received your occupancy permit for your new house, it is preferable that you join some sort of conservation – save the islands – type of group. (Pretend adding your new house does not have any impact on the islands – just those that follow you are bad guys).

Share your expertise. Even if you do not have any expertise in community salvation, share it anyway but be a little bit boisterous to make up for your ignorance.

Pretend you know all there is to know about the community even if occasionally you have to ask where "North" is.

Be considerate of the fact that young people are here and need a place to live and grow and have families. Sponsor that acreage around the landfill for affordable housing.

Tell us how important you were as vice president of some God forsaken corporation no one ever heard of and why that qualifies you as our savior and how lucky we are that you got here in time to save us…and how the "Mrs." was active back home in the "Twisted Nickers" and saved all the folks there from fire and damnation.

Grow a beard (this item is for the ladies only but if you want to Ms., grow one anyway) and pretend you have been here a long time and are an "old salt."

When on the ferry don't say you are going up stairs, say "goin' topside" and to avoid any embarrassing mistakes mark you right hand "S" for "starboard" and your left hand "P" for "port" (just remember to face the front).

Adopt these simple rules and you will automatically be inducted in the hall of saviors and you, too, may lounge with other saviors and be proud of your new-found mission.

Wayne Holmes
San Juan Island

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Just A Few Observations From The Sidelines

Dear Editor:

It is ironic that for all the rancor Alan Lichter has for George Bush he is the one person in our county who, through his mean-spirited arrogance and his actions, so closely resembles him. And speaking of Ranker.…his tacky little affair with the Friends of the San Juans is as incestuous and self-serving as Dick Cheney's is with Halliburton.

This most recent squabble with Randy Gaylord (Related Story) only highlights the etiquette and ethics from these two Councilmen that has become all too familiar.

I'd like to take them both quail hunting.

Scott Bell
San Juan Island

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Election 2006:Thank You Letters

----------------------Thank You All!
I write this letter to thank all the people who supported and voted for me in the recent election. It is gratifying to be stopped on the street and to be told, "You have my vote", no questions asked. Thanks to all the people who hosted signs, put in a good word for me, and were willing to be on my list of supporters. Erin and I thank you.

Dan Gillespie----------------------To One And All

The San Juan County Republican Party would like to publicly thank all of the volunteers who helped on elections night to ensure that voters knew where the drop box was on Orcas Island, and assisted those who misplaced or did not receive their mail ballots.

Also a big thank you to those who answered the call to observe the elections ballot counting, to insure a free and fair election for all of our citizens.

Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Cindy Carter
Sec. SJCRP


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Just Can't Let Go

To the Editor:

What is it with Councilmen Lichter and Ranker? First they are telling our County Prosecutor how to practice law, and now they are telling him who he can and can not hire. (Related Story) Randy Gaylord is an elected official, duly elected by the people of San Juan County, to represent us, the citizens of San Juan County, as our Prosecuting Attorney. Where do these two Councilmen get off telling him how to run his office and department?

I can understand why these two become upset if Mr. Gaylord hired someone to represent the citizens regarding the ADU issue that has not been recommended by one of their Special Interest Groups. And given their past arrogance, I can also understand their unwillingness to yield to the Home Rule Charter, that the vast majority of citizens voted for. But what I do not understand is why they just cannot seem to understand that, we-the-people, do not want them meddling in the administration of the county business. We also voted, through the Charter, to have a County Manager, thereby insuring that they could not meddle any longer in the administration of County business. But no. Now they are telling our public officials who they can, and cannot hire, and seem to be doing so by holding the budgeting process as the cleaver.

These actions are a slap in the face to every citizen in this county. I would suggest that they start doing the job that we-the-people have asked them to do, and butt out of that which we clearly have asked them to stay out of.

If they cannot read the Charter, I am sure that there is someone in our educational system that could provide remedial training, and a good number of citizens that could explain it to them. The Freeholders, I am certain, would take the time to come to a meeting and explain it too. Bottom line is, we don't want the Council meddling in the administration of County business, so "Just Let Go".


Tired of it all,

Ray Bigler
San Juan Island

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One, Not Two Fire Departments!

Dear Editor,

I am writing regarding The Fire Departments. Both Departments here on the island are without a chief. Both the Town Administrator and The District Fire Commissioners are searching for new chiefs. I think this is the time when San Juan Island residents need to stand up and tell these folks that we want one unified Fire Department. This isn't all about money either. Many people may not realize that both departments already assist each other on almost all big fires. Do they also realize that although these volunteer departments do an excellent job, they might be able to do even better with unified training, equipment, and the like? It's time that Islanders stand up for what's right and tell the leaders that it's not just about the bottom line.

Who could be the chief of one unified department serving the entire island? That chief would need strong leadership skills and the respect of his/her firefighters to achieve excellent training, recruitment and retention, and most of all the ability to calmly and confidently lead on a fire ground. How about our current Fire Marshall, Robert Low? Chief Low has shown time and again that he is eager to serve this community in any way possible. Let's get him back to what he loves! Let's merge the departments and let Chief Low lead us into excellence.


Emily Hallock
San Juan Island EMT
Town of Friday Harbor Fire Department Support Crew



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Gordy Reponds To Bob

To my friend Bob:

Thanks for reading my article, "Everyone Loves a Slinky". According to your response, I think you may have misunderstood the point. My point was not that we must "support our current leader in whatever he does, or risk the downfall of civilization as we know it."

The point I was trying to make was that the consequences of defeat should be unacceptable to a majority of Americans. We should stop pushing our leaders down the stairs (even though it is entertaining) and think seriously about what defeat would mean to our country. I apologize if this point was not clear.

Personally, I do not know how best to bring peace and stability to the Middle East. This is something I have taken a great deal of time to study and read about. Many great minds have given thought to this and put forth ideas for action. As far as I know peace is still a far off dream. There is plenty of room for competing ideas and for difference of opinions on the subject.

I think it is unfair to say that there is some "ill-conceived, un-thought out, non-plan" in Iraq. You may disagree with the results of our military actions but it was not a non-plan. I agree with your opinion, "You break it, you fix it". We have a responsibility to do this now. I would encourage everyone who thinks they have an answer to throw it into the arena of ideas instead of criticizing everyone who does.

I disagree with your statement, "The current leadership has done everything possible to increase the threat of terrorism, not defeat it." Evidence suggests that showing weakness is the best way to increase terrorism. I reiterate my point from the article, "if you believe our enemies are recruiting more martyrs into jihad because we have stood up to them, then just wait until we back down and withdraw. Showing weakness will embolden our terrorist enemies like never before and swell their ranks."

I think you are incorrect to say that there was "not a drop" of Islamic Fundamentalism in Iraq before we moved in and ousted Saddam. This religious fanaticism exists in almost every country in the world certainly every country in the Middle East. Are you asserting that the only place in the world it did not exist was Iraq?

The evidence suggests that Islamic Fundamentalism was widely accepted in Saddam's regime after the first Gulf War in 1991. The most obvious symbol of Saddam's decision to embrace Islam was his order to add the words "God Is Great" to the Iraqi flag. Saddam's son-in-law, Hussein Kamal, defected to Jordan in 1995. Kamal's reason for defecting was Saddam's order that all senior Baath Party officials undergo mandatory Koran studies. This quote comes from his statements to the IAEA. "The Government of Iraq is instigating fundamentalism in the country. This is of concern for Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait. It is against Europe and US. Now Baath Party members have to pass a religious exam."

I agree wholeheartedly with your point that "Our only goal in Iraq should be to put the country back together". The only clarification I would offer is that only the Iraqi people can do this. We need to give them the tools and the hope to do it themselves. I believe that that is exactly what the current plan of our leaders is. However, we can't do this if we follow the advice of the "get out now" crowd.

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Gordy Is Right ...Sort of?

Gordy is right, up to a point. It is distressing that "tabloid" politics is the norm. But he is wrong to say that we have to renounce that attitude and support our current leader in whatever he does, or risk the downfall of civilization as we know it. (The column the letter is addressing)

The current leadership has done everything possible to increase the threat of terrorism, not defeat it. There's much flapping of lips and moaning and groaning in the blog-sphere right now (and obviously Gordy has read it all) saying the same thing…..We must stay in Iraq to fend off Islamic Jihad/Muslim Fundamentalism (thee must be an election coming!). The only problem with that excuse is that there was no Islamic Fundamentalism in Iraq under Saddam. Its existence was a threat to his stranglehold on power, and he did not tolerate it. Yes, he hated the Kurds and the Shiites, but he also understood the threat religious fundamentalism poses.

No….to carry on with the current ill-conceived, un-thought out, non-plan is the worst possible course of action.

Now that "Stay the Course" has been abandoned, the proper course of action, or attitude, towards Iraq should be the one Colin Powell voiced long ago…."You break it, you fix it" (or words to that effect). Our only goal in Iraq should be to put the country back together so that what was once was a hotbed of Muslim moderation and liberalism (YES YES, Saddam was a hedonistic mass-murdering dictator, but he was, to his core, opposed to Islamic Jihad and the Muslim fundamentalists) can get on its feet again. If you're the Leader of the Free World, and you want to build a fence, build it around Iraq. Keep the outside fundamentalists out, and the home grown ones in, so you can wipe them out. Then you can start, maybe, to deal with the real problem in Iraq…religious intolerance between the Sunnis and the Shiites.

But, is that a job for the Leader of the Free World? I don't think so. Religious intolerance is ubiquitous throughout the world. Our job should be to root out and destroy Islamic Fundamentalism, nothing more. There was not a drop of it in Iraq before we moved in. Saddam made sure of that.

Now that I think about it, the fence as a metaphor for a military plan of action is a good one. I will support whichever Leader of the Free World, present or future, decides to alter our course in that direction.



Bob Querry
San Juan Island
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