Opinion
PAGE 4
NOVEMBER 29, 2012
Editorial
Letters
More questions than answers about homeless
Thank you to voters for passing levy
We are impressed by the compassionate gathering of folks who are showing up at community meetings about the homeless, organized, in part, by North Bend Police Chief Mark Toner. The focus of these meetings is what can we do to help the homeless in North Bend, in the Snoqualmie Valley really. We’ve heard about the group of chronically homeless who live in the woods by our rivers, but we also learned about people who live in their vehicles and call the Safeway parking lot in North Bend home; and the people who live in campers and tents all year long in Fall City; and teenagers who’ve been kicked out of the house and live under bridges, or on friends’ couches if they’re lucky. But when you get 30 people together to find a solution, a lot of questions come up that are hard to answer. Where will we put them? Will it just be for winter or year round? Should a shelter be open all evening or 24/7? Will there be case managers on hand to help with services like mental illness, health issues, job placement and transitional housing needs? Will we provide food or showers? Who will staff a shelter and train volunteers? Are we going to turn away people who are drunk or who have criminal records? How are we going to pay for this? But the people who come to these meetings have not been deterred by all the questions. They are answer people. Being homeless is no fun, but being homeless in the winter can be a matter of life and death. And as one woman at the meeting said, “You don’t want that to happen here. It changes a community.” The community can’t turn its back on the problem when a life is at stake. Organizers and community members are trying to find a warm, dry place for the homeless in order to save lives. It’s a simple yet complex concept, and we hope they succeed.
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Deborah Berto
Publisher
Kathleen R. Merrill
Managing editor
Michele Mihalovich
Editor
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We would like to thank Snoqualmie voters for passing city of Snoqualmie Proposition 1, the Public Safety Operations, Streets and Parks Maintenance Levy. Approval of this levy was critical to support current levels of public safety in Snoqualmie, maintenance of the city’s parks and trails system, and maintenance of safe streets. Your yes vote will ensure that all Snoqualmie citizens continue to benefit from these services and enjoy the high quality of life our community has built. Jim Schaffer, Chelley Patterson and Dave Battey Co-chairs, Keep Snoqualmie Safe Committee
cougar attacks and burglaries on the trail. I suggested to my friend that he should reevaluate his perception of what is a real threat, and what is “threatening looking.” Additionally, I suggested that the gentleman rescue a dog and assimilate it into our semi-country community, rather than be an antagonist. Howard W. Clark North Bend
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Citizens can make a difference by contacting their elected representatives.
Federal
Real threats are out there A friend of mine relayed a story about a gentleman who had a concern with “threateninglooking dogs” “off leash” on local trails the other day. No attack mentioned, just that the dogs were threatening looking. I am a newcomer to the Valley. I have only lived here for 13 years. I use various trails and mountains in the area, on an almost daily basis. I have never been threatened, or seen any threatening-looking dogs on these trails. I have, however, been threatened by a man with a machete, and seen coyotes and bears on the trails. I have read about murderers, escaped convicts,
President Barack Obama (D), The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20500; 202-456-1414; president@whitehouse.gov U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D), 511 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-3441; http://cantwell.senate.gov; 915 Second Ave., Suite 512, Seattle, WA 98174; 206220-6400 U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D), 173 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510; 202224-2621; http://murray.senate.gov; Jackson Federal Building, Room 2988, 915 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98174; 206-553-5545
Home Country
Play it smart and you will keep it safe Coffee always tastes perfect before daylight on the opening day of deer season, Dud Campbell thought as he sat in near-total darkness in his kitchen. He was being extra quiet so as not to awaken Anita. Turning on a flashlight on the kitchen counter, he wrote: Honey, I’ll be up Pine Canyon, hunting up a feeder creek 1.4 miles to the right. The truck will be at the campground. Doc and Steve both know the area I’m hunting. I’ll be back no later than 10 p.m. unless I call. An hour later, Dud quietly got out of the pickup and left a note under the windshield wiper: Hunting to the west between here and the ridge. Should be back here no later than 9 p.m. Dud Campbell Dud was sitting on a rock outcropping as the sun rose, feeling the warmth spread from inside out as another great day of anticipation came. He smiled, and then prayed. He always did during hunting season. His prayer wasn’t wishing for success, but simply expressing gratitude for this special time. This was the success. Sitting here
in the sun, hunting yet another year. An actual deer for the freezer is simply gravy on this feast. After lunch, Dud decided to try a different location, so he returned to the pickup and left a difSlim Randles ferent note. Columnist He got home about 9 p.m. and raved to Anita about the wonders of the day in the woods. “You left me that note, Dud,” she said, “but I don’t even know where that is.”
“No. But the sheriff’s department does, and search and rescue knows, and both Doc and Steve know.” She still looked puzzled. “You’re a good outdoorsman, though, aren’t you?” “Well, yes I am. That’s why I left the notes. Anyone can twist an ankle or fall up there.” He smiled at her. “Hunters have an old saying, Honey. If you take crutches with you, you’ll never break a leg.” Brought to you by the national award-winning book “A Cowboy’s Guide to Growing Up Right.” Read a free sample at www.slimrandles.com.
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