Why is getting an enhanced license so hard?
Re: enhanced driver’s license covering passage to and from Canada.

I am a loyal, very supportive retired employee of the state of Washington. Recently I suffered an embarrassment on behalf of the state, particularly the Department of Licensing.

I endeavored to follow that chirpy little advertisement on television on how to gain an enhanced license for entering and returning from Canada, after June 1, 2009. I visited the Anacortes branch (one person in the waiting room) and was sent to the Mount Vernon office.

I eventually found said office buried under overgrown bushes, and after circling around eventually found the entrance. I finally got a parking place, entered the building to find many rows of chairs filled to the limit, and additional people crouching on the floor and in corners, awaiting service.

Number 73 was being called and I drew No. 721 and quickly decided that at my advanced age, I could not line up without lunch, dinner and my bedroll, provided there was any floor left.

I and many others find these conditions appalling, and consider it is definitely time for changes. The department should open up offices where this process could routinely be processed. Possibly changing the deadline for this operation to sometime in 2010 suitable to those in command together with a reservation system?
Willa M. Humen
Anacortes

Letter carrier drive brought in five tons of food
I would like to thank all of Anacortes for making this our most successful Letter Carrier Food Drive drive ever with over 10,000 pounds collected.

Special thanks to Diane Moritz at Boxes and Bears for her ad space in the Clamdigger. Thanks to all the volunteers from St. Vincent De Paul, Anacortes 100 Food Bank and Salvation Army for coming down and taking the food to their respective food banks.

Select Styling has done a tremendous job of serving as a drop-off for food since our food drive. Thank you.

Kudos to all the letter carriers for their extra effort. Thank you to our volunteer drivers/pickup crew: Jared Wright, Keith Mihills, Patsy McCuaig, Earl Heisey, Jerry Keltner, Pam Ross and Kathie Ricks. 
Lynn Oliver
President Letter Carrier NALC 1527

U.S. leaders are overlooking big problems
Why in today’s world would I want to give my Social Security to people who live and work here illegally? Why do state counselors say combative teens are just being normal?

Why do they say I can’t tell my teen daughter it’s not OK to have sex at 13? Are they going to take care of all these unwanted babies and young welfare mothers in an already strained system?

Why are there no house-buying programs for people on Social Security and disability?

Maybe one day the leaders of our country will open their eyes and take care of some of these overlooked problems — and put family values and common sense back in the world.
George Tucker
Anacortes

Waterfront Festival had great support
At the 19th Annual Anacortes Waterfront Festival we continued to put the water back into the festival. Once again we took over the Port of Anacortes’ beautiful Cap Sante Boat Haven and brought the community down to the water.

Building this festival takes the commitment of a very hard working group of volunteers and organizations and the financial support of our business community.

On behalf of the board and staff of the Anacortes Chamber of Commerce I would like to thank those involved. The Waterfront Festival Committee members: Pat Barrett, Vic Childs, Ken Clark, Mitch Everton, Dale Fowler, Monte Hughes, Kenny Markel, Matt McKay, Robin Pestarino, Vicky Ratcliffe, Barbara and Mike Ritts, Rick Star, Mary Talosi (the rock), Carrie Tisinger, Jan and Norm Vigre and TK Wegg. Plus the community organizations that are so dedicated to the festival: Anacortes Yacht Club, Wrestlers for Life, Fidalgo Island Rotary, the Majestic Glass Car Club. We appreciate the involvement of all of the groups who are instrumental in making this festival so special.

The staff at the Port of Anacortes does yeoman’s work to help us have a successful event, especially: Josh Beaner, Jason Chandler, Wes George and Phil Krause.

Members of the Anacortes Yacht Club gave over 800 free rides to community members — and Duane Clark even let my son, Caleb, captain his beautiful boat for 20 minutes.

We want to welcome back and thank the San Juan Orca Challenge. This kayak race is a great fit for the Waterfront Festival, and we thank Nadja Baker and Jim Zimmerman for all of their work in organizing that event.

In its second year, the Quick and Dirty Boat Building demonstration was definitely a highlight. Spectators thoroughly enjoyed watching the boat construction and enthusiastically cheered on their favorite teams during the water trials. Pat Barrett (Barrett Financial), Vicky Ratcliffe and Kimberly Weber were instrumental in putting this part of the festival together. The participants and sponsors raised over $2,000 for the small boat center in Anacortes.

Monte Hughes, Mystic Sea Charters, ferried folks to the American Gold Seafood farm, and TK Wegg organized a radio-controlled sailboat regatta at Seafarer’s. Boat Show Coordinator Matt McKay, from HR Strategies, put together a profitable show on short notice.

We are so blessed to have festival sponsors that return year after year. Shell Puget Sound Refinery, our poster sponsor, is such a great community supporter. Other top sponsors that financially supported the festival: Core Builders, Skagit Valley Herald, Trident Seafoods, KWLE 1340 the Whale, Dakota Creek Industries, Island Hospital, Samish Indian Nation, Tesoro Refining & Marketing Company, Barrett Financial, Ltd, Comcast and March Point Cogeneration.

There were many more sponsors that we listed in the great insert produced by the Anacortes American.

Thanks to all!
Stephanie Hamilton
Anacortes Chamber of Commerce

Quilt walk was a rewarding experience
This was my first experience as a merchant to support the quilt walk.

I had many pieces of Carla Zimmerman’s colorful and beautiful quilt samples hanging in my lobby.

It was really nice to see all the people walking downtown touring all the businesses and seeing all the many works of art our quilters provided us.

There were many visitors from all over and numerous locals taking pictures and utilizing their maps to be initialed by various businesses. I hope this event will be offered again in our downtown for many years.

I would like to thank Carla Zimmerman for offering her gifted quilt samples to be displayed in my business.
Kim Bjazevich
Clean & Clip

Mah Jongg party raised money for March for Meals
The eighth annual Mah Jongg party held at the Anacortes Senior Center March 28 was a huge success, resulting in a donation of more than $700 to the Senior Center March for Meals.

The Senior Center Mah Jongg players organized the party and volunteered to secure prizes from local businesses to be auctioned and awarded to the winning players. It was a heartwarming experience to realize the extent of support and generosity that so many of our local merchants were willing to provide. This generosity made our event a success.

Donations of lunch, prizes and silent auction items were made by Ana-Cross Stitch, Bayshore Office Products, Bayside Sweets and Treats, Boxes and Bears, Burton Jewelers, Calico Cupboard Café and Bakery, CompuMatter computer store, Donatello Flowers & Gifts, El Jinete Mexican restaurant, Fidalgo Pool and Fitness Center, Gere-A-Deli, Hong Kong Gardens, Island Adventures Inc., Johnny Picasso’s, Majestic Inn & Spa, Mary Ann’s Kitchen, Pacific Design, Papa Murphy’s Take ‘n’ Bake, Pelican Bay Books, Pizza Factory, Safeway, San Juan Lanes, Sebo’s Hardware & Equipment Rental, Sheely’s Floral & Gifts, Shirley Haley Photography, Skagit Cycle Center, Stork’s Restaurant & Lounge, Thai Season Restaurant, The Market, the Red Snapper, Thrive Community Fitness, Upstage Boutique and Men’s Store, Village Pizza, Walgreens, Washington Nails and Watermark Book Co.

This should remind us all that our local merchants support us in many community events. We should be shopping and dining locally whenever we can.
Linden Ellingson
Anacortes

Boat building crew had blast at festival
Our team, The “Nauti” Girls, would like to thank the sponsors and organizers of this year’s Quick & Dirty Boat Building event at the Anacortes Waterfront Festival. Despite our boat capsizing and having to take a swim in the marina, we had a wonderful time!

The other teams did an incredible job and it really is amazing what was created out of a few sheets of plywood, a couple of two-by-fours and some screws.

This event is a wonderful way to spend a Saturday at the festival and support the Anacortes Small Boat Center. We are already looking forward to next year!
The “Nauti” Girls, Courtney Orrock

Roundabout as planned will hurt businesses
Neither the state nor the city asked if everyone wanted the roundabout project at Commercial Avenue and Highway 20.

We’d like to share our dismay as we sent the following letter to the Anacortes City Council and mayor.

We are Home Sweet Home Antiques, one of the businesses in our city that is still trying to survive this down economy. We businesses are desperately attempting to make ends meet and make enough money during the summer months to stay solvent through winter.

The tourist traffic is down in volume, and the sales are weak in the purchases that are made. Every business is making concessions to accept a smaller profit and income in order to increase our chances of survival. As we make less money, the trickle down effect becomes greater in our community, as we have to curb buying the necessities or luxuries in our fellow businesses.

Many businesses are already gone or giving up. Many buildings on Commercial Ave are once again empty, with no interested parties wanting to put their store sign on a street that is barely surviving. This is true for all of Anacortes and many other cities as well.

In every discussion we have had with the business owners throughout the Commercial Avenue business district of the south end, no one is content or in accord with the Highway 20 roundabout project. We do not like or want a roundabout to be constructed at all. The volume of drivers that are expected to use the traffic are an overwhelming majority of inexperienced, confused people who will create many more accidents than we now endure. There are many arguments against the sensibility of traffic circles.

We understand the funding is an issue of timing in order to receive Stimulus Funds. Ask for the money to widen and fix Highway 20 at Commercial Avenue, or pave city streets elsewhere in Anacortes. A beautification to the entry of our city is long overdue. Put in signals where needed. Something other than a roundabout.

The detour that proposes to take traffic down R Avenue and redirect it over at 32nd Street to Commercial Avenue will definitely take potential customers away that would otherwise drive by our stores. The businesses throughout the Commercial Avenue business district of the south end will suffer a devastating loss of income.

A large amount of the detoured traffic will continue north on R Avenue and find the open road ahead with two lanes and no congestion more inviting than a redirect back to Commercial Avenue. As they are made aware of this bypass route, we will lose more drive by traffic for years to follow, therefore more loss of revenue due to less shoppers.

The traffic will all get back to Commercial Avenue from the detour eventually, maybe at Third Street. Meanwhile the hotels, restaurants, retail stores, gas stations and everyone else that depends on this summer influx of income will have been passed up without a chance of gaining the out of town income we depend on.

The traffic that does come back on the 32nd Street detour will not be passing the businesses south of 32nd Street. They are doomed to survive on locals only.

The timing of this construction project must be delayed! Ask for bids that start after the September event of Oyster Run. The construction crews will be eager to have the work any time of the year, rain or shine.

It will not make any difference how the city entrance is designed if it enters into a ghost town that no one survived because of a pet project for a bureaucrat.

Please kill, redesign or reschedule this roundabout at Commercial Avenue and Highway 20.
Bud and Karen Lewis
Home Sweet Home Antiques