Yellow Pages
Why we need a ‘yes’ vote for B-E
What a great night! I watched the Burlington-Edison High School boys’ basketball team play another amazing game with the cheerleaders cheering them on. The B-EHS band played with much enthusiasm and what a treat to watch our very own B-EHS dance team perform at intermission.
I realized how fortunate we are to have such amazing pride and talent in our very own community and how important all of these extracurricular activities are to the students. These activities may be reduced if the bond does not pass.
I am asking you to please vote “yes” for the Burlington-Edison school bond in May and keep our community, schools and students strong. Thank you.
Kim Rawlins
(Bay View)
Mount Vernon
Front-page poem was a treat
Jared Vandeway, thank you for your beautiful poem “Beauty is Found in Purple” published on the front page of the Skagit Valley Herald on March 1.
And special thanks to Jared’s mother for her love and understanding, and to Michelle Murray, Jared’s teacher, for her recognition of Jared’s possibilities and her promotion of same.
Thank you reporter Kate Martin for an excellent, well-written article and to the Skagit Valley Herald for bringing it all to our attention.
A wonderful, timely greeting for March 1!
Elsie Willcox Olson
Burlington
State park, kids need our help
Our local state park and school children need our help. Deception Pass State Park will lose its only interpretive position, while many parks will retain theirs (two parks, each with half the visitors of our Deception Pass, retained five each). Our one interpreter (Adam Lorio) has been exceptionally active in supporting the community making use of the park. He has been particularly active in supporting student education and appreciation for the natural resources we have.
Last year he had face-to-face interaction with 16,600 visitors. His efforts also provide evening programs, bridge walks and Junior Ranger programs. He is responsible for K-12 environmental education, coordinating thousands of hours of park volunteers, running a High School Naturalists program, advising the board of a foundation supporting this specific park, and providing interpretative training to volunteers, interns, and rangers from the Northwest Region staff.
All of this will go away if we lose the position. The park rangers simply do not have the time to continue these activities. Ask your kids about the value of these programs.
At this stage of the governmental process the most effective thing we can do is make known our reasons and desire to retain our interpreter by contacting the chairperson of the Parks and Recreation Commission: Attn: Fred Olson, Chair; 1111 Israel Road S.W.; Olympia WA 98504-2650.
My understanding is that we need to express our concern by Thursday, March 11, in order to be effective.
Please take the time to preserve an outstanding resource in our superb state park.
Harold Harrington
Anacortes
Read more local news in the Skagit Valley Herald and the Anacortes American, or read it online in the E-edition
