Reopen Northern State center

There is growing evidence that there are many persons who cannot cope with freedom and free access to drugs (or lack of treatment).

Northern State (Cascade Center) should be reopened for a revitalized in-patient treatment center (with mandatory living and work options).

Joel Douglas
Bellingham


What’s next, PSE, kangaroo rides?

Suddenly, Puget Sound Energy trumpets its own goodness with ads and mailings — all paid for with bucks from ratepayers’ pockets — offering free lunches, fall tours, town get-togethers. I wouldn’t be surprised if it offered water glasses, Green Stamps and kangaroo rides next.

It just shows what happens when the Skagit County Public Utility District asks the voters whether it should take over distribution of electricity in our county and so drop rates and start local control of that on which we all depend. We’re late to the table — many PUDs around the state control the local electricity, and their customers have enjoyed cheap juice at the switches for decades.

A Skagit PUD takeover is a great idea. Must be, when PSE, at great cost, invents a fake citizens group to lie otherwise.

So vote yes for local control and public power on the November ballot and frustrate those rich Aussies hungering to gobble up PSE and digest our dollars down under.

John (Jack) de Yonge
Concrete


Crosses to honor victims removed

My children are scared and confused. It was my family that made the crosses that were located at the entrance of Silver Creek Road and on Interstate 5 to help us all remember that God is with each of us always.

It was easy to explain to them that the cross on I-5 was taken down because it could create a distraction on the road; but now that the five that were at the entrance to Silver Creek Road are gone, my children think that someone is evil, and they think it’s unsafe to go home. They go to church weekly to learn the difference between right and wrong, about forgiveness and love. Someone taking down the crosses has made them question everything they have been taught.

My children range in age from nearly 15 to 2 years old. They didn’t need to have a slap in the face on our way to church. They asked me why someone would steal them, and I couldn’t answer them. It seems unfair to me that the crosses are gone and that whoever took them can hurt my kids more than anyone could understand. Our family picked each flower out for each cross.

We will never forget what happened to those who lost their lives that day. Even though the crosses aren’t up any longer, we will always know that people lost their lives on that road and that God was with them.

These were made and place as a loving gesture to those who were lost. It is terrible that the person who took down the crosses could make my children hesitant to show how they feel when something so close to home happens.

I hope the crosses are put back up or left somewhere where we can retrieve them.

Shara Hawkins
Sedro-Woolley


When will home taxes go down?

With the housing market dropping —a recent report says it’s down more than 16 percent nationwide — when will our house tax bills reflect any change in this downward value of assessments? This isn’t just a short-term lowering of values; it has lasted at least a year, and all local properties should be re-evaluated for tax purposes.

Or will it be business as usual (status quo on home values) to keep from causing a tax crunch on set budgets? Those budgets serve too many entities with their hands out, like the libraries with their ludicrous $400,000 request, and all other taxing districts. Or will officials wait until there’s a big amount of complainers?

What does it take to get a downward evaluation for tax purposes when the market is down for a particularly long time? Does anyone out there have any good ideas? It goes up, why won’t it go down to reflect the national average but at the local average level? I’m talking about across-the-board lower values, not just upping some and lowering others to reflect a no-loss scenario.

All should feel the crunch and the pain, not just the taxpayers.

Michael B. King
Burlington


Discipline, boundaries for industry

I, too, am angry, but let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater. My concern is that we will not learn what we need to learn from this current economic crisis. Family therapists say that children will act out until they get the boundaries they need. What did we expect, business to regulate itself?

We have had eight years of very purposeful deregulation. In the past two years, 64 New York billionaires have increased their net worth by more than 400 percent. During the same two years, funding for the homeless decreased significantly.

If I blame anyone, it is the American voters who not only elected this free-market regime once, but twice. It does frustrate me that those who most oppose the bailout are the right-wing free marketers who are most responsible for this mess. Now is not the time to be pointing fingers and blaming for political purposes, however.

We need mom and dad to sit down and work together to provide a clear set of boundaries that include consequences. We need Republicans and Democrats to get past partisan politics and stand together to correct the excesses of the past eight years.

The key question is: How do we regulate the child without killing its spirit?

Hal Pullin
Mount Vernon


Why save irresponsible spenders?

There should be no government bailout. Why should those of us who live within our means have to pay so others who spend irresponsible get to profit? How did we become a country that can’t survive without credit? Why can’t we just buy what we can afford? Why should private businesses get government funds as a reward for running their businesses so poorly that they are going broke?

People who gamble in the stock market are doing just that, gambling! Sometimes, when you gamble, you lose. The news media and political leaders are using fear tactics to justify the rich getting richer. Our economy will not fall apart without this bailout. We should not be a nation run by fear, and we should not be a nation that can’t survive without credit.

If greedy people bought homes they couldn’t afford, that’s their problem; let them downsize. Why should those of us who bought homes we could afford have to bail them out? The credit industry in America is out of control, and if it collapses, it is only suffering the consequences of its own poor judgment, just as all other private businesses do.

The government shouldn’t decide which businesses survive or fail, nor should it decide who keeps their home if they can’t afford it. We are not a socialist country. We all make our own decisions and either thrive or fail. There should be no government bailout. Speak up, America. Let your political leaders know how you want them to vote. After all, they are supposed to be working for us.

Cindy Johnson
Mount Vernon


Elect Olson to 39th District post

We all benefit from the infrastructure built up by government — our local, state and interstate road systems; postal service; Internet; and public schools, to list a few. These are our tax dollars at work for our communities.

Government has the responsibility to provide quality education that empowers us all and feeds our democracy. It is responsible for maintaining and improving our transportation systems — fixing Highway 2, improving Highway 20 and finding realistic solutions to gridlock.

Unfortunately, in the 39th Legislative District, we are “represented” by two individuals who consistently oppose funding for public schools — Dan Kristiansen and Val Stevens. Their approach is shortsighted and partisan and is not representative of the majority in the 39th. Also, neither is seen in Skagit, except for a rare appearance at election time.

It’s time for change! Let’s elect Scott Olson, who believes in the benefits of a solid public school system and is working on Highway 2 concerns. Scott doesn’t ignore Skagit as his opponent does. Scott is visible and accessible — a positive, moderate voice — and isn’t afraid to cross the political aisle to seek solutions.

Scott has a broad base of support, including U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash.; state Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island; Washington Conservation Voters; Planned Parenthood; AFT-Washington, AFL-CIO; Washington Education Association Political Action Committee; Children’s Campaign Fund; Progressive Majority; Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO; and nine local unions. More endorsements are listed at his Web site.

Let’s elect Scott Olson to improve our transportation systems and protect our schools, small towns, their Main Streets and our family farms!

Jim Justice
Sedro-Woolley