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Students, elderly make connection

I have been fortunate in getting to know a group of students from Madison Elementary School in Mount Vernon. For the past year, a group of them walk after school out to Alpine Ridge Retirement Apartments and connect with a resident here in what they have identified as the Honoring Our Elders program.

These are kids that take time out of their busy schedules to connect with a resident twice a month throughout the school year. Each has stories to tell. They play games, chat and get to know one another — making a connection between the young and old.

This program was the brain child of the Madison School student body council, with the assistance of Mike Shapiro, a staff coordinator.

The elders sit in anticipation, waiting for the kids to appear. The bonds that have developed are indescribable. These kids are the leaders of tomorrow. They are bright, intelligent, responsible and take a very serious role in keeping this program alive, both at school and at Alpine.

Recently, the elders were invited to a lunch program at Madison, and it was well-attended. The program was great, and all the kids welcomed them with open arms. The residents returned energized, excited and feeling honored to have these kids in their lives.

We hear so much about the negative things going on in our community, and its time to shed some light on what some of our kids are doing that is positive and meaningful for their community. I see many who are on their way to becoming leaders in our communities.

Thank you to the kids and the staff at Madison Elementary who support this program with Alpine Ridge.

Joop (Joe) deJonge
Mount Vernon


Sleazy moves from building group

Oh no! The Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) is at it again. More sleazy propaganda from a sleazy organization.

BIAW attacks aimed at Gov. Chris Gregoire are filled with lies, distortions and outrageous statements.

Here is a sampling of the BIAW’s disgusting dirty work:

• Opposes worker protections;

• Called the governor “a heartless, power-hungry she-wolf who would eat her own young to get ahead”;

• Likens the environmental movement to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party;

• Opposed protection of orcas;

• Denies climate change is real; and

• Opposes Puget Sound Partnership and the Growth Management Act.

When you are driving down the highway listening to your radio and suddenly hear an ad by the BIAW — or its alter ego ChangePAC — please be aware that the sleazy ad is being run by a sleazy organization. Same thing for BIAW ads on TV or in newspapers.

Be aware of this, too: The BIAW is a major supporter of Dino Rossi.

Richard Austin
Mount Vernon


Wells don’t hamper in-stream flow

It is a shame that sound science and politics never go hand in hand. A prime example is the domestic well and in-stream flow. The tribes are claiming that rural property owners are drying up our streams, and that is one of the reasons for fish declines. No one is arguing over the hydrologic cycle that all waters are intertwined. The question is: By how much?

In the state of Washington, there are more than 993,000 people served by individual wells. There is no record or evidence that an exempt well or group of said wells has had a negative impact on in-stream flow. Most wells are drilled into a confined aquifer, and the water is recharged back to the shallower aquifer through the septic system, enhancing stream flow.

A recent report from the Colorado School of Mines and the National Ground Water Association shows that wells drilled into a confined aquifer have a positive impact to stream flow. The report also shows that if the wells are in direct contact with a stream, the impact is so small you cannot measure it.

The average rural homeowner uses 240 gallons of water a day, of which 80 percent is returned through the septic system.

An average Douglas fir uses 250 gallons a day. Only 7 percent of our liquid fresh water is in streams, rivers and lakes. Ninety percent of our fresh water is located underground. Forty-five percent of our state’s public supply relies on ground water.

In-stream flows were set by a biologist, not a hydroecologist who has studied seasonal and historical records and understands that gravel bars are formed by high-water events.

Water is one of the key elements of life. He who controls it has power over all. This is where politics comes into play.

Scott Fowler
Burlington


Doesn’t make sense to fluoridate

Fluoride for ingestion is a prescription drug. A doctor prescribes it, not a county commissioner or a PUD commissioner. The patient is given precise instructions, and an information leaflet with the prescription.

However, a person can purchase fluoride toothpaste without a prescription, but a warning on the tube says not to swallow the toothpaste. So, this is a puzzle. If fluoride is put in the Skagit County water supply, the fluoride will indeed be swallowed.

To force fluoride on the public via the county water system is completely irrational. No doctor worthy of the title would prescribe medicine in such a way.

There is no way to know how much fluoride each person would be getting. We are all different ages and sizes. If one drinks eight glasses of fluoridated water per day and only weighs 85 pounds, could that be too much fluoride? On the other hand, if another person weighing 285 pounds drinks one glass of water per day is that too little?

To add fluoride to a water system is a hit-and-miss method; it’s not worthy of the cost and effort involved.

Audrey Yerger
Burlington