by Jim Scarantino | Jul 8, 2020 | General
Time is of the essence. That was the single most important observation gleaned from 1,200 miles of travel through Washington’s Phase 3 counties. To get to them we had to drive through Phase 2 counties and some still in a variation of Phase 1. These “phases” refer to Governor Inslee’s Four-Step Plan for removing the irons he placed on economic and social activities under his COVID decrees. Each higher phase allows increasing degrees of return to liberty and normalcy.
At the time we made our journey, ten counties were in Phase 3, spread from Pacific County in the west to Pend Oreille in the state’s far northeast. We visited communities deep in forests to towns baking in the sun and surrounded by fields of wheat to misty fishing villages shivering in cold morning fog.
Those counties that jumped at every opportunity to resuscitate their economies are showing positive results across a broad spectrum of metrics. They are generally experiencing significantly lower unemployment than counties in Phases 1 and 2. At a 16% unemployment rate, Jefferson County in Phase 2 is doing worse than every Phase 3 county except the chronically depressed Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties.
The southeast corner of the state has the greatest concentration of counties in Phase 3. They have unemployment rates of 9.9% (Lincoln), 12.7% (Garfield), 10.5% (Columbia), 8.3% (Asotin) and 7.7% (Whitman). These counties, along with Jefferson, were considered “distressed” by the Washington Employment Security Department at the start of the year. Now they are outperforming even King County.
The Phase 3 counties we visited had a brighter vibe than Jefferson County. There were far more people on the sidewalks and in the cafes and bars. The attitude of clerks, servers and hotel proprietors, was upbeat and optimistic. There was a strong sense of communities committed to rebuilding and thriving, and not being beaten down by fear.
None of the early entrants into advanced stages of increased economic activity are seeing the spikes in virus activity which Jefferson County leaders had feared if our economy were revved up rapidly and started drawing large numbers of outsiders. Jefferson County leaders, with the exception of County Commissioner Greg Brotherton, have allowed those fears to hold back the county from accelerated reopening.
Lessons from Diverse Communities
Republic, Washington
In Republic, the county seat for Ferry County, a grocery store clerk said there had never been much of a shut-down. She’d been processing credit cards from around the country throughout the Spring without a let up. We saw motorcycle clubs and lines of RVs heading into town. Ferry County did not exactly have a booming economy before the lock down order. But on the day we visited its largest town was very lively. When we walked into a busy cafe wearing masks the conversations died suddenly and people turned around to stare. “Nice masks,” someone called out. We saw no masks on anyone except employees in stores and restaurants. Yet, even today, Ferry County has had only a single COVID diagnosis and no hospitalizations or deaths.
Stevens County, which we rolled through at the start of a Friday evening, was bustling. The parking lot of a microbrewery and all its tables were packed. A combination grocery store, antiques shop, liquor store and coffee shop/bakery had a steady stream of customers. A shoe store clerk in Colville said they had been doing great, and were actually busier than the same time last year. Why? “Everybody worked together and got it [movement to Phase 3] done,” she said. “It was something we knew we had to do, or else. And we pulled it off.” Stevens County is outperforming neighboring Spokane County on unemployment. Even remote Pend Oreille County was doing better, until its major employer, a newsprint mill, announced closure due to decreased demand for its product across the country. It now faces a severe economic challenge which its Phase 3 status may help, but certainly cannot overcome.
Locally Nourished Coffee, Dayton, WA
In Columbia County, one of the very first to jump on early entry into Phases 2 and 3, new businesses have been opening. Alicia Walker, proprietor of Dayton’s Locally Nourished coffee shop and bakery, told us that if the local chamber of commerce and county commission had not aggressively embraced early openings she would have pulled the plug before opening her doors. Two other new businesses have opened their doors despite the pandemic, “a testament to a community that will step up and help each other,” says The Waitsburg Times. (We found yet another brand new business down the road in Waitsburg). Because Columbia County opened early, they have been doing exceptionally well with visitors from counties in more restrictive stages. At the same time, they have seen no spreading of the virus to make them regret moving forward.
C’mon in, the water’s fine at Skamania Lodge.
Skamania County also opened extremely quickly, moving into early Phases 2 and 3 as soon as the Governor made it possible. The Seattle Times covered the first early Phase 2 weekend when the tourist mecca of Stevenson in the Columbia River Gorge was deluged with visitors from Portland and Seattle. Fears that this would trigger such a spike in COVID cases that the rural health care system would be overwhelmed have proven baseless.
Stevenson and surrounding towns have been taking in large numbers of tourists now for over two months. The massive Skamania Lodge has drawn families from all over the Northwest and beyond. Their golf course was busy, as was their pool, zip line and gym.
Business is strong for those businesses who welcomed a chance at early opening. We did, though, find an exception in one shop proprietor who seemed angry that anybody was allowed to come to Stevenson. We got the impression she will never be able to cope with any kind of reopening. She embraced a “we are all going die” outlook unlike anything we had encountered elsewhere. We needed an appointment for an exclusive opportunity to browse her shop, which was neither small nor cramped. Just next door, by contrast, a truly cramped second hand store had its doors wide open and shopping was unrestricted. It had plenty of customers; the grim proprietor’s store did not.
The surge of tourists has not brought a surge in cases. Since March Skamania County has had only 2 hospitalizations for COVID-like symptoms and no deaths.
Off the beaten track, Wakiakum County, with lower unemployment than Jefferson.
Port Townsend may feel relatively shut down and lifeless, but nothing compares to Newhalem on the Skagit River, Seattle Power and Light’s company town that serves its hydroelectric power station. Security patrols, barricades and crime scene tape keep anyone from going in unless they live there. Likewise, the movements of residents off rez were severely restricted. Essential employees are prisoners to Seattle’s fear that its electricity may be interrupted if these workers get sick.
The second most onerous precautions we encountered were just to the south of Jefferson County in Hoodsport, where Mason County is in Phase 3. A coffee shop we always visit was buttoned up tightly. It had established a take-out window fenced off with a crude wooden barricade to keep anyone from getting close. We were given long enough at the window to read the multiple signs lecturing us on masks, how we were spreading the virus, and what could be done to protect the workers inside. The interaction in ordering was kept to a minimum, then the window snapped shut. All the windows on the building appeared to have been covered over from the inside. After some time, a door ten feet away cracked open and without a word our drinks were placed outside on a bench.
It was much more pleasant at the gallery next door where the owner was taking full advantage of Mason County’s Phase 3 status. She invited us to sit outside on her deck and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. Her business was doing great. She was upbeat. Customers were wandering in as we drank our coffees. She was happy to be working and sharing her store with the world. The difference in attitude made all the difference.
And that, in a word, sums up the most significant unmeasurable metric. Attitude. Phase 3 counties got there with a positive, can-do, go-get-em attitude. The benefits of their early opens fed back into the community, dispelling the gloom and spreading optimism. They are adding businesses while the rest of the state adds its nominees to the list of broken dreams. The collateral damage from the Governor’s lock down order–increased crime, substance abuse, mental health crises, suicides–has yet to be tallied. But one has the feeling those grim stats will be much lower in optimistic Phase 3 counties.
As we neared Port Townsend on our return we started seeing something we had not seen anywhere else in rural Washington: scowling people in cars wearing masks with the windows rolled up tight. We knew we were home. It is worth pondering how this attitude of fear, selfishness and blind trust in fallible big government will play out when and if The Big One strikes and courage and self-reliance become our only recourse.
“Early” Was the Big Deal
We have been writing for months about how foot dragging by the Jefferson County Board of Health and the Board of County Commissioners is hurting our local economy and punishing working age people who need to work for a living. Port Townsend’s Selfish, Cruel Old People® with their retirement incomes, monthly social security deposits, mortgage-free residences and overblown fears have been blocking sensible efforts to rapidly reopen our economy. On the Board of Health it has been retired lawyer Denis Stearns working the hardest to keep working people idled. On the BOCC it is David Sullivan who has fought every step of the way to keep doors closed and outsiders out. While he has been prolonging a shut-down that has halved and wiped out many incomes, he (and the other commissioners) have surrendered not a penny of their own salaries or benefits. County staff have been forced to accept cuts in hours or salaries, but no elected official has offered to share in the sacrifice they demand of others.
Early opens have come without increasing COVID consequences. That is hugely significant. None of the Phase 3 counties have seen anything that can be considered an “outbreak.” As testing has increased they have at most registered a few new positives, but nothing alarming and nothing that is in any way a threat to their healthcare systems. And, as far as we can tell from everyone we talked to, the local news we studied on our journey, and the Department of Health’s daily updates, none of the few new diagnoses in Phase 3 counties were caused by interaction with visitors and tourists.
We are going to have learn to live with the virus. The counties that moved into Phase 3 early have started learning and teaching others how to do it right. If Jefferson County continues to suffer as it has, and sees more business failures, those responsible will be those who delayed our progress towards a return to economic health.
Going into the Governor’s lock-down, Jefferson County had one of the worst economies in the state, with one of the highest employment rates. It was categorized as a “distressed” economy. We could have done with the competitive advantage that came with early reopening. Whereas many of our leaders feared Jefferson County standing out as a beacon of light, leaders in other counties recognized the benefits of that distinction.
Port Townsend’s Selfish, Cruel Old People® have won this round. Because Jefferson County was slow in submitting its application to move into Phase 3 it got caught when the Governor announced he was freezing the process. The Phase 3 counties we visited will continue to recover and move from recession to prosperity. Jefferson County will have to hold its breath for at least another two weeks. Businesses watching their savings evaporate and their debt load increase now face an increased risk of never reopening. Those struggling under the constraints of Phase 2 limitations may never recover fully. Some businesses that opened under Phase 2 limitations are not hiring back all their employees, keeping our unemployment rate abnormally high. Lost opportunities, like our shot at joining successful Phase 3 counties–a shot we earned–are opportunities lost forever. Time was of the essence. That was the whole point.
For our reporting on our leader’s foot-dragging see these articles:
Port Townsend’s City Council MIA in Time of Crisis
Where is the Recovery Plan for Port Townsend and Jefferson County?
PT City Council Spends Weekly Meeting Discussion CO2 Emissions and Raising Taxes
Fear and Loathing in Port Townsend
Kate Dean & Co. to Retail and Restaurants: “Drop Dead”
Phase 3 Reopening for Jefferson County Already Delayed; Commissioners Must Avoid More Foot-Dragging
by Brett Nunn | Jul 1, 2020 | General
As of Friday, June 26th, 2020, according to Executive Decree 20-03 from the Washington State Secretary of Health, “Every person in Washington State must wear a face covering that covers their noses when in any indoor or outdoor public setting.”
Initially it was just for Yakima County, which appears to be experiencing an increase in community spread. But, just like the stay at home orders of this past March, our thoughtful governor doesn’t want to leave anybody out of the fun no matter what the China Virus situation is where they live.
It should concern you that this is being done by one man, Governor Jay Inslee, whose self-declared emergency powers, as defined by state law, should have expired on the 31st of March, thirty days after declaration. I have seen no effective push back from our elected representatives, no debate in the halls of the House or Senate in Olympia, no emergency session called to extend or terminate these powers.
I read through executive decree 20-03 so you don’t have to. Here are some of the highlights: At least for now there are exceptions that allow removal of a face covering. I picked a handful that might help deliver some clarity to Jefferson County:
–We are not required to wear a mask while driving alone in a car.
–We are not required to wear a mask while engaged in indoor or outdoor exercise activities.
–We are not required to wear a mask while sleeping.
And just in case you were wondering, in a delicious irony, the governor’s order does not apply to persons who are incarcerated. So breaking the mask decree, and incurring the penalty of losing freedom, could be another possible option for those among us committed to the no mask ideology.
Asking nicely doesn’t please our dear leader anymore. Governor Inslee has made it clear that members of the public are required by law to comply with his order, and violators may be subject to criminal penalties. Businesses that don’t comply could face the loss of a license, fines, or injunctions.
If this sounds authoritarian, it is. But I will let you in on a secret. On Washington State’s Coronavirus.gov website, the second question on the most-frequently-asked list for Governor Jay Inslee’s order, reads as follows:
Q: I have a reason I cannot wear a facemask. Am I required to document or prove that?
And the answer from the same Washington State website:
A: This order does not require you to document or prove a reason for not wearing a face covering.
When is this all going to end? In pursuit of that answer, I have spent more time than I care to remember asking questions of bureaucrats and their minions over the last few months. I have learned that the bureaucracies overseeing our existence are organized in a top down manner. The top tells everyone in the bureaucracy what to do and everyone’s job is to do it. There is no room for creative solutions, no reward for out-of-the box thinking, no adjusting for reality on the ground.
As far as the top is concerned, the guidelines for operating in the center of a virus outbreak in Yakima should be exactly the same as for operating in the center of a non-virus outbreak in Port Townsend.
The top has decided that masking and social distancing are what needs to be done, and the bureaucracies are moving forward with this plan. Whether these methods are effective, or not, no longer matters.
As for when masking will end, I quote Sandy Gessner, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum for the Port Townsend School District, from a recent online meeting with parents to explain the current plan for the upcoming school year. Please remember, more than likely this is not her policy. This is the policy she has been given by her superiors: “All students must wear a mask until there is a vaccine…or we have herd immunity.”
The future for our students is the future for us.
If you are wearing a facemask and it makes you feel better, then by all means don’t stop.
If you aren’t wearing a facemask, and the governor threatens you with criminal penalties, just say “I Can’t Breathe.”
by Craig Durgan | Jun 18, 2020 | General
Going back as far as the 1970s there has been talk of building a sewer for the Port Hadlock area. The designation of Port Hadlock as an Urban Growth Area in 2002 meant that a sewer was required. It has been some time coming to fruition, but a sewer in Port Hadlock is closer than ever to a reality. Its cost has been the major issue.
Several years ago a small group of property owners approached Jefferson County about the delay in building the sewer. Originally the county wanted to build the sewer to serve the commercial areas along Rhody Drive, Nesses Corner Road, Chimacum Road and Irondale Road. In addition they were going to build a gravity collection system and a fixed treatment plant. The cost for that was over $40 million. Getting grant money was the major issue. To reduce initial cost the group proposed to scale back the project. Essentially the proposal was to cut the cost in half by excluding Rhody Drive at the beginning and instead of a gravity system using a pressure collection system and modular treatment units. After a financial review it was determined that this could be done for just over $23 million.
Where Will The Money Come From?
At this point an explanation of how a sewer is funded is in order. A while back Belfair was declared a UGA by Mason County, so they then needed to build a sewer system. Mason County funded the sewer but made some assumptions regarding the number of hook-ups that would happen. The hook-ups expected did not materialize due to the Great Recession. That system had severe funding issues. Recently, Clallam County built a sewer for the Carlsborg UGA. Clallam County was able to use the nearby Sequim treatment plant and only had to build the collection system. Clallam County had sufficient money available in their infrastructure fund to build the collection system. They will be reimbursed the cost through hook-ups to the system.
The reality is that Jefferson County does not have the funds to build a sewer for Port Hadlock outright. The County must obtain grant money and arrange to have only property owners, who benefit, to pay. Therefore, to ensure that the general taxpayers of Jefferson County do not have to pay for the Port Hadlock Sewer, Jefferson County is going to fund the sewer through hook-ups, property assessments, grants and 50% of the PIF money. A Local Improvement District (LID) will be formed to comprise the properties to be sewered. THe LID is primarily a funding mechanism. A LID is used to fund many improvements, such as sidewalks and other road improvements, water systems, sewer systems, and broadband improvements.
PIF stands for Public Infrastructure Funds. In Washington State the State refunds back to certain counties part of the sales tax collected in the county. These funds are dedicated to infrastructure Improvements. Jefferson County has dedicated 50% of that fund toward the Port Hadlock Sewer.
Many people get confused about who will pay for the Port Hadlock Sewer. As stated above, funding will come from grants, affected property owners and PIF money. The property owners in the LID are only the ones that benefit from the sewer. If you are not getting a sewer hook-up you will not be paying for the sewer. This includes properties in the Port Hadlock UGA but outside the boundaries of the LID.
Those properties that get hook-ups will pay for sewer through four different methods. First, to pay for the collection system each property is given a “Special Assessment.” This special assessment is an economic assessment of the increase in value gained by having the sewer vs. not. Jefferson County has determined that each property will pay for 50% of this increase in value. An option is made to pay this off over 20 years rather than all at once. Second, when a property is actually hooked-up to the sewer a hook-up fee is paid that funds the construction of the treatment plant itself. Third, since a pressurized system is going to be used, each property will pay for the tank and pump plus the pressure line to the road; this is called the side sewer. Fourth, each property will pay for the sewer operation through monthly charges based on water usage.
In April of 2020 the State granted $1.42M to Jefferson County to do a final design. The contract was awarded to Tetra Tech, a Seattle based engineering firm.
There has already been some survey work for the sewer final design that some of you may have noticed. Most of the work is done by engineers at a desk. Once the final design is done a much more exacting cost can be determined as to the true cost of the sewer. In addition the side sewer cost will now be known for each property.
At this point it will be determined if the property owners to be sewered wish to proceed. If they do, a LID will be formed. Should at least 40% (by area) of the property owners determine that they do not want a sewer they can petition the county to stop the LID process. If the petition is successful the LID and sewer can be put on hold for a year. After a year the county could then go through the LID process again.
The advantage of forming the LID is that it is a legally effective document. It states who can be assessed for the cost of the sewer. This prohibits the county from taxing all the county residents from being taxed to pay for the sewer under State law.
Why Do We Even Need A Sewer?
Some people ask the question “Why do we need a sewer? We have gotten by just fine without one up to now.” This is a very good question. The need for a sewer hinges on two issues, health and density. Using septic systems is a lower cost method of sewage disposal. The problem is when more density is desired. It then becomes necessary to build a sewer system.
Proper disposal of sewage is an important health issue. Proper sanitation including sewage disposal has eradicated many diseases that were previously common. Cholera, typhoid, dysentery are some of them. Nitrate contamination of drinking water causes “blue baby” syndrome. A clean environment and clean drinking water are two of the most significant hallmarks of a modern society.
A sewer is needed to enable affordable housing to be built. Affordable housing basically is a function of density. The most affordable type of construction is the apartment building. This high density is where the importance of a sewage system comes in. Other high density uses are schools, restaurants and large employers.
No new apartment buildings have been built for some time outside of Port Townsend. That is because we lack a sewer. The same goes for restaurants, grocery stores and large employers.
To improve our economy and housing a sewer system is a requirement. Once the sewer system is built we will be able to have more housing, jobs and a better tax base.
The initial Port Hadlock Sewer System will use property that has already been purchased by Jefferson County. The treatment system will be built south of Nesses Corner Road and north of Lopeman Road. The infiltration ponds will be built just south of Lopeman Road.
Because a pressurized collection system is to be utilized the road work can be minimized. A gravity system would have created a substantial amount of road work. A pressure system will use much smaller lines some of which can be installed by boring under the road rather than digging it up.
Building the sewer will benefit all of Jefferson County due to the increase in jobs and affordable housing and a more viable economy and tax base.
Craig Durgan
by Jim Scarantino | Jun 15, 2020 | General
“Best commissioner in years.” “A breath of fresh air.” “Someone who is actually trying to help.”
I’ve been hearing from quite a few people in Jefferson County that County Commissioner Greg Brotherton is being extremely helpful and responsive to those struggling to preserve livelihoods and jobs during Governor Inslee’s COVID lock down. I’ve reported on how he has stood out from the dilatory and obtuse Board of Health in attempting to apply common sense solutions to reopening Jefferson County’s economy. Patrick Sullivan over at the Jefferson County Washington Facebook page, the most widely followed news source in the county, has also been reporting on Commissioner Brotherton’s similar efforts to get people back to work.
In just the past day I have again heard of Mr. Brotherton working closely with business people seeking help on understanding the perplexing, vague guidelines issued by the Governor for specific business operations. They have also shared with me that he has been, at least in their experience, the only commissioner to return their calls or emails and spend time trying to help them.
I’ve even heard from people who questioned his candidacy that Greg Brotherton has been impressing them. The one recurring reservation is that, being such a nice guy, he isn’t much of fighter. Some of them want him to be far more aggressive and contentious. Of course, many things that need to have happened, and happened with more alacrity and urgency, have not come to pass. But from watching (too many) BOH and BOCC meeting videos, I think it is clear Mr. Brotherton is doing what he can in the forums where he must work, with the people with whom he must work.
There is so much to be done. Jefferson County’s unemployment rate for last month exceeded 17%, making it the sixth worst county economy in the state of Washington. That is a grim statistic that translates to hopelessness, despair, substance abuse, domestic violence, child abuse, crime, and negative health outcomes that burden our medical care providers and first responders. Every business, no matter how small, that can return to vitality is a critical player in healing our community. Every minute a public official spends with a business finding a path for them to reopen is a major contribution in the right direction.
Readers of this site will recall a series of investigative and highly critical articles we ran when Mr. Brotherton was running for his current position. Those articles focused on an issue I have no reservations about having raised and raised aggressively. At the time he was running for office, Mr. Brotherton was in the business of selling marijuana and promoting its use. That would have been an irreconcilable conflict of interest for someone who, if elected, would sit on the Board of Health and oversee policies directing the county’s marijuana education and prevention programs.
Mr. Brotherton shed himself of that conflict of interest some time ago by selling his business. The concern behind those articles and investigations no longer exists.
For now, based on what we are seeing and hearing, he is doing a pretty good job, all things considered. I’d just like to put that on the record.
————————————-
[article restored to original 2020 version on 9/14/24 at author’s request]
by Jim Scarantino | Jun 10, 2020 | General
It is easy to lay down on a street for a few minutes, to rage and swear at police, to accuse them of all sorts of despicable actions and evil attitudes and toss off demands for sweeping systemic reform.
It is especially easy with the police protecting you from getting run over.
It is a whole lot harder to be the radically changed police you want to see.
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” That advice is widely attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, but those are not exactly his words. What he said was:
“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.”
Michael Jackson put it this way: “I’m starting with man in the mirror…If you want the world to be a better place, take a look at yourself then change your ways.”
How many of those kids who want better cops can find in themselves the commitment, strength, courage and dedication to be one of those better cops?
I can’t directly ask any of those high schoolers if they would consider a career in law enforcement to demonstrate in their working life the changes they want to see. It would be inappropriate for me to message or call them to ask this question. I would have to go through each of their parents before I could speak with them. Instead, I will put that question to the young people and their parents at the end of this article.
To make it more palatable in the current environment, let’s call police officers “public safety officers.” That still covers what police do but adds a somewhat politically correct cachet to their job duties.
So how many of those vocal people condemning police, demanding change, demanding accountability, training, disarmament are willing to be those same peace officers, and practice what they preach?
The politicians with the bullhorns, grabbing attention and angling for more power for themselves, bossing others around–they’re not going to help drunks from choking on their own vomit, or risk life and limb to restrain an enraged husband who has been beating the life out of his wife, or pull broken bodies from a car wreck, or disarm a man cranked on Lord-knows-what brandishing a machete in a homeless camp.
Those politicians who engage in social justice performance art by draping themselves in Kinte cloth and kneeling for a few minutes, they are not going to step out of the safety of their car in pitch blackness on an empty road to approach a vehicle fitting the description of a car that just pulled away from a drive-by shooting.
They will never respond to an armed robbery in progress and realize they will be a target for bullets as soon as they arrive at the scene.
Or be the officer responding to a call of a strong arm robbery at a minority-owned business, and roll up on Michael Brown because he matches the description of one of the robbers, then have a split second to react when he reaches inside the patrol car to grab a gun.
Or endure getting hit with bricks and bottles to protect Black owned businesses from a mob with crowbars and Molotov cocktails.
Or respond to a call of a man trying to pass counterfeit money and find it is George Floyd.
But those impassioned young people calling for justice and an end to violence can be the man or woman in uniform who saves the Black lives they want to matter, while still upholding the law.
Forget the pandering politicians. They are just cashing in on tragedy. The kind of change being demanded would likely put them out of a job. Real change is always left to individuals willing to go out on the streets, to patrol isolated roads alone, to avoid being pricked by used syringes while pulling a hungry, battered child from a locked closet. It is people who care less about themselves than they do others who are willing to put themselves between an attacker and his victims. And they do this all for a hell of a lot less pay and publicity than the people chairing the next televised hearing about the hottest issue of the day.
Parents marched with their children at the protest that blocked Sims Way. They were proud of the spirit and organizational skills of their sons and daughters. They were proud they had raised young people who would boldly speak out for a better world.
How many of those parents are encouraging their children to enter the field of law enforcement–make that peace keeping, excuse me–to live the ideals they want others to honor?
I know those parents and some of the young people who participated in the June 5 demonstration are reading this. I have seen them in our comments or on other Facebook pages talking about what we write here. If any of them are willing to live to be the examples of the reformed, racially sensitive, non-violent peace officers they want, please say so below or on our Facebook page. If you won’t step up here, maybe because of peer pressure right now against even saying good things about police, keep your resolve strong and contact our local law enforcement. Get to know them, visit them at work, and see if you can ride along sometime to see what it takes to be a peace officer in the real world. I hope you will be inspired, because the people you will be riding with are. It’s why they do their jobs.
[Hat tip to author Joseph Ranseth for associating the faux-Gandhi quote with Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror”]
by Brett Nunn | Jun 8, 2020 | General
Jefferson County has gone all in on community masking. On June 5 Dr. Thomas Locke, Jefferson County Public Health Officer, issued a directive requiring that masks be worn in all indoor spaces. Just wander around town and look in the windows and on the doors of local businesses. From what I see, Dr. Thomas Locke is at risk of being promoted to the unenviable position of High Inquisitor of Public Health. Business owners in our county have been involuntarily recruited as enforcement goons. If life imitates art, next to arrive will be the inquisitorial squads.
Just in case you weren’t paying attention, (don’t worry I am), on that same day the World Health Organization issued their updated Advice On The Use Of Masks in the context of Covid 19. Deep in the weeds of the document I found this information, which has not changed since the last update on April 6th.
At present there is no direct evidence (from studies on Covid 19 and in healthy people in the community) on the effectiveness of universal masking of healthy people in the community to prevent infection with respiratory viruses, including Covid 19.
Still undecided? Maybe a recent letter originating from infectious disease experts at the University of Washington and signed by some twelve hundred doctors, medical experts, and whoever happened to be sitting at their computer when the signature request arrived, will help settle the mask debate. Or, If you are suffering from riot video binging induced insomnia, it might help you get back to sleep. Either way, here are the core messages delivered to us by academics at University of Washington:
A) The anti-masking and stay at home order protests of a month ago, where thousands were disobeying masking and social distance decrees, must be condemned by health experts because these actions “not only oppose public health interventions, but are also rooted in white nationalism and run contrary to respect for black lives.”
B) The Black Lives Matter protests of recent days, where thousands were also disobeying masking and social distance decrees, should not be condemned by health experts as a danger to public welfare because “White supremacy is a lethal public health issue” and the demonstrations are “Vital to the national public health”
I am not making this stuff up. Here’s the link if you want to read this word hash for yourself, https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jun/3/public-health-experts-support-george-floyd-protest/
In a desperate attempt to clear the fog of confusion and hypocrisy that has descended upon us, I went to the website of the American Council on Science and Health whose mission is to promote science and debunk junk. They can usually be relied upon for solid, fact-base, opinions.
In an article dated April 1st, 2020 and titled, Corona Virus, Is It Time to Consider Face Masks for Civilians, Dr. Chuck Dinerstein, M.D., M.B.A. reviews what is known and what he has learned from people whose opinion he trusts and makes this final tepid conclusion; “There is little downside to wearing a mask when you venture out of your home, and the real possibility of an upside benefit.”
I could say the same thing about wearing my underwear on the outside of my pants. Let’s hope the Health Department doesn’t get any ideas about this.
In all seriousness, it should be increasingly clear, that we are being lied to by those who wish to consolidate their power and undermine our freedoms. This cannot continue.
If you are wearing a mask and it makes you feel better, than by all means don’t stop.
If you aren’t wearing a mask and somebody objects, just say you are protesting injustice.
Stevens County, which we rolled through at the start of a Friday evening, was bustling. The parking lot of a microbrewery and all its tables were packed. A combination grocery store, antiques shop, liquor store and coffee shop/bakery had a steady stream of customers. A shoe store clerk in Colville said they had been doing great, and were actually busier than the same time last year. Why? “Everybody worked together and got it [movement to Phase 3] done,” she said. “It was something we knew we had to do, or else. And we pulled it off.” Stevens County is outperforming neighboring Spokane County on unemployment. Even remote Pend Oreille County was doing better, until its major employer, a newsprint mill, announced closure due to decreased demand for its product across the country. It now faces a severe economic challenge which its Phase 3 status may help, but certainly cannot overcome.
