Letters

Thanks for your support
We live in a small rural area and sometimes we get reminders of why we do.
Recently Barb had surgery at the University of Washington, and wow did the community and friends come together to help Frank and Barb with all the critters and to even pick me up so Frank did not need to drive to Seattle after working a 12-hour day! Everyone knows everyone and when someone needs help they all come a running even if they have jobs and are busy themselves.
Again this is a reason to NOT let us become a big city. Let’s keep it rural – a friendly area for tourists to visit and be amazed so few of these areas are left!
Thanks again to everyone. We love all of you.
—Barb and Frank Clark,
Maple Falls

Enjoyed our visit
I recently passed through your area during our family’s travels visiting the Olympics in Vancouver, B.C. It was our first time to the Mt. Baker region, and we had such a wonderful time. Who knew you could find such delicious pizza, beer and Italian food in “the woods”? Our family had a wonderful time and we appreciated the suggestions on where to visit and what to see.
Plus, our cell phones had no service! We had no idea this was going to happen. This bugged our children very much, but after several hours of no beeping and no ringing, these parents were in pure heaven. Reason alone to return to the Mt. Baker area. Thanks again for the great visit.
—Scocia family, California

Beyond dial-up internet
There are currently multiple efforts underway to improve internet service to the Foothills area and other parts of east Whatcom County. Each of these efforts requires that we know what geographic areas are most in need. Communities that do the best job of providing this information will have a better chance of getting the resources needed to bring in high speed internet service.
The Federal Communications Commission is collecting data to demonstrate the extent of the unmet need for broadband service. You can help our community by letting the FCC test your broadband speed. It takes just a few minutes. Visit www.broadband.gov/, and click “I want to test my connection quality.” Enter your address and start the test. It will ask you to take the same test twice. Please do so. There are two different software programs running the test and neither is particularly accurate. Taking the test on each program provides better information to those who may care that we are feeling cut off from the modern world.  I promise that you won’t have to study for this test – just hope that you can fail it.
The following link will take you directly to a page where you can report an area without broadband coverage:  www.broadband.gov/qualitytest/deadzone/ Those with a speed score of less than 256 are entitled to click on the “I do not have broadband at home” button.  Many of us do not have broadband according to the FCC definition of 256 Kbps or more.  Part of the FCC plan is to address broadband dead zones.  I think we have areas that qualify but we need to prove it by clicking “I do not have broadband at home.”
Please help our community by:
• Having your computer take the test.
• Encouraging as many friends, neighbors and associates as you can to take the test as well – especially people who are also trapped on a slow connection.
• If you have no access to high speed internet, email me your physical address, a brief description about where to find that on a map, a brief message about the status of your internet connection (dial-up, satellite) and your name.
I am working with federal, state and private organizations to get the best possible services to our rural areas as soon as possible. I believe this is essential for the success of our schools and our economic development efforts. We are currently waiting (again) for news on a federal grant. The state will also have grant money available soon.
Thank you for the time you contribute to this. Our future depends on what we do today.
—Linda Dorsett, Maple Falls linda@envisionconsulting.biz