Foothills Gazette » Opinion

Letters: July 30 edition

Becca Schwarz — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:45:51 +0000

Congrats to local youths
In June, three boys and six girls (all completing their Jr. year) from Mt. Baker High School, were selected for Boys/Girls State sponsored by the American Legion.
Girls who went to Evergreen Girls State at Central Washington State University in Ellensburg, during the week 13 – 19 June, were Maddie Brown, Jasmine Frueh and Kris Pilat, sponsored by Mt. Shuksan Post 224 of Acme; Andrea Ferrell and Realyn Stratton, sponsored by Post 7 Auxiliary, Bellingham; and Alyson Potter, sponsored by Post 212, Sumas.
Boys who went to Boys State at the same university during the week 20 – 26 June were A.J. Howard, McHenry Pattison and Zach Magee. The boys were sponsored by Mt. Shuksan Post 224 of Acme.
To assist Post 224, the selection process was initiated at MBHS by school counselors Kris Stopperan and Toby Marston. The juniors all had to complete applications and go through an interview selection process, which consisted of questions concerning leadership, willingness to cooperate, interest in government, scholarship and community service, etc. These students are exemplary representatives of their high school.
Evergreen Boys/Girls State focuses on city, county and state government. During the week, they had the opportunity to participate in the legislative, executive and judicial branch of government, learn how bills are written and the process each bill takes in becoming a law, plus many other interactive activities.
–Bob Baisden
Boys/Girls State Chairman
Post 224, American Legion

Take action for high speed internet access
For those still feeling trapped outside the world of high speed internet, here is the latest news. Forces are moving in our favor. The federal government sees the importance of high speed internet and hopes to get all communities such as ours connected to broadband – over the course of the next 10 years. Clearly, 10 years is too long to wait if we want a viable local community with economic and educational opportunities.
We need more action now and it starts with us.
Take a speed test. The State of Washington has finally released its internet access speed test. Even if you have already taken the federal speed test, it is important to take this one as well. Go to www.broadband.dis.wa.gov/ In the lower left hand corner of the webpage is a round red button inviting you to “test your speed”. It is a fairly painless test and provides your results immediately. This is especially important to do if you have poor service.
Make some noise. Government officials tend to forget that we are underserved and don’t know how this is impacting us. Politely and factually tell county, state and federal representatives your story.They are generally interested and they need the information we can give them. Tell them why our need is important enough that tax dollars should be spent to upgrade our service.
Keep me updated. I am trying to represent all of us. I need to be well informed to be effective. Please send me copies of any correspondence you submit or just send me an email to let me know your situation. Linda@envisionconsulting.biz
We are still in the running for a federal stimulus grant that will bring service to the Foothills – but even if we get it, many of our rural areas in Whatcom County will continue to be unserved. I am trying to find funding for a coordinator position. We need someone to lead a very organized and focused effort to plan an overall strategy and bring in more grant money to make it happen. Any ideas for funding that position will be gratefully accepted.
Now is a good time to take action because new funding opportunities for installing broadband are starting to emerge and the organized communities will be able to take advantage of them.
—Linda Dorsett
Foothills Communication Task Force, Chair, (360) 599-2900

Leash laws apply in county
I am feeling very frustrated, my wife and I were trying to take our dogs out for a walk. We are trying to be responsible and we have our dogs on leash. We were unable to go out due to some other people who were out with their dogs, but they did not have their animals on leash. This happens to us frequently, it appears that quite a few people who live in this area believe that the county leash law does not apply to them.
In my opinion this is not fair, certainly to those of us who do try to be responsible and follow the laws and rules. I do not let my dogs run free, for two reasons. Their safety, and the safety of others.
—Robery Cary, Maple Falls

Appeal to local parents
On a recent Sunday night a “bored” teenager or more blew up my mailbox with whatever flammable items they found in their parents’ medicine cabinet.
Officials told me that there are many kids without parental guidance and the kids blow up mailboxes for fun.
This is NOT mischief – this is a FEDERAL OFFENSE and it could become very costly to the parents and kids.
So, I appeal to the parents – keep your kids busy this Summer with some activity. Send them to a camp, send them to the Library, give them chores to do, there are places listed in the phone book, whatever you can do – keep them away from other people’s property and out of trouble.
Thank you.
—I. Wikstrom, Paradise Lakes

Do the speed limit
It seems every high season, we have more and more drivers on Mount Baker Highway who are unfamiliar with the area. They are either speeding so fast I can’t see the color of their car or driving so slow a turtle could beat them to Bellingham. Just so we’re all clear here, the speed limit is 55 with small pockets of 40 in a few communities along the way to the mountain.
Please respect the road, and more importantly, your fellow drivers.
–Cath Mahoney, Kendall

Letters

Becca Schwarz — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:41:09 +0000

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

EVERYDAY LIFE: The dentist

Becca Schwarz — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:44:54 +0000

It was time. A 35 year old root canal had given up and the tooth was ready to go. Where I don’t know, maybe to the Tooth Fairy, but I think the fairy gave up on getting that tooth years ago. Probably have to pay to get it out from under my pillow at this point. One way or another it was going to come out soon, so I decided to let a dentist look at it. At least they’d know what to do with it. And maybe I’d be able to eat cold pizza without a fork again.
So where do you find a dentist? The last one I went to 28 years ago was in Edmonds, WA. Surely he was dead. And his name was Dr. Cruikshank. I had no desire to see any dentist named Cruikshank ever again. I’m sure he was a good dentist, but the name still makes me shudder. The only thing I clearly remember is that getting the Novocain shot felt worse than not getting it. He’d wiggle the needle around to make sure you felt it, and every section of your mouth got at least 4 shots.
I could have used a phone book. But that was just too confusing, so I pulled an issue of the Gazette out of the kitty litter box. That’s where I found my dentist. Not in the litter box, in the paper. Truth is we don’t have a cat or a litter box, but I do have a dentist. And his name isn’t Cruikshank.
Before I had time to think about it I was walking through the door to Ellis Dentistry for my first appointment. What I found there was scary, but only in the incongruity of not being what a dentist office is supposed to be. Or how it’s supposed to be when your dentist is Cruikshank and you haven’t been there in 28 years. The people there are nice. Nothing they did hurt. And Barb my hygienist was stoked to clean the disgusting filth of 28 years out of my mouth.
But first the x-rays, sure enough that tooth was ready to come out. In fact the x-ray showed it hanging there without a stitch of bone holding it in. Looking at it all you could do was wonder how it hadn’t dropped to floor years ago. Seems cracks associated with the 35 year old root canal had allowed bacteria to get into the bone and eat it away. Yuck and ouch. But did it bother me ever? Well it used to once in awhile but the pain only lasted a couple of days then would go away. I’d forget about until the next time. And frankly, it hadn’t really hurt in over a year. Well no wonder dumb___. You can fill in the blank.
Three hours later after what to me was a thorough clean, I found out I had to come back for two more two hour deep cleaning sessions. And still Barb remained stoked. I guess she figured by the time she got done with me she’d finally be able to stand my breath. I sure hope so. So does my wife.
Next stop is the orthodontist. He doesn’t advertise in the local paper, so I won’t mention his name. But I’m sure I’ll have more stories after he yanks out my tooth, and the little one next to it for good measure. Amazingly after 28 years without seeing a dentist, or a Cruikshank, I didn’t have one cavity. But my teeth are falling out anyway. It’s going to cost me about $200 apiece to have them yanked. And no Tooth Fairy, these teeth are well past their prime and not worth a wooden nickel.

John McKnight has been exploring Whatcom and Skagit counties for over 25 years. He can be e-mailed at john@foothillsgazette.com.