Letters - June 17, 2010

Support Chief

We, the undersigned, write this letter to show our support for a highly qualified and experienced city employee, Fire Chief Ralph Walter.

If you know Chief Walter, you know him to be very friendly, hard working and extremely competent at his job as the fire chief for the City of Colfax. There is nothing he would not do for this city and its residents. He is well respected within our community, Whitman County and even throughout the state for his extensive knowledge and abilities. His skills as an incident commander and leader are admired and respected by all those that have seen him work and have a clear understanding of what it means to be a professional fire chief.

Chief Walter’s commitment to the local community is unmatched. As soon as he was appointed chief he worked to improve the department, which resulted in lower fire insurance rates for all residents and businesses. He is involved with the Chamber of Commerce, the Palouse Empire Fair, youth sports, the Whitman County Fire Chief s Association, WHITCOM dispatch and, in collaboration with the sheriff, he is working to create a local management team that can assist on large fires or all hazard incidents like the search for the lost hunter near Uniontown last fall or the South Palouse River fire in 2006. Chief Walter was instrumental in helping to manage both of these situations.

Our small community is very fortunate to have found a man with the higher education, experience and abilities that Chief Walter possesses. Please join us in offering your support to Chief Walter by contacting your city council representatives and attending the next city council meeting tonight, Thursday June 17 at 7 p.m.

David and Sandra Szambelan,

Kathy and Greg Mayer,

Colfax

(This letter was submitted with 60 typed names of people who had reportedly signed it. Actual signatures were submitted later.)

Rest of the class

With the graduation of the high school seniors and the nearly half million dollars in scholarships and awards, our society is very fortunate to have this potential moving to higher schooling for the future. But we should not forget the rest of the class.

We must always be aware of the people who harvest what we eat, collect our garbage, mine our coal and all of the many other low-end jobs that are taken for granted. This is the very section of society that is the backbone of this country and the world, whom without, we could not exist.

Why so much division between the “have-s ” and the “have not-s”? This is a very sad part of our society.

Why should the Wall Street executive feel his importance greater than his housemaid? Might it be greed? If so, shame on our system.

Congratulations to the rest of the class.

Andy Anderson,

Colfax

Larry, Moe & Curly

The vacuum of leadership in our Whitman County commissioners is astounding. It’s like the Three Stooges on amateur night. We voted for you, which means you work for us and we deserve better. I have predicted a meltdown in Whitman County for some time. Arrogance can only get you by for so long. On top of that, the unwillingness to listen to good advice is blatant. Unfortunately, Whitman County’s modus operandi will be getting national attention in the foreseeable future, and it won’t be positive.

At least every two weeks we hear of another bad decision.

For some time we have been reading about the computer debacle.

Largent is quoted over and over, saying he will step in and take care of it.

Of course, that never happens, so the finance department head is fired, and Partch says he is taking charge.

And then there’s O’Neill, what can I say? Two of the worst decisions, Hawkins and Wind Farms, are still out there waiting to do their damage.

The flip-flop on Butte Protection is the latest sign of total incompetence.

The word on the street is that the county needs an enema.

As far as I’m concerned, it is not from lack of communication or departmental in-fighting.

It is a simple lack of character and integrity.

To put the blame elsewhere is a cop-out.

The sad part of the whole fiasco is that Whitman County has so much potential. This was an economically viable county and could be again. But, not unless new leadership emerges with solutions that don’t involve government grants or subsidies. Whitman County has a legacy of strong, independent entrepreneurs with spirit. Will those type of individuals rise-up again and turn things around, or will we wallow in the selfish and arrogant attitudes that are taking us down?

There are simple, creative answers to our problems. It will take guts and good people willing to come out of hiding and work together for the common good, not for a privileged few. One solution is for the county to hire an experienced manager to administer the business of the county. Then the three elected commissioners can sign resolutions, glad-hand and walk in parades. Things that will cause no harm. A good county manager can oversee the business of the county, year after year, with consistency and professionalism, as the elected officials come and go. It works.

Whitman County needs to tell Olympia and Washington D.C. to take a flying leap and become an independent successful county, on its own merits. It can be done and the potential is certainly here. I have met men with smarts and character, if only they would be willing to speak up. Whitman County could be a “beacon of hope in a sea of state and national despair,” but it will take guts and thinking outside the box. Those are the missing ingredients.

Rick Kiesz,

Thornton