Letters

What to do

This Hawkins thing seems to be on most people’s minds. Most folks seem to be upset with the Commissioners over it. I’m going to suggest, if not a solution, at least something to do about it.

First I’d like to say that I believe that the commissioners want to do what is best for the people.

What they did was not with malicious intent.

They firmly believed that what they did would work out for the county’s benefit.

They may still believe it.

We’ll never know if it would have worked out well because it looks like it will never be done because the money won’t be available.

I wish that all involved would sit down together around a table and see if they can’t come to a workable solution.

The Commissioners would have to say, “we are sorry, we made a mistake.” The ones that are suing over it would have to realize that their goal is to see the project stopped.

I don’t think that the commissioners need to be punished for making a mistake.

Hawkins should realize that they have some guilt because they should not have demanded so quick a response.

They should have allowed time to determine if money could be made available.

I can’t see any reason why all three of these groups can’t come to an agreement.

There is nothing to be gained by prolonging the agony of this thing.

Nothing is going to change the outcome.

It will be cheaper and better to just call the whole thing off.Also I hope that you can forgive Greg, and when election time comes you can say, “run again and we will vote for you.” I think that most of you think you would never do that, but think about it.

He has been good commissioner.

He is a good man.

I think we should all be allowed a few mistakes.

Let’s not carry a grudge.

It’s not fitting for anyone to carry a grudge.

I don’t know Mr. O’Neill but the same thing applies to him.

We have a good county; we have good people running it.

Jack Ensley,

Colfax

Wants and needs

My friend noticed a large “vote schools” sign in my driveway. He commented that I had not said how he should vote.

I do not make the choices as to where the money is spent. I do however make choices as to who decides. In the last election I voted for school board members. They are charged with overseeing the budget. I believe they are responsible individuals who give their time to a difficult task. I have chosen to educate my children as a priority. I also see the value of educating all children. Education can level the opportunities our children and grandchildren will find in the world where they will live.

We can and should continue discussing with our elected officials the merits of different programs in our district as they put together the budget. These people try to balance the wants and needs with the resources available.

In summing up my position I would use an example. In a special education setting, I heard we would be teaching kids to string beads. Aghast I asked why ? In the real world, there is no need of this skill. There would be no jobs, this looks like a huge waste of taxpayers’ funds. Let’s cut this fat from the budget. Then I heard a much wiser man say “never tear down a fence before you know the reason it was built in the first place.” I then began to study the reason for stringing beads. It is a concrete method of learning eye-hand coordination and small muscle skills for your hands. These things will be necessary for tying shoes and buttoning shirts.

The Directors are asking me to support with my funds (not just words) a total budget. I choose to say “yes.”

Jim Kroll,

Colfax

Re-negotiate

I am very sorry to see that the County is being sued, and that the County has elected to seek outside counsel. All of this wastes scarce County resources and distracts the County from its core responsibilities.

Commissioner Largent was quoted in the papers as saying that he encouraged constructive ideas on how to move forward. I still believe the County should invite the developer to a discussion reviewing where we are. This is in consonance with my suggestions in the letter I sent Jan. 18.

Why not sit down with the developer and explain: 1) the County has found it much harder than anticipated to come up with the money; and 2) the County is being sued over its handling of this business. Then, because of those points, ask the developer if he would please consider re-negotiating the deal between the developer and the County, with some public input, and with new regard and understanding for the difficulties in finding the public funds.

Although I do not know the developer, and although I am not part of the lawsuit against the County, I’m thinking that there’s a chance that the developer would want to re-negotiate, and the parties suing would drop their suit. If things go that way, the County will be spared from the difficulties of an unfunded financial liability, will save the time and money on a lawsuit, and will regain some confidence with its voters.

Then, let’s get back to county business, and moderate what it takes to do projects in our county.

Edmund O. Schweitzer, III,

Pullman

A thought

What big box stores does Hawkins have nibbling to locate in the proposed stateline shopping center, I wonder? Can’t be Walmart, we‘ve already got two…Home Depot or Lowe’s? Probably risky, we already have both Moscow and Pullman Building Supply, Ace Hardware in Pullman , Moscow and Colfax, J&J Building Supply in Moscow and Colfax. So home improvement seems really well covered already.

When we did a major remodel this summer, custom cabinet shops in Garfield, Moscow, Colfax and Colton all priced kitchen cabinets, made in America in their shops, for basically the same price as comparable units from the big box stores.

So where will the extra demand come from that’s going to produce the projected extra sales tax revenue? Maybe more retail? But K-mart is closing stores all over the country, Sears has already come and gone in our area, big bookstores and electronic outlets are shutting down. In fact, big brick and mortar stores seem to be going the way of the dinosaur. Hmmm….

I worry that this plan may assume the usual model of cannibalizing local businesses to put our money into the pockets of out of state (even out of country) retailers and manufacturers who frankly do not give a damn about us, and will move out and leave us holding the bag if things don’t work out for them profit-wise. Then we would not only be stuck with the bill and an empty big box, but we would have less choices and convenience that we have now, since our small businesses might be gone. Just a thought.

Steve Swoope,

Colfax