Letters, March 6
Published 4:17 pm Thursday, March 5, 2009
Economics
Just an idea
As with everyone else, I’m very concerned about the market and where our country is going to end up. I would like to propose an idea to you.
I’m not a politician or economist, just a blue-collar worker wanting to help in any way possible.
This day and age, I believe the banks and mortgage companies put too much importance in a close-to-perfect credit score.
I feel this could be a small part of our problem.
There are many hard working people out there that because of medical issues, family emergencies, inflated interest rates for folks with less-than-perfect credit and other life-changing issues that have many black marks on their credit reports.
Yet they pay their rent, utilities and car payment every month. They just can’t buy a home or new car unless they pay more interest than they can afford.
So, couldn’t we get away from the old school credit scores and give the folks who have worked in their field steadily for eight years or more, and/or with the same company?
Just tailor the loans to these people’s salaries and I know the housing market and car sales would improve a lot.
Also being tailored to their wages would decrease the chance of forecloses and repossessions.
Rick Lilley
Port Orchard
Downtown stop signs
Slow down, stop … go
The city council would much better serve the city of Poulsbo, all of its citizen taxpayers and any other stakeholders, our vital tourist trade, and our downtown merchants now and long into the future by considering a far better option for slowing traffic along Front Street than buying a bunch of ugly stop signs. I’ve had to whack a car hood or two with my cane in order to assert my right to safe passage across Front Street, and agree more needs to be done. But stop signs will annoy not only rush-hour drivers passing through for an hour or two on work days, but will constantly aggravate local business owners and citizens who enjoy shopping and strolling downtown because it is such an attractive area. The stop sign “solution” will drive businesses away from the downtown core as people get more and more annoyed with the negative impacts on their busy days and the ugliness of the signs themselves.
A far better option would be to install two (or perhaps as many as three) traffic circles or roundabouts, which can be very attractive, especially if graced by plantings and low-maintenance landscaping, or even, perhaps, when the economy improves, a statue or two (for some reason, a viking motif comes to mind, but that’s just me). In this scenario, the same job can be accomplished while attracting shoppers to the downtown core, and further beautifying our town. A roundabout is serving Bainbridge Island very well near the high school and library at the corner of High School Road and Madison. I invite our council members, and any skeptical readers, to make the 20-minute drive to check it out.
Poulsbo is unique and beautiful. Let’s take a look at making our downtown core more inviting, rather than less, and see what that does for business and tourist attraction. It may take (Poulsbo Police) Chief (Dennis) Swiney and his able crew a bit of extra effort to step up enforcement and education on the front end, but the word will soon get out, and the long-term benefit will be well worth the initial investment.
John Townsend
Poulsbo
New business opportunity in Stop-n-Go Poulsbo
With the advent of Poulsbo’s new traffic control system, an automotive crisis mitigation center is sorely needed downtown, capable of brake replacement, radiator boilover recovery, heavy duty transmission cooler installation and a body shop specializing in front-end and rear-end collision repair.
A psychiatrist with a defibrillator and a pocketful of valium should be on call 24/7 for tourists or locals trying to navigate downtown in their high-performance Jaguars, Yugos, etc., that were built for open highways with wide sweeping curves and endless vistas which, to their dismay in town, find their clutches and catalytic converters overheated and on fire, uncontrollably belching great grey clouds of carbon monoxide.
A centrally located crisis center with padded walls, a psychiatrist’s couch, soothing music and an adjoining repair and spare parts shop would fit nicely into the historic, and sadly, abandonend Almo Theatre and would attract motorists coming and going in all directions.
You can become a part of historic downtown Poulsbo’s business community. Help people who are in extremis and make a handsome profit for yourself. Opportunities such as this are rare. Now is the time for action.
Kent D. Lord
Poulsbo
NKSD classified staff
The district couldn’t do it without them
March 9-13 is celebrated in the North Kitsap School District as Classified School Employee Week–a tradition in place since 1987.
During Classified Employees week, we recognize the talented, caring people who help take good care of our students, our facilities, our finances and our community.
They are involved in nearly every aspect of education, including maintaining school buildings and grounds, providing secretarial and clerical assistance, preparing and serving meals, providing safe transportation, keeping school facilities clean and orderly, assisting in the classroom, providing a secure environment, and providing many other specialized services.
They work with their heads and their hearts to make a difference in the lives of children, an investment in young lives that will pay a lifetime of dividends.
They are truly an asset to our students and our community.
Tom Anderson
Dan Delaney
Melanie Mohler
Ed Strickland
Val Torrens
North Kitsap School District
Board of Directors
Rick Jones
Superintendent
Third of July
Hallelujah! Common sense previals
In regard to the Feb. 27 issue of the Herald’s front page story concerning cancellation of the July 3rd fireworks: I applaud the decision. Well done, Mr. McLaughlin and Ms. Peterson. The economy is in shambles, people are losing their homes, the lines at Fishline are getting longer; it’s about time we stopped spending money on frivolous activities. Even when the economy was good I often wondered why we spend $35,000 plus on 30 minutes of snap, crackle, pop followed by oohs and aaahs.
Just think how many people we could feed or how many families we could help with a couple of months rent for $35,000. Let’s give any money already collected to Fishline. As a distant second alternative we could give it to the city; maybe it would help get the new City Hall started. Please, city council, don’t try to reverse a good decision. Apparently, the donors have spoken.
D. Rand Hillier
Poulsbo
