Thank you

Actions speak louder than words

Just about two months ago our daughter was killed in an accident at our home. Some guys from surrounding churches decided that a good project to show our family their love for us would be to re-roof the church where my husband pastors.

They tackled this large project with much zeal. Their love was shown to us not just through the physical labor involved in roofing a building, but with the heart in which they did it. This act not only will keep us dry this winter but will warm our hearts for a lifetime.

We just wanted to take this opportunity to give these guys a big thank you.

The word “thank you” seems so inadequate but for now it will have to do. We consider ourselves hugged!

Heather, Barry & Family as well as the entire congregation of Eglon Community Church

Funds for schools

Legislators are robbing education

Numerous articles have appeared in the local press about the Kitsap school districts struggling to cut their services and even teachers to balance their 2008-2009 budgets yet how “hard” Kitsap legislators have worked funding our schools.

In 2005 all of Kitsap’s legislators except Woods voted for SB 6096 reinstating the death tax. The bill reads in part “the legislature intends to address the adverse fiscal impact of the Hemphill v. dep’t of Revenue decision” and reinstated Washington state’s death tax specifically “to provide funding for education” (Education Legacy Trust Account) This account was to fund Citizen’s Initiative 728: “to increase education quality by reducing class size.”

In the 2008 legislative session all Kitsap legislators except Sheldon voted to remove $67 million dollars from the “dedicated” Education Legacy Trust account and move the money to the General Fund for the 2009 operating budget. (HB 2687) The money from death taxes is still being collected but is now going into the general fund.

Thanks to new transparency laws in government, legislators’ voting records can be easily reviewed. (WashingtonVotes.com.) Voters can see for themselves who sponsors what and for which special interest, if any.

Shirley Brown

Poulsbo

No pool for school, but the city gets a new house

Thanks so much for the fantastic Centennial supplement the North Kitsap Herald published on Poulsbo’s rich history. It made me feel very proud and fortunate to live in Poulsbo.

However, the article you ran the week before (Aug. 13) about the pool, well, let’s just say it made me and people I know who read it angry.

It’s clear from your 100-year chronology that Poulsbo’s forefathers were insightful when planning for the future. But I can’t say the same for our city’s current leaders, at least based on what I’ve read lately. After citing that ridiculous quote by school board member Ed Strickland (thank you for enlightening the community, BTW) about his perspective on water safety, I have to wonder, what is the mayor thinking? Has she been preoccupied with planning color schemes for the new, and mostly unnecessary $17 million dollar city hall while that beautiful pool — one of the true crown jewels of Poulsbo — slips through the community’s fingers? Whose “crown jewel” is the $17 million city hall? Where are our priorities?

I can’t believe the statement Mr. Strickland made in public, for the record: “People who don’t know how to swim drown far less than people who do know how to swim because they wear life vests or don’t go out to swim. So how do you define water safety?”

Is he serious? This isn’t just about “water safety,” it’s about recreation, it’s about education, it’s about building a better community and a competitive outlet for our students. And it’s about financial priorities.

Maybe Mr. Strickland doesn’t want to swim, or doesn’t want kids to learn to swim; maybe he doesn’t care about athletic programs; maybe he doesn’t want older folks to do water aerobics; perhaps he bristles at the notion of injured people doing water therapy. Beats me. Bottom line, his claim is, well, it’s laughable.

But there’s a bigger issue at hand, anyway. It is quality of life for every resident of Poulsbo who chooses to swim or exercise or recreate at the pool. It’s about every student who has ever been or is currently involved in a swimming program. It’s about improving the future of Poulsbo by providing educationally and recreationally for Poulsbo’s residents — young and old.

I hope Mr. Strickland will begin scrutinizing his own press, and the press generated by the city’s involvement (or lack thereof) in wonderful community assets like the pool. And our civic leaders should be asking serious budget questions about community assets — budgeting money to preserve a recently refurbished pool (that we all paid for) available for everyone’s improved quality of life vs estimated millions for a new building (how many thousands will be wasted on “budget overruns” before they’re done?)

What does that tell our youth about our priorities?

Maybe his quote should be combined with the mayor’s, saying something like this: “Sorry kids, no swimming program, we’ve gotta build a new city hall!” Isn’t that like a parent saying: “Sorry kids, we can’t afford your sports, mom and dad gotta buy a fancy new house!”

Phil Herzog

Poulsbo