Letters to the Editor
Last updated 10/5/2021 at 8:49am
Collective Adventure improves community
I am writing this letter in support of the Christian ministry The Collective Adventure in downtown Ritzville.
The director of the ministry, George Smith, and his wife, Mary, have hearts to reach out to people who are in need in the community.
I am aware of the negative publicity recently regarding the ministry, and I understand the concerns expressed. But as the number of people who make up the margins in American society grows, it’s nearly impossible not to be confronted by the challenges this reality brings.
As large cities continue to grapple with homelessness and other social problems, smaller cities and towns are now experiencing some of the same challenges. These will only continue to increase in number, scope and visibility in the future.
I believe Ritzville is fortunate to have George and Mary – and all the volunteers who help them – and we should be grateful for their willingness to try their best in helping meet some very difficult needs. If you think otherwise, I encourage you to at least attend one of the dinner meetings at The Collective Adventure (Tuesdays at 5 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.), or maybe even spend a morning or afternoon with George to see the many ways he and The Collective Adventure are impacting lives in a positive way in our Ritzville community.
Pastor Steve Schofstoll
– Ritzville
Time to remind lawmakers of obligation
Article II of the state Constitution vests all legislative authority in the Legislature and specifically reserves supplementary power in the people as regards the legislative process.
For the last several years, however, the Legislature has shirked its responsibilities and thereby caused a troubling accretion of supposed power in the executive and judicial branches of our government. The Supreme Court – relying on a single word in the in the preamble to Article IX – found that it had the power to not only hold the Legislature in contempt (raising a troubling issue as to the constitutional definition of co-equal), but could then a fashion state wide rule for the funding of our educational systems.
All this was done while denying that the court was a "super Legislature. "
Apparently, glad to have unloaded their constitutional obligation, the Legislature neither said nor did anything in response. More recently, the court opined, without providing their legal authority to do so that all non-vaccinated state employees and those in a business relationship with the state would lose their jobs if not vaccinated by a given date.
Again, we hear nothing from our elected representatives, nor does there appear to be any effort on the part of the Legislature to amend or repeal the grant of emergency powers to the executive branch.
Perhaps, it’s time to remind those we send to the Legislature that along with their obligations to protect the health and safety of our citizenry they enjoy an equal duty to preserve and protect the constitutional balance of power inherent in our founding document?
Larry Ziegler
– Kennewick
Support Washtucna pool levy
Washtucna swimming pool offers summer fun and activity for all ages.
A typical day finds toddlers happily splashing in the wading pool supervised by parents and grandparents. In the big pool, novice swimmers practice strokes learned earlier in the day at swim lessons. Lap swimmers dodge a game of Marco Polo, and several ladies are doing aerobics while floating on empty plastic milk jugs.
Groups of people on the benches and lounge chairs engage in lively conversation while a family enjoys lunch at a picnic table. Others sit on beach towels on the grass sharing snacks, reading books, or taking naps.
All of this happens under the watchful eyes of trained lifeguards, who are mostly high school and college students earning money to support their educations.
Your tax dollars make this happy scene possible by providing safe, supervised summer activities for all ages.
Please vote “yes” to support continued operation of the Washtucna swimming pool. It is money well-spent.
Donna Stoess
– Washtucna
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