July 31 Letters to the Editor

Keep library doors open

As another election approaches, Castle Rock residents will have an opportunity to support our city library. Keeping the doors open in difficult economic times speaks to the value our community places on reading and education.

I believe Walt Disney may have said it best: “There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” When casting your vote, please give your consideration and support to our local library and provide these treasures for our community.

Susan Barker

Castle Rock

Internet service is poor

A number of us in the Rose Valley area have very poor access to high speed Internet and good cell phone service. Mount Brynion blocks us.

There are some totally dead areas and for some of us only the expensive satellite Internet saves us from the incredibly slow phone service.

If Cascade Networks, Verizon or other provider would put a tower at the top, they would likely get a number of customers who are seeking such service. If other readers in this area who are desiring such service would contact both Cascades Network and Verizon to encourage building such a tower, we all may be able to come into the 21st century and get good service at a reasonable price.

Noel McRae

Kelso

Higher ed needs advocates

The 2009 Legislature dealt with our state’s fiscal crisis in a way that sought to avoid lasting harm to public higher education. However, a combination of deep budget cuts and steep tuition increases has led some to speculate we have crossed an important divide.

This biennium, four of our six baccalaureate institutions will receive more than 50 percent of their operating revenue from tuition and fees. In 2007-2009, state support for these institutions averaged 64 percent of operating revenue.

Have we started down the path to a privatized funding model for our public higher education institutions? We hope not. We need a serious discussion about the future of higher education.

Broad and affordable college access enables societies to compete in our increasingly complex and integrated world. Many states and nations are making the investment to raise education levels among their citizens. But Washington is failing to meet this challenge.

The state’s master plan for higher education calls for a 40 percent annual increase in degree and certificate attainment by 2018. We believe this goal is attainable.

Now is not the time to sit on the sidelines of this important discussion. We need advocates who can explain the importance of higher education to all the people of the state.

Ann Daley, Executive Director

Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board

Olympia

Statement is appreciated

I applaud councilmen Jensen and Busack’s protest vote on the federal storm water rules and the issue of car washing. They know it won’t do any good, but at least they have the courage to make a statement and not simply rubber stamp stupidity.

I would like to know what these new rules do about the oil and other chemicals that are dropped onto our roads by each passing vehicle and then washed into the storm drains every time it rains. How about the transmission and brake fluid and the antifreeze from leaky radiators? This oil must be different from the oil that I’m washing off of my vehicle. Did you ever wonder what happens to the rubber that wears off of your tires, where does it go and what are the bureaucrats doing about it? I think they know they can’t do a darn thing about it, but they can certainly take a firm stand on car washing.

I am told by the same bureaucratic nightmare that I must wash my boat and trailer after every use to prevent the spread of invasive aquatic species in our waterways. I’m not opposed to doing so, but I can’t put my boat in my front yard and, even if I drove over the sidewalk to do so, I would be in trouble for that as well as leaving ruts in my lawn.

This is just another case of people who don’t have enough to do trying to justify their existence. Somebody call the soap police, I’m going to go wash my car.

Glenn Woods

Longview