Feb. 20 Letters to the Editor

Who would lose in merger?

Both the county commissioners and this newspaper (“Time has come to merge the twin cities,” Feb. 15) have brought the topic of combining Longview and Kelso into one entity. Their reason is for cost savings.

This will be a hot topic for months to come. Such a decision didn’t work very well last time the topic came up. Now both mayors are willing to study all options.

Truth be told, most people born in the tri-county area are Longview natives. Up to the 1980s there were two hospitals in the area and both were in Longview. I am a Longview native and choose to live here. I am willing to listen and give my opinion. One of my opinions is only those who are from here should have the right to decide.

How will this merger affect Castle Rock, Kalama, Woodland and other county areas? Will they get more services from the county if a merger happens? Who will lose their jobs? Will both cities lose their identities and pride?

The merger will be a topic for discussion at 6 p.m. March 25 in the Cowlitz County Expo Center. My personal thought is the merger should not happen, but I am willing to listen to the discussion.

Philip Portwood

Longview

Who’s playing politics?

Our new president is a very eloquent speaker. At his news conference last week I was glued to every word as he described what this new stimulus plan would do to help our economy. I was right with him until he made the statement that those in Congress who were not “onboard” were playing politics.

I thought to myself that just maybe the “holdouts” were wondering why we who had not overspent, did not live in houses we could not afford, who pay their bills and taxes should bailout companies and individuals who chose to spend money they did not have. Perhaps these holdouts and nay-sayers in Congress had read what President Roosevelt’s Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Morgenthau, said about the fact that after 10 years of the New Deal employment was just about as bad as it was when it started and the country now had an enormous debt as well.

Just because law makers disagree does not mean that they are playing politics. Hopefully, they are trying to do what their experience and/or knowledge has led them to believe is right for the people they represent. Since the stimulus plan is a reality all we can do is hope that our new New Deal works better than the old New Deal did.

Carole Hubbard

Castle Rock

Who decides?

It is unfortunate that the Emergency Support Shelter has financial need. A woman with a child telephoned for help on the evening of Feb. 16. She was told the shelter was full and to call back at 7 a.m.

How many women really belong there? Who decides each case? As a previous manger of the 1414 Club, I heard many stories. People lie for free benefits. I know for fact that an alcoholic and drug-using woman in her sixties took more than half the sizable amount of cash from a joint safety deposit box. The 72-year-old husband became angry and pulled her hair. She went to the shelter; he got a restraining order.

Records showed she had never called 911 in over 20 years of marriage. She stayed at the shelter 90 days, then received more benefits in housing and food stamps, and got a job. Where was her cash? In her private safety box. Perhaps she will donate to the shelter, then women with children can find help in real emergencies.

Donna Karhauser

Kelso

Market didn’t go far enough

The Saturday Market was a good idea, but it didn’t go far enough, in my opinion. I would like to see Hank Sowerwine rehired to coordinate and promote a Saturday Flea Market at the Fairgrounds.

Lots of people enjoy bargain hunting during our local garage sale season. Look at the success of the annual Terry-Taylor sale, where people come from all over the state to shop at this location for one day.

Everybody has stuff they don’t want anymore, and everybody wants a deal.

So on Saturdays during the summer, instead of having a garage sale at home, sellers could rent a space inside the building, and bargain hunters would have one-stop shopping, rain or shine, right across the street from Farmers Market, with plenty of parking for everyone.

Downtown would benefit too, because of all the added commerce.

And the city brand for the Longview-Kelso area could be “The Trading Post of the West.”

Sharon Ashford

Longview