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3/9/10
Washougal councilors step over the line In a recent letter to the Columbian, the writer complained that Republican conservatives were being unfairly tagged as the "Party of No." If that were truly an unfairly assigned description, I would sympathize with her, but here in Washougal, that seems to be a justified sobriquet. On Jan. 4, Washougal City Council newly elected members Michael Delavar and Dave Shoemaker were sworn in. Council membership is supposed to be non-partisan, but since members Delavar and Russell both ran/were running against Brian Baird for the 3rd District Congressional seat, I think it is fair to assume that they have Republican Party connections. That first meeting, after having sworn to defend the Constitution of the United States, council members Delavar and Russell took the opportunity offered by the council comments section of the agenda, not to comment on Washougal affairs, but to give long preachments on the right to life issue, totally irrelevant to the business at hand. Against citizen protest, each defended his position. Councilman Shoemaker supported them. Supposedly these members have not read the Constitution, which they had just sworn to support. When their statements were pointed out as being inappropriate to a city council meeting they protested, using the Constitution as their support. Religion may or may not be a good thing, but in either case, its promotion has no place in a city council meeting. I quote "Article 1: Congress shall make no law respecting of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." It doesn't seem unreasonable to expect members of governing boards to have some knowledge of proper behavior or of the laws they have sworn to support. Copies of the Constitution are readily available free, from the Government Printing Office. On the subject of the "Party of No," since that first meeting Jan. 4, there have been two major votes in the City Council. Council members Russell, Delavar and Shoemaker while appearing to agree with the revisions as suggested, then voted against each as a block. To quote Leonard Pitts "We've had a system of hyper-partisanship, intellectual dishonesty, and reflexive ideology, of permanent argument but no real attempt at solution or persuasion." There is not a town, county, state or government in this world that isn't having serious problems right now. We are desperately in need of solutions. They will come from our joint thinking and sharing. Each person has something to offer. No person's ideas should be flat out rejected unless and until the other person has something better to offer. "No," without thought, is no option. Marilyn Tyrrell Reader wonders about school taxes Did you ever wonder why our local newspapers have never met a new tax that they didn't like? Did you ever wonder why non-property owners are allowed to vote on tax measures that only property owners will be paying for? Did you ever wonder why, no matter what money bond is passed, the schools always want/need more of your money? Did you ever wonder why if the revenue is not specified in a school bond measure a cause is manufactured to use the funds (such as tearing down Doc Harris Stadium to build a new one? Did you ever wonder why if the local officials fear a bond is in trouble they bring in out-of-state professionals to help pass it? Did you ever wonder? Floyd McCreary Scouts reach out to the community As active Boy Scouts in Troop 612 in Washougal, we would like to address the community of a situation that commonly occurs in a Boy Scout troop. One of the highest and most prestigious ranks you can achieve in the Boy Scouts of America is Eagle Scout. To become an Eagle Scout, you must plan and carry out a project in your area that benefits the community. Together with the help of family members, mentors, community members, and other troop members. we organize and take charge to complete a project. Most projects require materials and the primary source of materials for Eagle Scout projects are donations from community businesses and citizens. With the decline of family operated businesses and the growth in large chain distributors, it becomes more and more difficult to request and acquire needed donations. So, if you, the community, are willing and would like to assist our Boy Scouts of Troop 612 in earning their Eagle rank, I encourage you to please consider doing what you can to donate and help. All projects will benefit the Camas and Washougal community. You can contact us by e-mail at troop612washougal@gmail.com. Boy Scouts Troop 612 |
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