Letters: Richland council decorum, Inslee’s power grab, school reopening and more | Nov. 22

No heroes sit on Richland council

As a citizen of Richland, I am appalled at what transpired at the City Council meeting Nov. 17. Bob Thompson called our governor a fascist. Where are the rules of decorum for this body? Then he proceeded to denigrate the intelligence of two other council members. If that is not bad enough, Terry Christensen called our election rigged! I expect more from the council that purports to represent the citizens of Richland. I have lost all confidence in their leadership, for those making the comments and those not pushing back at this dangerous rhetoric. Where is the compassion for our most vulnerable in our community, and why do you have no desire to protect them?

Our community is at a crisis point with the skyrocketing cases of COVID-19. Where is the leadership encouraging our citizens to mask up, social distance and limit social activities? People’s lives are at stake. This is not a game. Who among you will be the hero for our community? Sadly, I don’t think one exists on this current council.

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Inslee’s actions a grab for power

Next week its Thanksgiving Day, to thank God for all the good people and other blessings He has placed in our lives.

But, in my opinion, (Gov. Jay) Inslee is not one of those blessings. Rather he and his entourage of leftists, are targeting our businesses. They successfully drove much of Boeing to other states, putting many families in Washington and other places on unemployment. But, with Boeing now out of the way, Inslee, etc., are focused on the pandemic. We are now ordered into an oppressive lockdown, coupled with threats to arrest ordinary citizens who do not comply with Inslee-approved social behavior. Constitution be ignored! I think these public dramatics cover a larger plan.

During World War II, the AEC governed the Hanford project. AEC was big government then, and many limitations were enforced for security reason, for example, only one restaurant was allowed in Richland. It’s likely that Inslee, etc., are attracted by great power like the AEC had in the past. Inslee, etc., are imitating big government now, with lockdowns, social behavior, designations and travel limitations, etc. So, in my opinion. the pandemic is being used to increase the power of Inslee, etc., by continually weakening Washington businesses.

Editor’s note: The Department of the Army was in charge at Hanford during World War II. The Atomic Energy Commission was created after the war by Congress.

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Running for office is challenging job

Running for elected office is not for the faint of heart. It is an investment of considerable time, energy and resources that makes you vulnerable to public scrutiny. I tip my hat to all of the candidates who ran in this recent election cycle for local offices, especially those of us who were new to this arena. Having options in races supports the balance needed for our nation’s democracy to function and serves as an important measure of accountability for incumbents.

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of running for local office is learning that the overall quality of a candidate and the amount of effort they put forth in campaigning does not always equate (to) who wins. Many candidates worked tirelessly to answer questionnaires, attend forums, produce advertisements and strive to make themselves transparent to the voting public; all this during a global pandemic.

In the race for Benton County Commissioner District 1, I’d like to personally thank the nearly 37,000 individuals who voted for me as the challenger. Nevertheless, I respect the will of the voters and congratulate Jerome Delvin on his third and final term in this seat. It has truly been my pleasure to serve as a candidate.

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Looting, burning raised insurance

I’ve been hearing that some people think it’s okay to loot, burn, destroy and steal because the owners have insurance. A suggestion: When you get home tonight, ask Mommy and Daddy what has happened to their insurance premiums this year. Mine have gone up dramatically, typically between 10 and 20%.

Effectively, you have financed your protests by placing a tax on every man, woman and child in the country, regardless of how poor they are. If a person is retired and living on a fixed income, or is just starting out and doesn’t have money to burn, it is already difficult to make ends meet. Funding your pyrotechnic parties is not something we would chose to do.

I further suggest you get a job, buy a house or pay rent, buy food and clothing, pay taxes, and buy insurance — with your own money – before you decide you know how the world works.

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What are limits to Inslee’s power?

Clearly Dr. Person should not be ousted from her position because of a petition making false statements. Of greater concern is the apparently unlimited power the governor has. I have found it very hard to find out the exact powers which Gov. (Jay) Inslee has. It seems impossible to find out when his powers will cease as they relate to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since COVID-19 is likely to continue, at least at a low level like the flu, this may mean that a Washington state governor will always have the powers to open and close schools and pick which businesses are essential and which are not. This is too much power for any elected official to hold.

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Heed the farewell of Washington

In George Washington’s farewell address, the president implored his countrymen to discourage “even the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts.” To Washington, partisanships (our political parties today) were “a fire not to be quenched. They demand a uniform vigilance to prevent their bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming (our country) but possibly consume it!!!

A thought for all of us (in) today’s confusing world. — so my teachers were correct when they taught us that we could learn by studying the past. From the book, “The American Presidency-Every Four Years.”

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Why reopen with COVID so high?

Why are our schools reopening? We know that gathering increases the risk of an outbreak, and if any counties in Washington shouldn’t be gathering, it’s probably Benton and Franklin. Both Benton and Franklin counties have had more new cases per population than the rest of the state as a whole. On top of this, making attendance mandatory is not fair to students or their families. Many young people have parents over the age of 50 or who have underlying conditions or live with a family member who does.

Requiring kids to attend schools right now puts many people and many families at risk. At the very least, students and their families should be able to decide if they feel comfortable enough attending school right now and be offered alternative ways of learning and completing assignments if they are not comfortable with in-person classes.

If universities can effectively use Zoom to continue classes, our public K-12 schools can. Many schools already offer chrome books for students to check out if they don’t have a computer at home. Overall, the health and well-being of students and their families should come before anything.

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Let West Side build new energy

Re: Tri-City Herald article, “A Triple-threat solar farm… in Richland” dated Nov. 11, 2020

We now have a solar farm coming into Benton County, right behind a wind farm. Benton County should have some say in these decisions. The Scout Clean Energy wind farm was initially going to apply for approval with Benton County but now will bypass it and go directly to the state.

Benton County does more than its fair share of producing environmentally-friendly electricity in the state, with Columbia Generating Station (CGS). To produce an equivalent amount of electricity as CGS annually with solar would take about 1.9 million panels on five square miles of land.

For Scout wind, it would take about 665 square miles of turbines. If you include battery back-up, intermittency integration into the grid and disposal costs for spent turbines and panels, the cost of electricity will be at least three to five times what we are paying now.

I suspect most of this new electricity will make its way to California, which imports a huge amount of Northwest power. If Washington needs more electricity, it needs to step up with a fair share of new generation on the west side of the state. If it wants wind and solar, then build them there, not in Benton County.

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Will he be going to jail on Monday?

According to Gov. (Jay) Inslee’s new mandates starting today (11/16), I will be sitting in jail Nov. 23 for worshipping my God. Washington State Coronavirus Response website Number 12 Religious services in part says… “Congregation members/attendees must wear facial coverings at all times and congregation singing is prohibited.”

I’m a law-abiding common citizen and Christian. I believe in the founding fathers of America and their ideas of Constitution and liberties. U.S. Constitution First Amendment states Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion.

God commands us to sing and worship in congregations and churches. When Babylon made this same rule as Inslee has, we have the same type of standoff with Daniel, and Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego did with the Ruler. They kept their faith and worshipped God first.

So, when your church refuses to sing and worship God this Sunday, because our governor says it to be so, I’ll be the one behind you in the pew, singing really loud. That is till they drag me out to jail. Thankfully, there are no lions or burning furnaces yet.

This story was originally published November 22, 2020 at 12:01 AM with the headline "Letters: Richland council decorum, Inslee’s power grab, school reopening and more | Nov. 22."