Our family spent many spring days at this Tri-Cities course. We will miss it greatly | Opinion

Loss of a family favorite course

I’d like to write in about the recent loss of a family favorite. As spring arrives, I thought about one of my family’s favorite things to do together. I’m talking about the amazing putting course at Canyon Lakes. My family has loved going there for many years because it’s so much fun and such a great value.

The course is so beautiful with real grass fairways and rough along the edges with occasional sand traps thrown in. The course is covered with mature trees, wraps around a wonderful pond, filled with turtles and duck families. It’s really a great place to make family memories.

Unfortunately, I recently called the course to see if they were open and was told the sad news. The course is scheduled to be torn up so that a new building can be built next to the course.

This was heartbreaking, and my family and I are now mourning the loss of one of our favorite things to do in the Tri-Cities. We’ll miss you, Canyon Lakes Putting Course.

Mike Bowen, West Richland

Op-ed data dated, has been revised

In the recent op-ed published by the Tri-Herald about Washington’s bag ban, the author argues that the U.S. contributes little to the ocean plastic pollution crisis, but this is far from the truth.

The decade-old research cited has since been updated and found that the U.S. is the third-biggest contributor to ocean plastic pollution and number-one generator of plastic waste globally. When it comes to plastic bags specifically, Americans are estimated to use 100 billion plastic grocery bags each year, and plastic bags are also one of the most commonly found items polluting beaches and waterways worldwide.

Furthermore, numerous studies have found that plastic pollution is highly deadly to marine life – even a single piece of plastic swallowed has been shown to kill a seabird, and baby sea turtles have died from swallowing less than half a sugar cube worth of plastic.

Bans are proven to be effective in reducing plastic bag pollution. So while there’s no silver bullet to the plastic pollution crisis, we know that when it comes to plastic bags, bans are the right solution.

Anja Brandon, Ocean Conservancy, Portland

Farmers likely will need handouts

Remember in 2021 when Dan Newhouse, our Fourth District congressman, was one of the few R’s to vote for the impeachment of President Trump after Jan. 6?

He endured the wrath of the MAGAs until he was re-elected with the help of a lot of D’s. Well, his moment of clarity passed shortly after the election when he again dived headfirst into the fevered swamp that encompasses all MAGAs.

I guess he is hoping the memories of R’s fade with time. Now that farmers and ranchers across the U.S. struggle with the loss of customers for their product under Trump tariffs, many probably are destined to go bankrupt.

That is, unless they receive massive bailouts (again), taking the government handouts they so righteously criticize when provided to the truly needy. The MAGA cognitive dissonance must be overwhelming.

Don Merhar, West Richland

Abuse awareness event set May 8

April is Child Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness Month, a time to spread the word on how abuse impacts our community.

Last year, there were 271 interviews related to suspected child abuse through the Kids Haven program, a collaboration between The Support, Advocacy and Resource Center (SARC) and local city/county governments to support children who have allegedly been physically and/or sexually abused. There are several ways to get involved and show your support. Start by simply talking about child abuse.

Shedding light on this issue can help others recognize the signs and protect the children around them. If you suspect a child is being abused, report it! Reporting doesn’t imply that abuse has been proved, but it raises concern about a child’s well-being.

You can participate by attending community awareness events happening throughout April. SARC will be hosting The Clothesline Project and The Little Hearts Project, which will be displayed in libraries across Benton and Franklin counties.

You can also attend SARC’s Community Education Night on May 8 at Amistad Elementary. This event offers valuable information for parents, along with presentations for children of all ages. We encourage everyone to attend! For more information, call SARC at 509-374-5391.

Katie Sheets, Richland

LIGO observes 10th anniversary

I want to thank readers as LIGO celebrates the 10th anniversary of the first direct detection of the ripples in the fabric of space and time, launched by the merger of two black holes more than a billion years ago.

Your support for science enabled the U.S. National Science Foundation to fund more than a half century of research that led to the birth of gravitational-wave astronomy 10 years ago. On average, each American chipped in 10 cents per year to achieve this capability. Over more than 50 years, that grew to more than $5 per person.

I know that you work hard for your money, and I want you to know that we at LIGO also work hard, not only on technical problems but also to be good stewards of the tax dollars we receive on your behalf.

You can learn more about what your contributions have achieved by visiting us at LIGO for one of our Second Saturday tours. (Our 300th black hole merger might even be detected while you are in our control room!) You have already paid the price of admission and I hope that you will continue to support science.

Fred Raab, Richland

A convention may help Democrats

Democrats lack the leadership needed to form a unified, moderate party that will exercise common sense in lieu of emotions to determine a path for victories over GOP autocrats in the upcoming 2026 election.

They will continue to circle with one foot nailed to the floor until they organize a national convention wherein members are faced with listening to the sophomoric, egotistical diatribe that may be interspersed by a few worthwhile opinions.

Then, they can decide to vote for the person who will best lead the party in what they have collectively decided is the only worthwhile path forward. They must elect a moderate who understands root-cause analysis and a commonsense approach to convincing our general population that Democrats can return us to normalcy and democracy.

They need a leader who can steer the party to success in 2026, thus regaining some control in Congress and enhance a return to adherence to the Constitution and the rule of law.

Jim Tow, Cdr, USN (Ret), Richland

Newhouse must explain his actions

Whether a Dan Newhouse town hall “to hear constituent concerns” was the TCH’s wording in a recent article titled “Newhouse Defends Federal Cuts,” or just the wording Newhouse staffers used, the wording is problematic. Newhouse does NOT need to hear constituent concerns. He’s heard them daily for two months.

People call and write constantly, but Newhouse staff don’t even take our contact information. There are no replies, not even the form letters his office has used for 10 years. Dan knows full well that our concerns are that a group of lawless billionaires is dismantling the institutions of our country and ripping our friends’, neighbors’, and family members’ livelihoods away in order to again turn our tax dollars into tax cuts for those same billionaires.

Instead, Newhouse needs to tell us how he’ll stop this chaos and restore the rights and resources his party is stealing from his constituents. Can’t wait to hear him explain how the jobs of people I know personally were waste and fraud, because we all know they weren’t.

Super can’t wait to hear Dan tell us he’ll trade Musk the Newhouse family federal ag subsidies and his local property tax abatements for our “frozen” firefighting dollars.

Rochelle Riling, Okanogan