Here are Letters to the Editor for July 27, 2017

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(By Tom Purcell/Tom Purcell is a nationally syndicated humor columnist. Send your comments to Tom at Purcell@caglecartoons.com)

I went to an outdoor event in Washington, D.C., last week. Boy, was it hot under the noon sun.

It was so hot, I saw a mother swipe a Popsicle from her own child. I saw a Republican share an air-conditioned cab with a Democrat. I saw senators engage in civil conversation with each other so they could spend more time in their air-conditioned chambers.

In any event, I read, with interest, a Washington Post story that described how D.C. used to be, prior to the advent of air conditioning.

As it goes, in 1909 President William Howard Taft used electric fans blowing over bins of ice in the attic to attempt to cool the White House. It didn’t work so well. Taft slept outside on a specially built White House porch to keep cool at night. More

(By Don C. Brunell/ Don C. Brunell is a business analyst, writer and columnist. He retired as president of the Association of Washington Business, the state’s oldest and largest business organization, and now lives in Vancouver. He can be contacted at theBrunells@msn.com.)

There is an old saying: Don’t let the perfect get in the way of the good!

That is important to remember when it comes to improving our air quality.

While some activists want to eliminate all fossil fuels used on the waterfront, it is not possible without major disruption to our quality of life, jobs and economy. That is not the perfect. It is a recipe for disaster.

The better way is to recognize the major environmental improvements we have accomplished and find ways to continue to solve problems. That is good for all Americans.
Here is an example of positive change. In 2012, TOTE, which started as Totem Ocean Trailer Express in 1975, hauls more than 35 percent all goods consumed in Alaska.
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(By Brandon Hansen/Managing Editor of the Chewelah Independent)

As I do every morning, I make my morning coffee, stroll out to the mailbox and then pull out my copy of The Spokesman-Review to see what the daily news is for our area.

That coffee nearly found itself on the backside of the neighbors car (Sorry, Melissa) after I read one headline that an elected Spokane City Councilman believes in chemtrails.

“By virtue of the fact that it is being openly discussed in certain circles, I think there may be some merit to it,” Councilmember Mike Fagan was quoted as saying.

Well, Mike, I talk about orcs and trolls when discussing video games – does that mean they exist?

Now the newspaper was oddly quick to point out that Fagan was the council’s “lone, consistently conservative voice” which really caused my eyebrows to pop up. Just because one person believes in a made up myth, with no scientific data to back it up, I would hope we don’t try to classify an entire political identity because one person that identifies D or R says they actually believe in the Easter bunny. More

(By Brandon Hansen/Managing Editor of the Chewelah Independent)

Chataqua is a great event, and I would put it up against any small festival I’ve seen in the state. In terms of sheer stuff to do and how much it transforms the town for a few days out of the year, it’s really second to none.

The event is volunteer run and it’s an extension of Chewelah, showcasing just how much the local people here care about their community.

It’s been going on for 44 years and it probably looks a lot different now than it did in 1973. My guess is there were more bellbottoms back then.

So how could Chataqua change in the future? Here are my pipe dream suggestions, but please keep in mind these are the ramblings of a columnist with little experience in public events and even less experience on how to budget these things. More

(By Don C. Brunell/Don C. Brunell is a business analyst, writer and columnist. He retired as president of the Association of Washington Business, the state’s oldest and largest business organization, and now lives in Vancouver. He can be contacted at theBrunells@msn.com.)

Donald Trump’s address in Warsaw on July 6 was his best as President. His prepared remarks carried the right tone and hit the mark. It was a message the Polish people were waiting to hear from America.

He called on the U.S. and its Western allies to confront common threats, declaring “Our values will prevail, our people will thrive and our civilization will triumph.”

The President added (paraphrasing): We write symphonies, pursue innovation, seek to explore and discover new frontiers, reward brilliance, strive for excellence, empower women as pillars of our society and success, and treasure the rule of law and right to free speech and free expression.
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(By Brandon Hansen/Brandon is the managing editor of the Chewelah Independent)

The big event is here!
Chataqua is now occupying our lovely Chewelah City Park with food vendors, various arts and crafts, Center Stage entertainment and carnival rides.
Since our town is usually just the 2,600 people that live around here, having many more thousands can be a bit of a shock to the town of Chewelah.
So get your sunscreen on, put some cash in your 90s’ fanny pack and get ready to Chataqua hard with my handy-dandy survival guide.

GOT CHILDREN? TIRE THEM OUT WITH THE RIDES
Having a seven year-old niece with an unlimited supply of energy that could power mankind until the end of time, I know that it’s important to tire your kid out.
Why? Because chances are they’ll have cotton candy, and ice cream, and snow cones and deep-fried Snickers bars and probably complimentary insulin shots as well. Chataqua kids’ blood sugar levels must be at “The Hulk” levels and you’re probably going to see a few kids running around Chataqua that are glowing green.
So buy a roll of tickets, let them tucker themselves out on the Gravitron, or the Spina-roo, or The Zipper, or whatever machine of torture they bring this year.
(As someone with a slightly upsetable stomach, I always skipped out on the rides and just waited for the gossip at school to get around on who threw up on what ride and on who.)

HUNGRY? GET A FIRE BURGER
Now I’ve been known to say a thing or two about the Oasis Burger in this paper, but during Chataqua it’s always a tradition to get a Fire Burger. Why? Well it’s put on by the fire department so you know they’re not going to burn the burgers. If the fire department could swing it and sold Fire Burgers year-round I’m pretty sure I would fund half of the Chewelah City Fire Department by buying a fire burger every other day.

MAKE SURE YOU SEE KELLY HUGHES
And walk around the park and tell people “Are you going to Kelly Hughes? HEY, HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT KELLY HUGHES?” It’s like Chewelah likes country music or something…

USE SUNSCREEN
Unless you want to LOOK like a Fire Burger.

MAKE SURE YOU ASK EVERYONE YOU KNOW IF THEY’VE BEEN TO CHATAQUA
It’s actually in the city bylaws for you to ask everybody from Chewelah if they’ve been down to Chataqua. This usually results in two responses, they either show you the elephant ear that they’ve been eating or they claim they haven’t been to Chataqua for years – shortly afterwards you usually see them in the beer garden.

MAKE SURE YOU GET ALONG THE PARADE ROUTE EARLY
Some people like to watch Rugby. Me? I like to watch everybody in town elbow their way into a good spot to watch “the parade.”
When you live in a town where everybody knows everybody, is there anything better than a parade? I am unsure if I’ve ever ran into someone who detested parades — except for communists.
My favorite part is seeing the logging trucks and wondering whose kids got conned into cleaning those before the parade because I don’t think you can fit them in the car wash (although I have ridden in a log truck that went through an espresso stand.)

MAKE SURE YOU EAT A RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF FOOD
So much so you’ll have to immediately buy a membership to either The Shed or The Body Shop to work off those deep fried marshmallows or noodles with half a cow on top.
I’d love for someone to eat healthy for the three days of Chataqua. They could perhaps only get vegan options while eating at the park. I’m sure there’s many options, namely the grass in the park.
…………………..

Cougar Tails
I went to Always… Patsy Cline last weekend and got to watch former JHS graduate Dana Fleming perform on stage as part of Spokane Valley Summer Theatre. She said she had been on hiatus from theatre for a while, but oh boy, she didn’t lose a step and got lots of chuckles from the audience. It has to be said again: Chewelah keeps pumping out theatre standouts. I’m not sure where they mine all this creativity out from in the valley.

Here are Letters to the Editor for July 13, 2017…

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(By Tom Purcell/Tom Purcell is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist and is nationally syndicated exclusively by Cagle Cartoons Inc. Send comments to Tom@TomPurcell.com.)

In the course of human events it is necessary, now and again, to renew our commitment to the principles and practices that made our country great in the first place.

Our country has always held what the Declaration of Independence says about certain “Truths”: They are “self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Regrettably, we forget these simple truths sometimes.

To renew our passion for the free and equal pursuit of life, liberty and happiness, we need a new declaration that promotes civility, open conversation and common sense. More

(By Brandon Nobles/ Brandon is a graduate of the University of Washington with a degree in English and Humanities. He is a current online teacher and is the Research Coordinator for the 7th LD Democratic Central Committee.)

Well, it happened again. A couple weeks back, Fish and Wildlife confirmed that a calf was killed and partially eaten by the Sherman Wolf Pack. It did not take long for Facebook to go abuzz and local politicians taking advantage of the situation to stir up their constituents. Seventh Legislative District Republican Representative Joel Kretz declared it was going to “get western.” Par for the course, many locals joined in this Gaston-esque mob rallying over a creature that affects only a tiny fraction of a percentage of the 7th LD’s population. The wolf since the creation of the Wolf Recovery Program has been transformed into a political football to toss about amongst local politicians to secure a limited and distracting political discourse that covers and masks the fact that this region continues to sink economically with a heroin-fueled socially pathological residue as a replacement. Only when our local politicians seek out to serve all of their constituents and abandon these little political sideshows (or be replaced with those who are more apt to serve their district) will NE Washington ever be able to put on the brakes before going off the cliff that this region is heading. More