Letters to the editor, Nov. 12, 2008

Criminal justice
reform in order 
According to the Department of Justice, the U.S. prison population has reached an all-time high this year. We have achieved the dubious honor of being the world leader, incarcerating over 2.3 million people. With corrections representing a significant percentage of most state budgets, it would seem that some legislative changes are in order.
Statistics have shown that lengthy sentences have not proven effective in deterring crime. The "persistent offender" syndrome is simply proof positive that we are not achieving rehabilitation in our correctional facilities. Until Washington lawmakers take a good look at our sentencing laws, investigating the wisdom and the effectiveness of them, repealing or modifying them, we will continue to have a costly increase in our prison populations contributing to the continued growth of budget deficits and the ever present unappreciated increases in our taxes.
The sheer number of people in prisons and the huge costs, both financially and socially, should be enough to not only justify but to mandate serious criminal justice reform.
Shirley White
Port Townsend


No new taxes, please
I am very disappointed in all of you that voted to raise the sales tax. This was the wrong thing to do. And it is was not the right time to increase the sales tax.
If the city of Sequim wants to raise extra money for streets, then the council needs to cut programs elsewhere. I think they should cut the city manager's salary (does not need to make over $100,000), the police department, because Sequim does not need 19 sworn officers for the amount of people that live in here. That just isn't right.
Noelle Levesque
Sequim


Judge's actions questioned
A local District Court judge's actions during a hearing recently, to me make a mockery of the court system.
Did Judge Rick Porter actually travel to Sequim to try and convince Sequim to not install a local judiciary in their own jurisdiction?
I was under the illusion that the job of a judge was to look at the facts of a case, allow in only legal evidence, make a legal decision based on a statute, to not have different standards for each litigant and not violate a litigant's constitutional rights.
I think even a judge would agree with that statement.
It is not Sequim's obligation to bring the $2.5 million deficit created by the county and courts into balance.
I have or had no beef with any judge during the third Superior Court judge request, it was about cost. Guess what, now the county is 2.5 in the hole, partly because of that third judge.
Sequim's issues are Sequim's issues, and the initial costs for their municipal court will level off as their leadership has explained so well.
I support Sequim's position.
Mr. Porter stated during that hearing, "I have no dog in this hunt." Why then did he even travel to Sequim and then complain because his court, that he claims is in the black, will lose the filing fees?
Mr. Porter has another dog in this fight, being well aware that at the district level, like Judge Doherty who lasted two terms, Porter will face a challenger in 2010. By having a second judge appointed, his incumbency may be safe.
Scott Collins
Port Angeles


Rest in peace
I live in the Carlsborg area and am relieved and thrilled that two of our county commissioners, Steve Tharinger and Mike Chapman, used zoning facts and citizen input with good shakes of fairness and logic to vote no for the conditional use permit of Linde's high volume crematory in Carlsborg. This result turns the tide for the crematory and I hope that is the end of the issue. You, Steve and Mike, have given the residents of Carlsborg comfort again in living in this lovely neighborhood. Thank you!
Molly Robertson
Sequim
 
  
Thank you, commissioners!
The Clallam County board of county commissioners affirmed the position of those who argued that the proposed crematory would be inconsistent with existing zoning laws, the county's vision for Carlsborg and the Comprehensive Plan that lays out that vision.
We argued that hearing examiner Christopher Melly not only erred in his decisions but also overlooked existing laws. Clallam County Code, as we understood it, is very specific about the need to consider the interests of those who made Carlsborg their home and those who invested in it. Commissioners Mike Chapman and Steve Tharinger agreed with our belief.
Mr. Tharinger argued against Commissioner Mike Doherty's efforts to defer the entire issue before him to the Olympic Regional Clean Air Agency, a body that is not accountable to local voters. Mr. Chapman could not understand why Mr. Melly would ignore Washington state statutes that clearly link crematories to cemeteries, which are banned in the Carlsborg light industrial zone.
In the end, we are thankful to the two commissioners who held on to the vision for a vibrant neighborhood and listened to the voices of surrounding businesses and residents.
Dayhawk Kim
Sequim


What water rights?
Wake up everybody! I wrote a letter to the editor about three months ago warning of the coming regulations to our private wells we own. However, this is yet another instance where the public will not get involved until it's too late or at least causes a lot of damage.
Here is the basic problem. Under the guise of saving the fish in the rivers, the Department of Ecology, tribes and the county have been piping ditches for the past five or so years. We the taxpayers have funded this project without our permission. To no surprise we are seeing wells drying up all over the valley. In the past four years the cost to dig a new well has increased from $25 per foot to $100 per foot. A typical 100-foot well now costs $10,000.
These lawmakers seemingly have no clue how water (got) to the Dungeness Valley to begin with. I wonder if these guys were never invited to the Irrigation Festival that originally generated abundant water in the valley. Misinformation is being spread about the amount of water really being used. Some proponents of this plan stated in a prior article that the average household uses 4,000 gallons per day. Really? Have these stats been fact-checked?
New rules are being drawn up to further regulate our private wells. It may not be good enough soon to drill until we hit water. New regulations may mandate up to 400 feet for a new well that would reach an aquifer they feel would not affect the rivers. That would cost a homeowner $40,000 for a new well.
Of course, the push is to get all of us on municipal water, which we do not have access to. Again Seattle trying to force its lifestyle on use on the peninsula. The studies for the effect on the river are at best guesses, yet we are asked to pay a price now for something that might not be an issue.
Again government is causing a problem drying up the water supply and now they offer a solution. Are you mad yet? We need to start asking questions today. Is this why we live in Sequim? Even if you are not on a well, this affects your life.
Nathan Funston
Sequim