Letters to the editor — April 8, 2020

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Keep yourself, others safe with distancing

Ever since the stay-at-home orders have been in effect, I have been going into town from my home in Sunland, one day a week to buy food. I’ve been doing my best to follow the new rule of at least 6 feet between people.

On Tuesday, March 31, I went into town to Safeway. I really wasn’t expecting to see a lot of people there; oh, but I was wrong. To my surprise and sadness, I could not believe how many people and families bringing children into the store were there … so many people that it was hard to keep any distance between each other.

I got what I just needed quickly and got out not wanting to spend any more necessary time than needed.

It has been shown, here in our own state, that during this time social distancing has been working to slow this virus down.

I’m writing to ask you to please share with your readers again the very dire importance of following the rules so that we can get past this time of sorrow and painful circumstances. Please reiterate that everybody needs to do their part and stay home more.

Julie Faas

Sequim

Thanks for the community support

Peninsula Friends of Animals thanks our community for the generous donations of dog and cat food for our Emergency Pet Food Bank to assist the needy animals in our community whose owners have been affected by loss of revenue due to the COVID-19 crisis. Your response has been overwhelming and most appreciated.

For information on our rescue, spay/neuter and community outreach programs, check our website at www.safehavenpfoa.org or call 360-452-0414, x2.

Dannette Grady

Executive Director, Peninsula Friends of Animals

Sequim/Port Angeles

Take care with your donations

To all those wonderful helpers sewing masks, gowns, and helping to calm those that are vulnerable, thank you!

My concern is the washing of those items and the pre-washing of your fabric, it is not necessary and may actually cause harm. There are groups that are asking for sheets that are used to make into personal protective equipment (PPE); this fabric has been washed several times, if it was used.

Also, your choice of detergent may contain fragrance and dyes that are actually harmful to the wearer; for this reason I suggest not pre-washing any fabric even new at the store, as the fabric will not shrink enough to render the item too small.

Please ensure that all items made are taken to the hospital for washing their detergents are allergen-free as required by the Department of Public Health.

Your good intentions may result in a asthmatic person having an attack because of fragrance in your detergent on the mask or garment you made.

Carolyn Triebenbach, Pegasus Cleaners

Sequim

Worth the disruption?

Recently looking in an internet search engine I determined that during the winter of 2018-2019, 61,200 Americans died from influenza. Our economy and way of life were not disrupted; it was just the damned flu.

Now we have this exotic coronavirus which has to date killed fewer than 2,000 Americans and American life is on hold. I don’t get it. Since when has it been a good idea to give up living for fear of dying?

Now a response to “Term inspires racism” (Letters to the editor, Sequim Gazette, March 25, page A-15):

Did or did not our present mass illness originate in the Wuhan province of China? If it did, what’s racist about saying so? Also China is a country, not a race; Asian is a race.

The winter of 1957-1958 saw the spread of the Asian flu pandemic (yes, it originated in China). There were no cries of racism and we didn’t shut down the country because of it.

Our country is presently dealing with a flu bug that originated in the Wuhan province of China, that is identifying a place of origin, not racism.

In my opinion, the hegemony of modern progressive liberalism is the actual scourge besetting our society today.

Ethan Harris

Sequim

Thanks for the perspective

Your “Help in a time of coronavirus” column (Sequim Gazette, April 1, page A-12) was very uplifting, while striking a cautionary and constructive note in this time of anxiety.

And this, my first letter to an editor (who just happens to be my son!), is sent to congratulate you on sending positive energy to all the Gazette’s readers. May all who read your column take encouragement from your message and contribute what they can to relief efforts.

We are truly all in this together.

Gini Dashiell

Bremerton

Editor’s note: Thanks mom!

Keep Sequim clean

Roadsides are littered now and it’s getting worse. The other day I put on some gloves and grabbed two trash bags and walked down our road. It took 20 minutes and both were filled.

Some of the trash was envelopes that mailbox robbers had tossed. Mailboxes are occasionally left open and emptied by thieves on our Sequim county road, and the junk mail is tossed into the ditches and shrubbery.

With all of the immediate health concerns, our roadside trash removal crews don’t seem to be around. So, for us that are “sheltering at home” and taking walks, picking up trash is a good way to feel like you are contributing to the community as well as keeping nature “natural.”

I remember a time before litter laws, where people tossed garbage out of the cars while traveling. It was so common, people gave it no thought. It was normal behavior in Seattle and elsewhere. Then a big “Don’t be a Litterbug” campaign halted that, especially when the request became a law with penalties.

When I was collecting the roadside trash, I was thanked by some kind folks who were driving by. It was rewarding to be of service to our community and nature, and just a bit of work picking up the garbage can make a big impact.

Beauty is always all around, and we can work together to keep Sequim beautiful.

Sally Harris

Sequim

For everyone’s sake, bag your canine’s poop

While we are supposed to stay home, getting outside for fresh air is OK and so is walking the dog. On my daily morning walks, I can’t count the number of dog poop bags left beside the trail. Better yet, the dog poop bags that are flung into the prickly vines that hang there for display.

It is unsightly and disrespectful to others that are simply there to walk the Dungeness Dike Trail for a variety of reasons. It’s your responsibility as a dog owner to bag the excrement and dispose of it properly, instead of leave it for others to see or maybe walk in.

The problem is growing and getting way out of control and a violation to Mother Nature. On a warm day, the stench of the bagged poop sitting in the sun smells, but I know you dog owners really don’t care what others think, as you continually do this without correcting the problem.

Solve the problem — bag your dog poop and carry it out, keeping the trail clean for others to enjoy.

Todd Katke

Sequim