Resurrect Towne Road, ‘vital’ community link

Picture a 38-foot wide, barren, chunky gravel roadbed. It ranges from 500 feet to half a mile from a river that can’t be seen nor heard. Unleashed pets and piles of dog feces far outnumber any visible wildlife.

This is the current state of the unfinished, half-mile section of Towne Road that opponents are pushing to ban through vehicle traffic. This levee is not the idyllic nature path that people are promoting.

The argument that this road needs to remain closed for walking is misleading. Never mind the numerous miles of trails on the Olympic Discovery Trail, in Robin Hill Park and elsewhere.

Just west of Towne road there are nearly two miles of vehicle-free, new levees meandering through open farmland connecting walkers to the river’s edge. This is the designed and completed pedestrian-specific recreational area that proponents the Towne Road closure are failing to mention. The paths exist today and are open for public use, regardless of any future paving.

People want to stop the reopening of Towne Road with the argument that a wide roadbed should become a walking trail.

This is a misguided and inappropriate argument that could erase a vital link for an entire community.

I’m in disbelief that county commissioners would halt such a massive project to entertain this notion.

Doug Miner

Jamestown

Pressuring our politicians

You know, I’m really getting tired of our elected representatives’ inability to function as… well… our elected representatives. And all members of congress, irrespective of party, are equally responsible.

Quite frankly, their continual blame-gaming, scape-goating, and attention-seeking posturing looks like an attempt to avoid making the hard decisions required of a mature governing body and, truly, this is nothing less than a dereliction of duty and a disservice to the electorate.

The most important of these “hard decisions” include those required to fund those government functions that ensure that the administration performs to the benefit of the citizenry and, sadly, this is not happening. In fact, if they don’t get off their collective butts, the government may shut down.

After some thought, I formulated a plan that would compel them to focus on the nation’s problems and develop logical solutions in a reasonable time instead of simply preening and posturing before their supporters.

Firstly, temporarily relocate all 535 members of congress to a large field, house them in military pup tents, provide them with a large communal tent in which to conduct the nation’s business, and allocate them 3 sandwiches and a gallon of water per day.

And, also, grant them access to 50 porta-potties.

After a week of congressional non-action, half of the porta-potties will be removed and, shortly after that, I suspect that the budget will pass.

But, if it takes longer than that, we’ll know what our politicians are full of … both figuratively and literally …

Dick Pilling

Port Angeles

Roadside danger

When we moved to Spath Road in 1947, we girls were told to be very careful walking the road, the bar was open.

The bar is gone but the road is still a danger. It is a really wee alley. No painted line down the center. And a 25-mile-an-hour speed limit, for those who live and work in the area.

I was walking east to west. Along the grass on the north side, I saw a car coming in my direction on the north side. I moved over as much as I could without being in the ditch. The car was coming; why so close?

I looked up and over the hood. There were two hoods. Nice shiny, newer broad hoods. They both disappeared at once, one east and one west. No I do not know who or what make, or how many riders.

As I think now, they must have been electric cars.

Joan Ritchie

Sequim