To The Editor
January 5, 2009
By Administrator
Reflecting on 2008
Thank you to everyone who helped reader make it through the year
It is the eve of New Year’s Eve. I am sitting at the Issaquah Library, contemplating the year 2008. It has been a challenging year — a year full of friendships, growth, family and personal issues, and health crises, all rolled into one.
I have to say that although the year has not been my favorite one for a variety of reasons (many of the reasons being related to the news of a brain tumor I received in April), I have to say the blessings have far outweighed the pains.I have been blessed again and again with the most amazing, loving family any one person could ever have. My brothers and sons have done somersaults to help keep me on my feet and out of the hospital. Thank you. Thank you also to my mother who doted on me month after month as I recovered from brain surgery.
Then, my friends. Wow. So many cards, calls, visits, food deliveries and then, the latest was an amazing group of people who fed my animals when I could not get to my house, and a complete stranger who offered a beautiful home to live in for free, as long as we needed — the list goes on and on. The medical personnel here who patched me back together is also to be thanked.
Let me just say, thank you. Issaquah is full of angels, and they have taken me under their wings for the past eight months. I am eternally grateful for all of my wonderful friends and family. Thank you for your love and prayers. I am also eternally grateful for all of you angels out there who stepped out of the woodwork to help a fellow person. Bless you and the best to all of you in 2009. Happy New Year.
P.S. I am going back to work next week. I can’t wait to see all my wonderful colleagues, friends, parents and students. Give me a holler in the halls of Clark Elementary School, OK?
Mary Rusk, Issaquah
Clark Elementary School teacher
Southeast Bypass
Call for council supporters to step down is short sighted, narrow minded
Several weeks ago, a letter to the editor chastised several council members for their position on the proposed Southeast Bypass and then suggested that they step down from public office, as their opinion was unworthy of continued public trust.
I was shocked by this narrow-minded and shortsighted opinion. Apparently, the writer does not believe in free public debate or any difference in opinion. Science is not the issue regarding building the bypass.
Regarding highway design, a roadway’s capacity is a function of the number of flow interruptions and the speed limit. Currently, Issaquah-Hobart Road has seven stoplights in the northbound direction and five in the southbound direction. In addition, there is a 25 mph speed limit through most of Issaquah. These factors severely limit the flow of traffic through Issaquah and are the primary limiting factors on the road.
A limited access, divided two-lane road, similar to the old Alderwood Bypass near Lynnwood, could easily move the current traffic around Issaquah. Everyone would benefit from this alternative, especially old town Issaquah. At some later date, as population demands resulting from the effects of the urban growth boundary are felt, the road could be widened to four lanes.
Steve Carter
Issaquah
Criminal justice system
It is time for an overhaul of our crowded correctional facilities
Our correctional facilities are overcrowded with people who are there due to drug/alcohol addictions and mental illness. Some 25 percent of those incarcerated are serving time for drug offenses, and many, many others are convicted of crimes directly related to their expensive habits.
It’s important to help those in need. A compassionate society should recognize that alcoholism, addiction and mental illness go hand in hand, and that these afflictions are in fact diseases. We spend billions of dollars building prisons to incarcerate these sick people while they sink deeper into depression and hopelessness.
They cannot be punished into sobriety or sanity. It is definitely time for criminal justice reform.
Katie Bosbyshell
Seattle
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