Military
Traffic complaints were unpatriotic
Recently, when coming back from a quick business trip from Port Townsend to Kingston, my return was delayed for about 30 minutes as a Trident ballistic missile submarine passed through the Hood Canal Floating Bridge on its way to patrol. People got out of their cars to watch the ship make its transit.
Some of the wives of sailors on the boat had brought their young children to wave goodbye to Daddy as he left for the next 10 weeks. I was filled with pride watching this ship depart on another mission knowing what was in store for them based on my own service in the Submarine Force.
My pride turned to anger as I listened to the comments of people as they watched and waited. Several complained about the delay keeping them from getting to the mall to do some shopping, getting home or traveling to the airport for a family vacation. What an inconvenience for them to lose an hour out of their busy day waiting for the bridge to close. Little did they realize that the men in that submarine would be missing much more. These young men will be spending their Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and even Super Bowl Sunday gone without their family and loved ones. I am sure those children will miss their Dads watching them open their presents on Christmas Day.
For the last 45 years our sailors have been making patrols year round — they miss holidays, birth of their children, graduations, proms, ball seasons and so much more. All the time living a cramped environment that would be considered cruel and unusual punishment for a convicted felon.
With Thanksgiving coming up, those people should be thankful for the sailors who are willing to sacrifice so much of their time away from their families in the service of our country. I sure am. Being upset for a half an hour wait seems a little trivial.
Jeff Petersen
Kingston
Thank you
Support of Scouts food drive was great
On Nov. 15 and 16, Boy Scout Troop 1571 held a food drive at Central Market in Poulsbo. We would like to thank all those who donated food. We collected over 2500 pounds of food for Fishline and the First Lutheran Church’s food bank. We would especially like to thank Central Market and Edgren Hecker and Lemmon Insurance for their help.
Graham Peach,
Boy Scout Troop 1571
Poulsbo
Stice family article was very well done
You are to be commended for making the article on the STICE family a front page article. They are certainly deserving of that, even under normal circumstances.
I encourage people who know them, and those who don’t, to dig deep and provide whatever help they can to ease their plight. They are the kind of people who would be there to support any of us if we were to find ourselves in the same situation.
We have seen Michelle at basketball games over the years when my daughter and her sister played basketball against each other, and later when they played together. She is a blast in the stands, along with her parents. She was always exuberant when cheering for her team. And when the game is over she is always the first one to congratulate or console her sister and the other players, whether they won or lost.
She is a wonderful part of the North Kitsap community, as is her whole family, and she deserves any help that we can muster. So, good luck to Michelle, and to the whole STICE family.
Ric, Allyson and Ashley Davis
Kingston
Environment
City’s stormwater report was baloney
Tom Anderson forwarded me a copy of his letter. It spurred me to comment on an observation regarding Olhava reporting.
After the heavy rains (100-year-storm — or close to) the Herald report on the Olhava site stated that the detention ponds worked as they were designed to work. The report suggests there weren’t any problems at the site.
However, the issue with the “detention” ponds, was that if they operated as designed, the runoff would jeopardize Johnson and Dogfish creeks.
Photographs of these creeks during and after the rains showed this to be the case. Shortly after the rains, a stop work order was placed on the site. It is my understanding the order was issued due to a violation in erosion control. You would need to verify this with Andre in the Engineering Dept. In addition, the city continually sends the message that the Wal-Mart is a “done deal.” If that is so, why is the Wal-Mart permit (which was issued months ago) still sitting in Engineering? I realize there are many issues your reporting staff covers and I enjoy reading all the news in the area.
However, as you are aware, the city council will lose it’s most environmentally conscious member in January. It is my hope that the Herald will take a thorough and balanced stance on the reporting of environmental concerns.
Elizabeth Hutley
Poulsbo
Law enforcement
Highway 104 ticket was indeed unjust
On Oct. 24, the judge at Kitsap County Courthouse-Central dismissed my speeding ticket that was received on Father’s Day of this year. I wrote a letter to the editor in early July regarding how unfair these mass pullovers on SR104 eastbound in Kingston appear to an outsider of the community. I am from Issaquah, and on two occasions I have traveled to Silverdale to fight this ticket.
The reason the judge dismissed my ticket is because “the prepondence of the evidence” I collected, including photos and state law regarding the definition of “speed zone ahead” signs that appear in this location. The state parole has continuously used this location to deal out many speeding tickets — telling them that they are speeding in this zone when they are actually not. “Speed Zone Ahead — 25 mph” as defined by the Washington State Drivers Manual and DOT, gives the driver enough time to slow to the new speed without braking. The speed zone prior to this is 50 mph, so it is really easy to say that people are speeding. I found a newspaper article from the internet that on one day, 53 tickets were given at this location. At a minimum of $90 for each ticket, that is sure a lot of easy revenue for the state. If I lived in your community, I would be outraged by these illegal speed traps. I encourage you to write and complain to the state, because chances are you or your neighbor have received a ticket at this location.
JAMES PAPP
Issaquah
