Here’s who to target for deportation

Please deport the idiots.
JAMES TONGUE
Seaview

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‘It depends’ is the correct dike-breaching answer

I enjoy the always-articulate reporting of Nick Nikkila. However, I take issue with his guest column “Informal Poll Finds Opposition to Wahkiakum Dike Breaching” (April 2). Factual and well-written, the piece conveys the history and ins-and-outs of this issue. But its conclusions are based on a fatally flawed survey with unreliable results.
When Nick brought the questionnaire to Grays River Grange, I explained why it was not a valid poll. I later shared my further thoughts, along with my marked, but modified, ballot. He chose not to change the form, and has now come forward with a conclusion that would fail any test for objective public polling. Here’s why:
Nick wrote: “The objective of the poll was to create a form that contained unbiased instructions, outlined the main arguments both for and against the breaching of dikes and allowed individuals to indicate whether they approved or opposed dike breaching.” Fair enough — IF this were a black-and-white, either/or world, or issue. Nick fell into the logical fallacy known as a false dichotomy — setting up artificial conditions for a thumbs-up, thumbs-down decision, when the reality is much more complex. It’s like asking people whether or not they like dessert, or people, or the weather: who would not honestly answer “it depends?” Because most such answers in real life do depend upon many factors, not just “yes” or “no.” Mr. Nikkila neglected to give respondents an opportunity to check “it depends.” Four people wrote it in anyway (myself included), but most no doubt felt they had to go one way or the other, as instructed.
Now, many folks do, simply, oppose dike removal, for philosophical, ideological, religious, or other reasons. In rural country there is a strong feeling that the labors of the pioneers should not be obliterated. But as we know, when dikes no longer serve their original purpose, their removal can aid salmon and other wildlife and provide a market for fallow, otherwise unsellable lands. Nick’s one-dimensional effort no doubt means well, but it undersells the subtlety, complexity, and intelligence of both the land and its human occupants, and it should be regarded as such.
ROBERT M. PYLE
Grays River

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Research offers reassurance on WHH project

I have researched the experience of the firm that Pacific County Hospital District #2 is using for project oversight. The Healthcare Collaborative has extensive practice with healthcare facility evaluation, design, and construction in Washington and Oregon. The firm emphasizes medical renovations, medical planning, and adaptive reuse/renovation projects.
Healthcare design is very specialized and requires knowledge beyond regular design guidelines. Healthcare design must consider medical operations, specialized equipment, and most important — patient health.
Large construction projects have a reputation for going over budget. Several strategies will be used to mitigate this risk:
Ample contingencies — the proposed project budget includes contingencies in two line items: building construction and permits/construction management.
Use of General Contractor/ Construction Manager. A firm is selected early and agrees on a maximum allowable construction cost. This firm provides feedback during the design and acts as construction manager/general contractor during the construction. Designing with the knowledge of the contractor provides real-time cost estimates and offers ideas that help keep the project within budget.
Target-value design. The architects and engineers are given target amounts for every system. For example, if 100/sf is allocated for mechanical systems, this is used to inform the design from the beginning. Sometimes without that, designers have a habit of designing ‘heavy’ with the expectation of cutting back later.
Continuity of the team from start to finish — starting/stopping the design process is exceedingly difficult and adds costs.The Healthcare Collaborative has two hospitals under construction right now — Quincy and Moses Lake. Both are on schedule and under budget.
Quincy opens on May 21, 2025 to their first patient. This is a $55M project. Currently tracking $1M under budget and on time. All funds are from community bond vote.
Samaritan in Moses Lake — $225M project. On schedule to open next March 7, 2026. Currently there is $4M left in contingency (under budget), and on time. Funding includes voted bond and USDA loan.
This research showed me that this project, that is so important to our community’s future, will be quite unlikely to go over budget.
SHERRI MCDONALD, RN, MPA
Raymond

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Musk’s kids made Social Security mistake

My neighbor thinks that rampant fraud was ignored by the Biden administration because of all the lies Trump got away with during his State of the Union address.
Perhaps sharing that 150-250 year old people getting Social Security benefits were not “discovered” by Musk, but that Musk’s kids didn’t know that those ages were computer code for something else entirely, needs to be explained.
When I tried to explain the confusion about that to my neighbor, she walked away from me and finished our conversation on a sour note.
TERRI STAPLES
Ocean Park

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Proposition 1 is worth the investment

At Pacific County Voices Uniting, we believe that healthcare isn’t just a service — it’s the backbone of a thriving, healthy community. That’s why we’re supporting Proposition No. 1. This bond will help us build new healthcare facilities in North Pacific County that will serve our community for generations to come.
No one jumps for joy at the thought of higher taxes, and the tax breakdown in the bond language on the ballot can be confusing. So, I wanted to share the approximate increase for the average homeowner in Pacific County. For someone who owns a house appraised at
$350,000, the estimated tax increase will be about $38 per month, or
$455 per year. Over the 30-year life cycle of the bond, this would cost my family approximately $13,650. That’s the price of the first new car I ever bought, so I understand the significance of this ask.
However, I see this as an investment in our healthcare future. The long-term benefits are substantial, especially when we consider a healthcare system that will serve our next generations, just as my grandparents and parents paid for the current facilities.
Here’s a bonus: If you pay property taxes to Pacific County Hospital District 2, you can apply that amount as a Property Tax Credit toward any future hospital bills. This means you’re not only helping fund the new facilities, but you also get a reduction in your healthcare costs — a win-win!
But this measure is about more than just building a new healthcare facility. It’s about making healthcare more accessible, creating local jobs, and cutting down on those long drives to get medical attention. By investing in a new healthcare facility, we’re investing in a healthier community for generations to come.
I’m urging you to vote to approve Proposition No. 1.
BETHANY BARNARD
Executive Director, Pacific County Voices Uniting (PCVU)

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Support the local healthcare we need

My husband and I strongly support the Willapa Harbor Hospital bond. We know from our own personal experience the importance of having easily accessible, high-quality health care throughout our 40-plus years here on Willapa Harbor, whether when we were a young family with active children, or as adults dealing with chronic illness, or as we join the retired generation. A new facility will ensure that all of us — young and old — can receive the care we need without facing a long drive on the rough rural roads that surround us to overload the regional hospitals in Elma, Olympia, Centralia, or beyond.
Yes, we know, the cost of construction is very high, and the cost of building a medical facility will be significant. But we also know that costs go up over time, not down — so delaying this project will mean that the construction plan will have to be reduced even further for the same cost as now. Waiting means we will get less for our money — or that eventually we may not have a hospital here on Willapa Harbor at all.
Additionally, we know a new hospital will create jobs, attract good doctors and part-time specialists, boost the local economy, and enhance overall health outcomes for our entire community. The investment we make is an investment in our own health, in our own families, and in our own neighbors.
I urge my fellow residents to vote in favor of this bond proposal. By doing so, we can ensure that we all age with dignity and have access to the healthcare we need, right here at home.
NANCY and TONY MORRIS
Raymond

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Why protest? Here’s why

Our somewhat radical 80-something friend asked me to make a couple of signs for an Indivisible Protest in Long Beach the first Saturday of April.
I’m going to join in while wearing my Mike Pence ‘Too Honest’ hat. Rather than point fingers at any specific person or policy, I have decided to protest because there’s a need to do so. My signs will read: “Hands off! We protest the need to protest.”
I don’t know about you, but when in school I was taught that the Constitution stipulates three co-equal branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial.
I am not a constitutional scholar, but what you and I are now witnessing in real-time is an attempt by the executive branch to diminish or possibly destroy the judicial branch of government while most of those Republicans comprising the legislative branch are simply too intimidated to do anything about it. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has suggested that Congress could potentially eliminate federal courts as a response to judicial decisions that block President Trump’s policies. Whoa! Where’s the crown?
Why would a sitting president decide to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America”? Exactly what purpose did that serve since a whole lot of us will continue to refer to it by the name we were taught during our school years? This is just an example of the petty bullying and retribution our sitting president is concerned with.
Why protest?
The First Amendment is under attack, so just in case you haven’t read it lately, here it is:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
RALPH WARNER
Ocean Park

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Don’t cut the hearts of towns

We are deeply disturbed by the removal of federal funds for our libraries and museums.
Libraries are the most generous institutions; ours has been called “the heart of the town.” They offer knowledge and entertainment to all, regardless of station in life or ability to pay. How can that be considered wasteful? How could anyone consider it less important than giving our money to the uber-rich?
Please keep our intelligent institutions alive, fund them, treasure them.
ALEJANDRA SUAREZ

Ocean Shores

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Yes vote will help make north county great again

Barbara and I moved to Pacific County in 2015. We have heard time-and-again how “great Raymond and South Bend used to be.” Shops, businesses, restaurants — life was good. Then, apparently things started to deteriorate. Today, things aren’t quite the same. Upon moving here, Barbara and I immediately immersed ourselves in the community, doing our little part to improve our quality of life here. It is our expectation that north Pacific County will once again be a great place to live. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.
One of the things that will make this a greater place to live will be a new hospital. We have used the Willapa Harbor Hospital on numerous occasions — including one serious event. We have been treated with respect and professionalism on every occasion.
A state-of-the-art hospital will complete the package that we believe will continue to make north Pacific County a great place to live: Basic services with capable staffing to assess, to treat, and to refer to a next level of care.
We fully support the bonding for the new hospital, and hope all our friends will also.
PAUL DELAU and BARBARA HANNAH
Raymond

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Feds will be taking a look at bridge

This morning the National Transportation Safety Board announced a list of 60 bridges in the U.S. will be reviewed immediately for safety risks. The Astoria-Megler Bridge was included in this risk assessment. There could be major changes coming to the bridge due to safety concerns.
RICHARD CICERELLE
Ocean Park

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Shout out to county Commissioner Lisa Olsen

Lisa Olsen has performed her arduous tasks with a seriousness, a sense of responsibility, and a feeling for the gravity of the issues involved which deserves the highest praise.
Lisa never lets the prevailing opinion divert her from the course she thinks is right.
She has demonstrated her deep concern for the welfare of the constituents and employees of Pacific County by her unceasing service and devotion.
CARY and DIANE BERTRAM
Naselle

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Do your bond research and vote no

So, things are really heating up in our community regarding the upcoming Willapa Harbor Hospital bond. Lots of public comments out on Facebook and in the papers. Some folks are trying to make it personal instead of discussing facts. Posts and comments being removed from publicly owned pages. Really getting messy and unfortunate.
We can agree to disagree and we should. I respect those who want a new hospital. I want a new hospital as well, but my contention is, and always has been, it must be affordable. The present bond amount will be devastating for many in our community. The majority overwhelmingly voted this down last year and the hospital has ignored their will.
Do some research; take a look at what is currently under proposal in Olympia. Your property taxes and your cost of living will be increasing dramatically in the upcoming years. The hospital bond will just be adding a huge amount of fuel to an already out of control fire. Property assessments in our county will continue to climb. Road usage taxes will happen. Fuel taxes are going up. Electric car taxes are coming. Heck, some have even suggested our state introduce an income tax. And let’s not forget those tariffs and what they will do to consumer pricing. How much can you afford?
You have limited say with respect to many of these upcoming tax and cost of living increases. You have a direct say with respect to this upcoming hospital bond. This bond adds a huge amount to your property tax bill for 30 years. If this bond passes, expect your property taxes next year to increase by 20%-plus. Do the math, .do the research, vote your conscience.
JERRY BOWMAN
South Bend

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Shoalwater council supports Willapa hospital project

The Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribal Council is in full support of Proposition 1 — a bond to replace the aging healthcare facility in South Bend. Ensuring access to local healthcare is one important aspect of our commitment to supporting the Shoalwater Bay Tribe’s vision for a more resilient future.
Our community values essential services including healthcare, education, infrastructure, and climate resiliency. Our Tribe is taking many proactive steps to ensure the safety and longevity of our community.
We must stand together, protect our community, and ensure that our Tribe thrives for generations to come. A new healthcare facility will play a pivotal role in the economic well-being of rural communities, including North Pacific County.
We know the current facility is well past its functional capacity and needs structural, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical updating and replacement. The current campus is too small for expansion and is not designed to provide medical care in the 2020’s and beyond.
Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe has inherent sovereign governmental powers to protect and promote the health, safety, and/or general welfare of the people of the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe. We believe replacing the current healthcare facility in South Bend will support these goals, both for our Tribe and the greater community of North Pacific County.
Please support Proposition 1 on the April 22nd ballot.
SHOALWATER BAY TRIBAL COUNCIL