Letters to the Editor

The Editor:
I would like to thank the Blaine city council and local citizens for their vision for the airport. Now is the time for unity… as was voiced by both sides prior to the recent decision.
This decision has not only enhanced the status of Blaine and maintained the airport as an important part of your transportation system, but it is a critical part of your safety infrastructure.
In times of emergencies of catastrophic proportions, it is the small airports that are the lifeline to area hospitals. During events when time is of the essence, a local airport can shave life-saving minutes off of the transport to critical care facilities.
Again, now is the time for the council to unite Blaine towards a better future.
Jim Smith, state president
Washington Pilots Association
Lynnwood

The Editor:
We are outraged; Rick Larsen needs to get his facts straight! It was Doug Roulstone, a 27-year veteran, who brought Secretary of Veterans Affairs Nicholson to northwest Washington to discuss the much needed veterans clinic in our area with the Chairman of the Combined Veterans. Not Rick Larsen! These veterans have been fighting for a NW Veterans Clinic since 2002. Larsen didn’t find the time or inclination in over three years to even meet with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. It was Doug Roulstone who worked directly in the Base Realignment and Closure process.
Doug Roulstone wrote the Military Assessment and later flew to Washington, D.C. (twice) to defend it at the Pentagon to keep Naval Station Everett open. Rick Larsen was absent for all the meetings – but did show up for the photo op.
Our nation’s security obviously isn’t a high priority to Rick Larsen as he recently voted against building 700 miles of fence along our southern border to keep illegal aliens and potential terrorists out of our country. We can’t take a nail clipper on an airplane, yet Rick Larsen wants to keep our borders open and supports illegal aliens’ ability to acquire a driver’s license.
We have tough times in this country and we need a representative who can be depended on to protect the security of this nation and our families. Not one who only sees the value of a photo op.
Aren’t you tired of politicians pandering to public opinion and smearing the records of others? If you want a leader who will stand firm and work to make the right choices, join us and vote: Doug Roulstone for U.S. Congress! boydnboyd@earthlink.net
Matthew and Christina Boyd
Custer

The Editor:
Have you ever heard the saying “it is safer to be in an airplane than it is to be driving a car?” This is only true if you are comparing large airliners to automobiles. In fact according to the National Transportation Safety Board the odds of being killed on a single trip in a large airliner are 52.6 million to one, and the odds of being killed on a single trip in an automobile are 7.6 million to one.
It’s the small general aviation airplanes that have the most dangerous track records. The odds of being killed on a single trip on a small general aviation airplane are 73,187 to one. If those numbers don’t wake you up, in 2006 there were 998 general aviation accidents in the United States and only 68 accidents involving large air carriers.
In August of this year there were 196 general aviation related accidents. I didn’t pull these numbers out of the sky they are available online at www.planecrashinfo.com and I feel it is important that our community realize that general aviation airports are not nearly as safe as they claim to be.
Most all of the accidents are related to pilot error and most of them occur during take off or landing. I recently read a letter from Dick Vanderyacht and he pointed out that many years ago the Blaine Airport was not surrounded by a school and shopping center but it sat in a large 30-acre field with nothing around it. I decided to go online and check out the track record for general aviation and as the numbers above show the Blaine Airport is literally an accident waiting to happen.
I am not all that familiar with the history of the airport. I moved to Blaine two years ago and look forward to my son eventually graduating from high school in Blaine. I have followed the debate over the airport and it seems like airport supporters and airport opponents are debating the economic impact of airport expansion versus airport closure. Let’s ask them to put public safety as their top priority.
Michael Farrell
Blaine

The Editor:
I have just mailed a letter to the Washington State Patrol as follows: I live in Blaine and cross Highway 543 at the H Street intersection about once a day. If something doesn’t change there is going to be a fatality before the improvements are completed.
Too many trucks after clearing customs come down 543 at excessive speeds, too many ignore orange signals and too many times roar through the red light.
I’ve been driving 60 years and know to make sure all vehicles are stopped before I proceed on the green. Some younger person or someone on a cell phone isn’t going to see that truck ignoring the red light and is going to get broadsided. A lower speed limit and a police presence would help to save a life at that intersection.
Jim Carmack
Blaine

The Editor:
The family of Frida and Gisli Gudjonson want to express their heartfelt thanks to Bruce Wolf and his steering committee and volunteers for their vision and commitment to the Vigil Project.
What a beautiful sculpture Robert McDermott envisioned. Jan and Andrew were wonderful models. Thank you all!
We are so glad we journeyed to Blaine to enjoy the tribute to our ancestors. It was very nostalgic as I envisioned our families’ first day in Blaine, November 14, 1944. Then began the happiest years. The area reminded dad of his homeland. I must say how the town never looked lovelier and we do miss the familiar businesses and faces, too many to mention but time marches on and my family is so thankful to everyone who make this event possible and it’s an honor to be a part of the ongoing project. Welcome Robertas as an honorary Icelander.
Christine (Gudjonson) Belter

The Editor:
It’s time for every voter to wake up and smell the coffee. We have serious problems in this country and we need serious people, like Doug Roulstone to solve them.
I, like many of you, am disappointed with what we have in Washington D.C. However, there is hope on the horizon and that hope is Doug Roulstone. Roulstone, a Navy captain who has a 27-year career in the military.
We need a representative with military experience. Someone who understands the problems associated with the front lines, threats of war - protecting you and me. Doug Roulstone is a small business owner; his opponent is a career politician. We need someone who has experienced the problems many small business owners face. We need Doug Roulstone - not an incumbent who is mainly interested in raising his own salary (above the military raise hike) and photo ops. If ever we needed change, we need it now! The National Federation of Independent Business, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Conservative War Veterans, Washington State Farm Bureau and others endorse Doug Roulstone. Wake up! There is hope, so vote!
Eileen Sobjack
Custer

The Editor:
I was one of the kids that grew up on “old 99” and went to school at both Custer and Blaine with Ray Bice. One Saturday we organized a football game at Custer – not school approved – and when I rode my bike as far as Ray’s house, he was just coming out with his Palomino (I think) pony. He said if you’d like to ride my horse to school, I’ll ride your bike. I was in 7th heaven, said, “Yes,” and played cowboy for the next four miles ... only problem was I wasn’t used to riding and when we got to school, both my legs were so weak, I could barely walk and had to sit out the first half.
Needless to say, I rode my bike home. As adults, we didn’t see much of each other, just at the Custer school reunions in Ferndale where I learned of the great, and much-needed job Ray was doing at the small cemetery on California Creek. What a great thing to do. I, too, am very sorry to hear about your health problems Ray and wish you all the best – we’ll keep you in our prayers.
George (Scotty) Sanders
Sun City, Arizona

The Editor:
Thank you so much for the generous publicity coverage given to the Vigil Project. I think it was largely due to your efforts that Vigil received the great acceptance and reception that it did by the people of Blaine.
Bob McDermott
Blaine

Letters Policy
The Northern Light welcomes letters to the editor; however, the opinions expressed are not those of the editor. Letters must include name, address and daytime telephone number for verification. Letters must not exceed 350 words and may be edited or rejected for reasons of legality, length and good taste. Thank-you letters should be limited to 10 names. A fresh viewpoint on matters of general interest to local readers will increase the likelihood of publication. Writers should avoid personal invective. Unsigned letters will not be accepted for publication. Requests for withholding names will be considered on an individual basis. Only one letter per month from an individual correspondent will be published.

Please send your letter to:
225 Marine Drive, Blaine, WA 98230 or fax 360/332-2777.
E-mail:editor@thenorthernlight.com

Letters Policy

The Northern Light welcomes letters to the editor; however, the opinions expressed are not those of the editor. Letters must include name, address and daytime telephone number for verification. Letters must not exceed 350 words and may be edited or rejected for reasons of legality, length and good taste. Thank you letters are limited to five individuals or groups. A fresh viewpoint on matters of general interest to local readers will increase the likelihood of publication. Writers should avoid personal invective. Unsigned letters will not be accepted for publication. Requests for withholding names will be considered on an individual basis. Only one letter per month from an individual correspondent will be published.

Please email letters to letters@thenorthernlight.com