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Question of the Week Should Enumclaw allow the sale of recreational marijuana within the city limits? To vote in this week’s poll, see www.courierherald.com
The Enumclaw Courier-Herald • Page 6
In Focus
See ELFERS, Page 7
Yes: 0% No: 100%
Wednesday, April 16, 2014 • www.courierherald.com
Prop 1 not a great Letters Buckley sees the idea for Enumclaw Hoping logic, does what’s right; “Save buses and fix roads in ALL of King County”, the campaign ad we received in the mail strongly states. Unfortunately, this ad doesn’t tell the whole story for Enumclaw. There’s much, much more of a backstory that you need to consider before voting on Proposition 1. The reason that Proposition 1 is up for a vote on the April ballot is the utter frustration of the King County Council with the state Legislature. The Legislature has been unable to pass a comprehensive transportation bill, again. Roads and transportation are really issues that belong to the state, but polarized partisan politics have again and again blocked any bill from Rich Elfers getting through both Columnist houses of the legislature. The County Council finally decided that if the roads were to be fixed and Metro Transit was not going to have its services cut, something had to be done. Proposition 1 was their answer. For most of King County, Proposition 1 is a good solution. It just isn’t the best answer for Enumclaw. Here’s why: Reason 1: Enumclaw City Councilman Mike Sando, city representative on the Suburban Cities Association, told me, “We still will get Metro cuts whether we vote yes or
LAST WEEK: Do you support King County’s Prop. 1, which would raise taxes to support transit and roads?
also, vote against Prop 1 Great job, Enumclaw City Council and administration, in dealing with the serious mistake the past city council and or administration made not taking care of their business with Enumclaw’s gas company. Councilmen Dickson and LeFleur went above and beyond standing up for the citizens of Enumclaw in this matter. The special council meeting got pretty complicated with numbers f lying all over the place but what it came down to was this: let’s say you wanted to buy a house and your good buddy talks you into buying a duplex that he can live in and pay rent for as long as you own the house. You paid for the house and all the appliances and furnishings for your buddy and some years later he decides he doesn’t want to live there anymore and sells some of the stuff on the inside. The duplex is going to need money invested in the worn out house but you were stupid
enough not to collect enough rent from your buddy to maintain and recoup the money you invested. Your buddy sold most of the interior appliances and furnishings that you paid for and now you need him to pay you some of that money from the sale so you don’t lose money doing them a favor. It’s really that simple. The contract that Enumclaw has with Buckley states they need to share in these costs to maintain and operate the gas line. Buckley didn’t and now wants to sell its gas company to PSE leaving Enumclaw hanging with the bill. Hopefully Buckley will see the logic and do what’s right. Also, I sure hope voters are not ignorant enough to vote for King County Proposition 1 on this coming election. WDOT and KCDOT have wasted the taxpayers money by the tens of millions of dollars and more likely the hundreds of millions and do not deserve more of the money we earn. And how many times do the voters needs to say no to higher car tab fees before the stinking politicians stop giving us the finger while doing what we told them not to do? Ted DeVol Enumclaw
Marijuana not harmless, city council should not allow sales in town The recent town meeting and a subsequent letter to the editor have me wanting to share some thoughts on, among other things, fact and emotion. As was recently reported, the March 10 town meeting about marijuana consisted almost solely of folks like me voicing their desire not to see recreational marijuana for sale here in Enumclaw. When it seemed everyone interested in doing so had made their pilgrimage to the podium one last person stepped up. He prefaced his comment with a claim of being unbiased which, in spite of seeming quite unlikely, isn’t what I’d like to take up. It was his imploring of the council to leave emotion out of their decision and instead focus on the facts that I would like to speak to. First, it seems fairly obvious that if they were seeking fact the city council would have sought experts. It was public opinion they were after since it cannot be assumed that just because Enumclaw voters helped legalize marijuana, they want to see it for sale on their own main street. That being said, I would like to chal-
See LETTERS, Page 7
Vandals too much for public art Volume 114 • Wednesday, April 16, 2014 • No. 31
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Wally’s World Wally DuChateau Columnist
for the lapse of memory. The work was rather weakly constructed of lightweight bronze and iron. It was damaged when it arrived, but we accepted it anyway. Some city utility employees made the necessary repairs and mounted it on a cement slab at the strategic corner. From the get-go, the thing sparked a copyright controversy, but neither myself nor people at this newspaper office seem to remember any of the details. Apparently, as best I recollect, the squabble arose because more than one replica of the sculpture might have been poured; that is, there may have been a dupli-
cate somewhere else in the world. Perhaps more than one. Over the years, vandals kept breaking parts off the work. (As noted, it wasn’t that solidly built.) In one case, the boy’s trumpet was broken off; in another, the drumstick. Who would have done this is anybody’s guess. I suspect some 13- or 14-year-old fellows who were full of raging hormones – you’ll probably recall how it was – and couldn’t “get no satisfaction” so they directed their frustration at the nearest, convenient target. Whoever was responsible didn’t take the fractured pieces with them, but just left them on the ground and, once again, city employees would have to weld it back together. At any rate, the statue was finally damaged so badly it couldn’t be patched up so “Boys In the Band” was simply torn down and discarded. There really wasn’t anything else you could do with it. And so it goes.
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You’ll probably recall that sculpture at the corner of Porter Street and Griffin Avenue in front of City Hall. “Boys In the Band” I think it was called. Well, in case you haven’t noticed, it’s gone. And the fact that you may not have noticed seems to suggest how significant it was in the general scheme of things. Indeed, according to Gary LaTurner, Enumclaw’s cultural director, the work was never created as a first-class piece of public art. Instead, it was merely a relatively cheap work of “garden art.” (The city was short of funds when it was purchased.) Personally, I always felt it was a little bit silly, but cute in a playful kind of way. Though I couldn’t find anyone who remembered the name of the sculptor, some people offered to research the issue and find out. However, I didn’t think it was important enough to pursue. The sculptor was Taiwanese, which may account
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