Justice for White Salmon

Sometimes I get so annoyed with short sighted people. Okay, more than sometimes. And I try to keep my political opinions in a separate place, not at the Pahk. But this is a local non partisan fury.

I know times are tough. I know there's not a lot of money in the town coffers. But for the love of Pete, can our city council use their heads for something besides hat racks (thought I'd throw in some Larryisms)? Honestly, if we lived in the city limits, one of us would be trying to unseat one of these guys. Alas, we are just outside the city line, though we get our water, police and fire response from White Salmon. If a town of 2500 can't get their act together, we are all doomed.

Here's the short story. More details here. White Salmon has a police dog named Justice. He is here be the grace of a grant, arriving in Sept 2009 to much fanfare. The city council, who basically forced the chief to resign, now want to eliminate Justice, who has proven his worth as a great back up officer and even caught a criminal. Which still caused issues with the council, warranting another editorial smack down in the local paper.

The mayors of White Salmon and Bingen want the dog. The Bingen-White Salmon Police Department wants the dog. We The People want the dog, enough to open a bank account in which to put donations to cover Justice's upkeep. The Police Dept. is short handed as it is. The dog is an excellent partner. The County Sheriff's budget has been cut, so don't look to the County for more coverage. What are these guys thinking? Or drinking... easy on that tea, fellas.

Anthony Coulter stands alone on the council in support of Justice. Good for him! Stay strong!

One councilman, Bob Landgren, says he wants to hear more from the public. He says there is so much more to this that we poor huddling masses don't understand. Please, fellow citizens in the Bingen/White Salmon area, let Bob hear from you. And cc the rest of the gang while you're at it. And don't forget to thank Anthony. Here are their emails:

Anthony Coulter anthonycoulter@lavabit.com
Bob Landgren vanguardnursery@yahoo.com
Mark Peppel mhpeppel1669@gorge.net
Richard Marx richardmarx@embarqmail.com
WS Manager - Pat Munyan PatM@ci.white-salmon.wa.us
WS Mayor- David Poucher Mayor@ci.white-salmon.wa.us

The next city council meeting is Wednesday, March 16th. Round table at 5pm, meeting at 6pm at the fire station. Pass the word around to everyone you know. Make some signs. Be there.

Stand up for Justice.