Letters to the editor
August 28, 2008
By Administrator
Dog Park
Ever since people began moving into the Snoqualmie Ridge development, I have heard that there was a division of sorts from the downtown residents. Perhaps the demands of the group wanting a dog park may contribute to this feeling.
sn’t it amazing that we have never had a dog park in the Upper Valley and, until the Ridge went in, there has never been a demand for one? I thought I would take this means to share how all of us folk have managed to raise dogs without a dog park.
First of all, before getting an animal, we make sure that we have the space to raise one. That would mean that a fence around our property would be a must. Of course that would mandate that we would have to have a shovel and bucket to poop-scoop every day. We also would purchase a collar and leash so we could take our pooch for a walk to get in some exercise. We would also take along a few plastic bags in case Fido would decide to do his thing on our walk. Yes, it is a little distasteful, but it’s gotta be done by someone, why not the pet owner?
Now here’s the big one: for fun, we would actually load our pooch into the car and go to a river or meadow where he could splash and run and chase after Frisbee, or anything else that is fashionable for a dog to run after. Sometimes, we would give our dog a bath after his outing, depending upon the venue.
To demand the city to supply you a dog park is so arrogant, I cannot even compute it. We folks downtown have not seen sidewalk or curb improvements for years. For that very reason, we have patrons of the newly opened steakhouse parking in areas that we use for driveways. Speaking of parking, there is no residential parking down here. So when you come down for dinner, you park in front of our houses. When we have company, they have to park sometimes a block away. I have often wondered how this would fly up on the Ridge.
Finally, until we can see some improvements downtown, and until we can pass a levy for our schools, the group demanding a dog park is barking up the wrong tree.
Sue Main,
Snoqualmie
I am writing to show my support for a dog park on Snoqualmie Ridge. The Ridge is about community, and amenities such as a dog park are critical in fostering that community. An off-leash area helps the community in many ways: dog parks encourage dog lovers to congregate and get to know each other, they keep the animals away from children and people who don’t like them and they help keep other public spaces free of pet waste. Finally, because an off-leash park is such a desirable amenity in a community, they improve our property values.
Erin Wilson,
Snoqualmie
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I was a little excited to know that my son and I might be mentioned in your paper. However, had I known how you would mangle what I actually said, I would have offered a polite, but blunt “No comment”. While visiting the new Twin Falls Middle School, one of your reporters (Laura Geggel) asked for a picture and to answer a few questions. When asked why we had decided to make the move from CKMS to TFMS (living in North Bend and being an eighth grader we had a choice to stay at Chief Kanim), I am misquoted as saying, “Because mom wasn’t going to drive you”. What I actually told her was that there would be no bus for my child and given the fact that I work, I would not be able to drive him to school (13.98 miles). I do not appreciate being presented to the community as an uncaring parent.
I only write this to insure this doesn’t happen to other parents in the future.
Tammy Blalock
North Bend