Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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Perhaps 2020 will be best described in history books as the year a virus from China caused a global pandemic, massive riots erupted across the country, the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum, and there was an attempt to rewrite American history - all leading to what is sure to be an interesting November at the polls. If you are like me, you've likely been trying to tune out the national media to retain a little bit of self-worth and delay the onset of manic...
This letter to the editor might trigger some folks to extreme discomfort. Today, as I was driving to Lincoln Hospital, I noticed a large sign posted just outside the parking lot that stated “Black Lives Matter, Believe It, Live it.” I fully support the individual (or group) right to free speech as enshrined in our Constitution and I also believe in vigorous debate without engaging in threats, violence or vandalism. Therefore, I feel the need to respond to this sign as it seems to be a command to the reader. Personally, I hol...
I was disheartened to learn of Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza’s dismissal of Gov. Jay Inslee’s order requiring facemasks. Heeding the advice of experts makes you wise, not a sheep. I have family in Odessa, and I have visited many times. I grew up in Chehalis and am now a graduate student of University of Texas-Austin. I have studied how airborne particles move around and do important research on air quality and environmental health. It is my profession to learn about air quality, and with that, airborne disease tra...
Teaching psychology for 20 years at Spokane Falls Community College was such a learning experience for me. I hope the students also learned a lot about the “scientific study of behavior and mental processes.” When teaching the section on evolutionary psychology, it was always interesting to ask the classes if anyone knew about the Darwin Awards. Sheepishly, some students, especially boys, would raise their hands, grinning from ear to ear. For those of you who don’t know, every year people are selected for so-called "Darw...
Since Gov. Inslee has decided to rule the eastern colonies of Washington by decree and considering the apparent acceptance of “free zones” in Seattle, perhaps it’s time to start calling ourselves the "East Washington Autonomous Zone." Terry L. Hoffman Davenport...
On July 4, 1975, America proudly celebrated its Bicentennial as the world’s greatest nation while Poland was a suppressed Soviet satellite state. Poles had no right to free speech, were hungry and impoverished. If you wanted a job, you played ball with Communist Party bosses. If you disagreed with their ideology, you likely were imprisoned. Poland was a rather bleak land which had not recovered from the German Blitzkrieg in 1939. Meanwhile, in Washington, the Business Week p...
Educators nationwide scoff at the idea of homeschooling children. Those in unions, especially those in the Washington Education Association in our state, say parents can’t provide the same educational opportunities at home as are available in public schools. A large part of their reasoning are social interactions. Indeed, those in the union have long argued social interactions are more important than allowing advanced students to move up a grade or substandard students from being held back. Even educators in our community c...
Planting and emergence progress for both corn and soybeans are currently ahead of the five-year average across the Midwest. But, still fresh in farmers’ minds is the 2019 planting season, which was severely delayed due to record-breaking precipitation that led to flooded fields and excess soil moisture. According to USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, on June 2, 2019, corn-producing states had completed only 67% of planting. In addition, NASS reported the soybean-producing states had only completed 39 percent. T...
In early June, the financial website WalletHub released its rankings of “Best and Worse State Economies” and Washington led the field of 51 as best by a healthy margin. WalletHub economists viewed the states from three key dimensions—-economic activity, economic health and innovation potential. Then the analysts from Dartmouth and Carthage colleges and the University of Texas-Austin looked a 28 key indicators of economic performance and strength when comparing all 50 state...
Are government agencies and big tech tracking your every move via your smartphone? The answer is maybe. Gov. Jay Inslee has repeatedly said the state is using smartphone data to track interactions and travel as they may relate to coronavirus exposure and spread. That data may include time, date, location and even a “marker” for each mobile device. Indeed, anytime your cellphone is turned on, it connects to towers for telephone calls or texting. Using three tower connections, i...
Whatever happened to governance of the people, by the people and for the people? We in Washington are now under martial law (according to U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr). This is tyranny. Who gave Gov. Inslee the power to keep our state in lockdown past the 30-day limit allowed by law? Or to send the National Guard out to arrest and incarcerate people? Or to force police officers to arrest citizens not complying with the governor's personal orders? Gov. Inlee has installed...
Due to the coronavirus, there are a lot of questions on what school will look like next fall. On social media, a number of memes suggest public schools will be very different. They often cite new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations. There’s no doubt public education will be very different in the fall. But at this point, the center’s guidelines are only guidelines. As such, there is no force of law behind them. What are some of the things the CDC is pushing? Rather than accept memes as gospel, I wen...
TVW recently interviewed the top budget writers in the Senate about the state’s outlook and the possibility of a special session. In one interview, Sen. John Braun (ranking member of Senate Ways and Means Committee) said the governor needs to re-open state employee contracts to cancel the 3% pay raises due July 1. In the other interview, Sen. Christine Rolfes (Senate Ways and Means Committee chairwoman) was asked if an income tax would be on the agenda for a special s...
Hospitals and clinics are now much better equipped and prepared with medication, antibody procedures and testing to help those infected with COVID-19. The warmer weather will slow down new infections. The severe restrictions - the four stages (guidelines) - need to be eased. Otherwise, there will be a lot more suicides and fatalities from frustration, depression, anger, road rage and shootings. Certainly, the sparsely populated areas (including most of Adams County) can move...
Monday, May 25, 2020, is when the U.S. celebrates Memorial Day this year. Once traditionally celebrated May 30, it has for several years been celebrated on the final Monday in May so that U.S. workers can enjoy a three-day weekend. Is it surprising, then, that many Americans use the day as a mini-vacation, getting a head start on summer fun by heading to the lakes, the mountains or seashore? All war veterans, however, are very aware of the real meaning of Memorial Day. They know that honoring the nation’s war dead p...
By now, it is apparent that, barring a miracle, a cure for COVID-19 will not happen soon; however, to make it a condition of removing the economic lockdown would be a catastrophic mistake. They must coexist. The shocking news that America’s unemployment rate skyrocketed to 14.7 percent as employers cut 20.5 million jobs last month is demoralizing. It is approaching Great Depression numbers. The bottom line is our country needs people working in safe surroundings. The fact is t...
Good timing on publishing the potato salad recipe Just last night I was craving German Potato Salad and was planning to look up a recipe in the morning, when The Record arrived in the mail. Each week I eagerly look forward to what Laura Estes has in store. This week to my glee, there it was! THE recipe. Thank you for your great food ideas. I’ve cooked up many of them, and they always me take me back home to Odessa. Julie Kissler-Buckland Santa Fe, N.M....
Medicaid began in 1965 as a safety-net health insurance entitlement for low-income families with children, the disabled, and some long-term care. The program is financed by both federal and state governments in sort of a 50/50 arrangement. In reality, poorer states receive a higher percent of federal money than richer states. Congress established the financial match program with the idea that state legislators would not increase the tax burden on their constituents. The entitlement would therefore stay small and be used for...
Voluntary must have a different meaning inside state government offices. On Tuesday, Gov. Jay Inslee and other partici- pants in his coronavirus press conference said par- ticipation in a statewide contact tracing program would be voluntary. Under the program, anyone who tests positive for coronavirus would be contacted by the Washington National Guard, state Department of Licensing employees or other so-called “health professionals” to determine an infected person’s whereabou...
By now, everyone in the state knows that there are a few counties that are being allowed to open their economies before others. Theses counties are even being allowed to open restaurant dining rooms—albeit to reduced seating. The handful of counties being allowed to open have populations of under 75,000 and none have had any new cases of COVID-19 in at least three weeks. In other words, they are “low risk.” Let’s keep it that way. Most of the counties opening up are on the...
Who can deny the beauty of a crisp fall day full of late-season sunshine and laughter in the air, as gorgeous crimson leaves twirl down to the ground from stately oaks, maples and other American hardwoods? Last Wednesday, at the potato giveaway in Ritzville, the air had many of those same elements — spring air still crisp enough for winter jackets, and sparks of laughter as neighbors came together to distribute a bountiful harvest of potatoes. The locally grown spuds were originally destined for area processors to turn i...
If you haven’t thanked a potato farmer today, you should. While the governor may consider farmers essential, his quarantine has destroyed the supply line to move farm products to consumers. The shutdown order that closed restaurants also took with it processing plants, the distribution chain and all the hard work Eastern Washington potato farmers had previously put into the ground. The result was on eye-sprouting display yesterday in Ritzville and this morning in Moses L...
The Davenport Times publishes letters to the editor of civic nature relating to area, state and national issues and politics. Letters should be limited to 250 words, and cited facts should be attributed to the source of information. Letters may not contain personal attacks, profanity or cite other media. Please keep letters to a single subject. We do not publish “thank you” letters; contact our advertising staff. Writers will be limited to one letter per month. No chain letters — either written by one person and signed by mo...
I was amazed and quite shocked when I read the opinion piece Constitutional republic or technocracy by Publisher Roger Harnack in the April 9 issue of The Davenport Times. He bases his argument on the First and Second Amendments, but ignores the Preamble to the Constitution, which creates the philosophy for the document. The Preamble states the document must provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and several other blessing for our nation. The body of the Constitution creates the way this is to be done....
Since Gov. Jay Inslee issued his "Stay Home, Stay Healthy" proclamation last month, Lincoln County has been scrambling to determine how to best balance paramount duties to provide for public safety, public health and county road functions. While we all want to stay safe, we want to do so in a manner that is the "least restrictive" to our constitutionally protected rights. While the governor's proclamation is aimed at protecting the public, I believe it does so in a way that...
