Kudos for the community support
The Sequim Prairie Garden Club wishes to give giant thanks to the community for their generous support of its Go Fund Me account which has currently accrued the sum of $19,840 towards the $35,000 goal.
Also, SPGC extends a big applause to the Sequim Gazette and Peninsula Daily News for their thorough coverage of the needs of Pioneer Memorial Park.
People residing in Sequim and in nearby communities have always proven to be caring and supportive of the needs of others.
Community spirit and support abounds on the Olympic Peninsula!
Sequim Prairie Garden Club members
Be ‘bucket fillers’
A child raising comment: Situation 1 — a child accidentally knocks over their glass of milk. Situation 2 — in anger, they strike the glass. Is this handled the same by the parents? No! Case 1, help clean up the mess. Case 2, take the child to a private place, discuss it, pray and ask God help them come up with a better reaction next time.
An apology is appropriate but not something forced by the parents, and child cleans the mess themselves. Hugs and reassurance of love for child is appropriate in both cases.
What is not appropriate in both cases are comments like, “You are always clumsy, careless and spilling stuff or breaking stuff. What is the matter with you? How come you can’t be like your sister/brother?”
I grieve when I see anyone hurt a child’s self-esteem, more so when it’s their parents.
Statement worthy of repeating: “We need to fill a child’s bucket of self-esteem so high; the rest of the world can’t poke enough holes in it to drain it dry!” (Alvin Price)
I would change it to, “We need to fill each other’s bucket of self-esteem continually so the world cannot poke enough holes in it, to drain it dry”!
The world will continue to try to poke holes in our bucket. Anytime we get the chance, be a bucket filler!
Charles Saddler
Sequim
Earth: Something to celebrate
We are fortunate to live in a beautiful part of the world. This Spring, as we celebrate Earth and all it gives us, many give thanks and are inspired to protect nature. We can each apply our own thoughtful consideration and actions, dedicated to preserving our natural world for all to enjoy.
Thank you for doing your part. Happy Earth Day!
Bill Biery
Sequim
Time to thank the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe
In late February, we submitted to the Sequim City Council a proclamation thanking the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe for their many contributions to our community. A couple of days before the council’s Mar. 22 Zoom, city clerk Sara McMillon phoned to tell me that Mayor Willia Armacost has rejected the proclamation on grounds that the city already endorsed “Native American Day” last fall.
The city, she added, plans to issue a proclamation thanking everyone who helped in Sequim’s COVID-19 vaccination effort.
These city council actions are no substitute for singling out the tribe for thanks. On March 22, we stood vigil downtown with placards that read, “Thank you, Jamestown S’Klallams.”
At the city Zoom, a grateful citizen read the “Thank You” proclamation as Armacost glowered.
How many lives have they saved with their COVID-19 leadership? The tribe did not do it alone. They enlisted nurses and doctors at the tribe’s Jamestown Family Health Clinic, Fire District 3, Sequim City Staff, Sequim Police and an army of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers.
We cite the tribe’s decision in 1874 to purchase land so they could stay in their home of 10,000 years. We cite their construction of the opioid clinic; their work to restore Dungeness salmon; partnership with the Audubon Society to expand Railroad Park; the 800 jobs in tribal enterprises; the culture and beauty they bring to our community.
It is high time for the City of Sequim to join in saying thanks.
Tim Wheeler
Sequim
Editor’s note: Mayor Armacost and Deputy Mayor Ferrell took the proclamation off the agenda because the city will recognize the tribe and other community partners involved in the vaccination efforts on April 26 with a proclamation prepared by city staff, Sequim’s city clerk said. The councilors also mentioned that the city did complete an Indigenous People’s Day Proclamation in the fall, she said. — MD
Hard to pin Biden down
The ever-shifting positions of President Biden simply demand that we play yet another exiting game of “Remember when but now”:
Remember when Biden opposed abortion and backed overturning Roe Vs Wade (New York Times, March 2019) but now supports legalizing abortion and retaining Roe v. Wade” (Harper’s Bazaar, January 2021)
Remember when Biden authored the 1994 “Tough on Crime Law” and would “Lock the S.O.B.s up” (vox.com, June 2019) but now favors reducing the number of incarcerations while focusing on redemption? (joebiden.com/justice)
Remember when he laughingly – and memorably – dismissed China’s importance, quipping “China is going to eat our lunch? Come on man” but now, somewhat belatedly, recognizes that China is “a serious challenge to us”? (businessinsider.co, 2019)
Remember when Biden voted for and supported the Iraq War but now he says he was against it from its onset? (Ramesh Ponnuru opinion, bloomberg.com)
Remember when Biden “lied routinely and pointlessly” by presenting British politician Neil Kinnock’s life story as his own, when he fibbed about his “arrest in Soweto,” when he blatantly lied about receiving academic awards and scholarships and his class-ranking” (washingtontimes.com opinion, October 2020) but now, without a trace of self-awareness, declares that we “have to restore decency and honor in our system”, implying that he is the man to do it? (Yahoo News, November 2020)
Remember when he seemed reasonably in touch with his own core issues and beliefs but now, apparently, he isn’t?
Remember when he could speak extemporaneously and at length – although not always truthfully – but now needs cue cards for simple statements, mistakes his wife for his sister, and forgets what state he is in? (Association of Mature American Citizens, September 2020)
Remember when he could remember but now, sadly, he can’t?
Dick Pilling
Port Angeles
