Some input on power bills

            What in theworld is happening with our power bills? My last two single-month bills were$294! My December and January bill, combined, was $250.33. I’m sure that theautomatic meter reader is off on its calculations! Am I the only one (exceptfor a few close friends) that is complaining about these new charges? Why andfor what are we paying for?

            Wheneverthe postal service (which gives us excellent service) raises the price of astamp by two cents, I hear everyone grumbling. Where in the world could you getbetter service? Yet they raise our power charges for what purpose? Except forone gentleman who wrote in about the extra costs for paperwork, extra employeesand stamps, I’ve heard nothing! How about a little input on this subject? Iknow that I do not abuse my power usage and am really upset about these newcharges!

June Bardonski

Oroville

Careful what you want

            TheCoalition for Property Rights, in their latest missive to the public, worriesabout the hidden agendas in regard to the Methow sub-area plans and thecirculation element they claim the Okanogan Board of County Commissioners snuckinto the final draft of the county’s comprehensive plan without consultingthem.

            As itappears that CPR wrote most of the plan anyway, they could be rightfullyannoyed, but they should feel more threatened by the one-size-fits-all ruraldensity zoning they did get into the plan. Zoning the entire county (except the Methow) down to one- and five-acreminimum parcels means that just about anything can go up next to their familyfarms and ranches. 

            Not onlywill the new rural neighbors exert their own property rights, i.e., drillingnumerous “exempt” wells, stockpiling trash and old cars, allowing packs of dogsto run loose and generally accelerating the noise, traffic and ugliness in oncepeaceful farmland. They will also both lower and raise their CPR neighbors’property values.  The amenity buyers whopay top dollar will now ignore the area, but, perversely, the increasedproperty values on the one-acre lots will increase the ranchers’ own propertytax assessments.  Unless of course theystill adhere to the open space ag tax exemption, which seems hypocritical,since they are the ones who banished all reference to private “ag land” in thecounty in order to “protect their property rights.”

            Propertyrights is a two-way street my friends. As they say, be careful what you want,you might get it.  And the “simple compplan” you crave, with no regulation, may get you a lot more negatives than youever bargained for.

Jessica McNamara

Tonasket

More questions than answers

            I attendedthe Oroville meeting on March 1, regarding the Draft Comprehensive Plan. Ithink these meetings are helpful, to a degree, but what is really needed is ameeting where we can ask questions and, hopefully, get some answers. The more Iread the more confusing it seems to get. The meetings for questions and answersshould be at various places around the county with the three countycommissioners present as well as Perry Huston, who is the Director of Planning.

            A fewquestions that come to my mind are: Are you planning to get rid of Open Spacedesignation? If so, that would mean many people’s taxes would go upconsiderably. If only public land is designated agricultural and all other landis designated development land then everyone’s taxes would go up. Is this whatyour plan is?

            Those areonly a few questions.

            Seems to methat if this plan goes through Okanogan County is going to be deluged withlawsuits.

Judy Palmer

Tonasket

Why fire coach with proven success?

            I’ve beenvery blessed to have had the opportunity to grow up in the City of Oroville.I’m also extremely proud of the fact that I have the privilege to call Orovillehome.

            This pastweek, when I was home for spring break, I read the article explaining thedecision by Oroville High School to not renew Carl Iverson’s contract to coachboy’s basketball. I’m both concerned and saddened by the news for not only thefuture success of Oroville Basketball but for the young men who will not beable to learn many life-long lessons from an amazing person and coach.

            As afour-year player for Coach Iverson, I’ve been a part of a State Tournamentappearance, three-winner to State Games, a co-league championship, back-to-back2B League M.V.P.’s and a 2B 1st Team All-State selection. Coach Iverson wasvoted Coach of the Year in 2005 and came in second in 2009, while taking theteam to State aga
in with my brother, Marcus in 2010.

            In hiseight years coaching in Oroville, Coach has helped to make Oroville Basketballrelevant again since the T.J. and Eric Jensen days. Coach Iverson helped mereach my dreams of representing Oroville by playing competitive collegebasketball. He was instrumental in me becoming the California Pacific LeagueFreshman of the Year in 2010, but more importantly he is been a life-mentor,supporting me even when he doesn’t contractually have to. A true measure of acoach is someone who believes in his players and invests everything into theiron and off court success. He has taught me how to be a winner and has shown merespect before I respected him, a lesson I will always cherish.

            My favoritememories with Coach consist of the 80 plus games I played for him,conversations on bus trips about life, and watching the hard work we both putin daily pay off in reaching our goals.

            If thisdecision by the administration stands, Oroville would have let go an asset toit’s coaching community. Coach Iverson has done so much for Oroville Basketballon paper, but what makes him special are the things he contributes to thecommunity that often go unnoticed (May Day court-monitor and summer basketballtournaments, just to name a few). The saying, “you don’t know what you haveuntil it’s gone” optimizes this situation.

Zac Kinman

2004-08 Oroville Student Athlete

Oroville

Monopoly continued

I give up. Forhan owns the paper and he’ll always get thelast word. His “government controlled monopoly” description of the Obama healthplan which uses private insurance companies, has no public option and relies onemployers to provide most of the health insurance in America is inaccurate ifyou bother to look up the actual definition of a Monopoly.

That said, I wonder if in his mind, a monocle could be apair of glasses, a monocycle have multiple wheels and a monopod multiple legs?

Greg James

Mercer Island