Sammamish Forum
December 16, 2008
By Administrator
The nightmare is helpful
Eastside Domestic Violence Program would like to thank the patrons of this year’s Halloween event Nightmare at Beaver Lake and the sponsor, the Rotary Club of Sammamish, for donating 33 bins of non-perishable food — a total of 2,475 pounds.
It is with great pleasure each year that Eastside Domestic Violence Program is the recipient of such a generous food donation. Not only did the program’s families have a wonderful Thanksgiving meal thanks to the Rotary Club of Sammamish but it also means we are able to feed families through the new year.
Eastside Domestic Violence Program’s mission continues to be to end domestic violence in the community through life-saving and life-changing programs and services. Since 1982, the program has provided safety, support and accessibility to more than 96,000 victims and their children.
Since its inception, the program has grown to become one of Washington’s largest domestic violence service providers with the 24-Hour Crisis Line, confidential emergency shelter, transitional housing, permanent housing, advocacy-based counseling, women’s and children’s support groups, rental assistance, legal advocacy, and community education and training. The program remains the only domestic violence service provider in East and North King County.Last year, the program served 5,644 victims of abuse and answered 8,820 Crisis Line calls. An additional 28,320 individuals were educated and trained on domestic violence in our community.
Together we can make every home a safe home.
Deanna Hobbs
Eastside Domestic Violence Program
Cats are indoor pets
I’ve been living on the plateau long before it became Sammamish. I have a few words of advice…keep your kitty indoors.
You moved here because you love all the trees and green surroundings. With trees and green surroundings comes wildlife. Some of it’s pretty like the birds and chipmunks that your domestic cat will kill and eat. Some of the wildlife maybe less pretty, to you, like the bobcats, raccoon and occasional coyotes that will eat your domestic cat.
I like all of the wildlife in my backyard and I don’t like your domestic cats changing that balance. I have seen a neighbor’s cat snag a protected red squirrel and run through my yard and on top of my car with its prey and I have hoped for a convenient coyote.
No, I am not a cat hater…I have a cat in my home…operative words, in my home, not outside. Protect the environment and your pet, confine and control them.
Laura Young
Sammamish
Drive hands free
I am appalled, that in such an affluent community, there are so many people who refuse to buy a cheap, hands free cell phone device to use while driving. Everyone knows it’s against the law to drive with a cell phone pressed to your ear. The “it’s all about me” attitude you have is rude, inconsiderate and disgusting, not to mention unsafe.
You don’t seem to care that you are endangering your own life, the lives of your passengers, pedestrians and other drivers. What phone conversation is so important that you would risk killing or maiming someone?
Break down and buy a hands free device if you have to chat while driving. You just might save someone’s life, not to mention your own. And you won’t be breaking the law.
Lou Hockel
Sammamish
Intolerant of Bigotry
Kerri Nielsen, in a recent letter, stated that I support tolerance for racial and gender diversity and peoples with disabilities, but display intolerance toward religion. This is not about religious tolerance. It is about opposing any group that uses its power to deny civil rights to a segment of our population.
The victims here are the gays and lesbians of California, not a particular religion. In this case the Mormon Church is the perpetrator, unlike the long list of faith-based organizations that support gay rights (www.noonprop8.com/about/who-opposes-prop-8#FBO). Its status as a religion is incidental.
Having been forced by the federal government to abandon polygamy, the Mormons, of all people, should fight bigotry on every front. Flipping Kerri’s example over, when have gays and lesbians ever organized a massive grass roots effort and raised tens of millions of dollars to eradicate existing legal rights for a religious group?
An organization opens itself to necessary criticism the moment it endeavors to use its resources to promote bigotry. I am holding a particular organization accountable for relegating an entire group of citizens to a legally inferior class – a major step backwards for the cause of human rights.
This is reminiscent of the Mormon Church expending substantial resources to defeat the Equal Rights Amendment, and excommunicating women supporting it.
The highly patriarchal leadership felt that all women should be subject to workplace and civil inequalities as a means of ‘encouraging’ them to live according to Mormon gender biases.
This was extremely short sighted because now most women must work and are still not experiencing workplace parity. Mormon efforts in California are also myopic, as gays and lesbians will eventually, and justifiably be granted permanent legal equality, in spite of the vast sums of money that were wasted in delaying this inevitable outcome.
If an organization seeks positive press, they should enlist their resources in charitable efforts instead of abusing the power of the vote to force others to adopt their insular worldview.
Michael J. O’Connell
Sammamish
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The December city newsletter is giving praise to the engineers that helped snag the $3 million dollars from the state to be used for the 244th Ave bridge, leaving $10 million still to be funded from ????? Then we read in the Seattle Times that Gov. Gregoire is looking at massive state budget cuts including more than $1 billion in funding for public schools. Part of that is for the Lake Washington School District and covers the salaries for teachers and class sizes. In addition they’re considering suspending pay increases for teachers and state workers and there’s also a state hiring freeze in place and the possibility of layoffs. This does not cover what they will be doing to the higher education cuts, health care cuts for children, elderly & low income as well.
Did we not just hear that the city council voted to give them self’s dental care? How about the 5.8% cost of living increase for the workers also.
Here is a suggestion for the city council. You can be a trend setter to all of the other city’s in the state and show them that you are more concerned with the education of our kids and the health care of everyone then you are with this bridge. If you return this money back to the state so it can be used for these issues, or cut the fluff from the other projects in the works, maybe the other city’s will pick up on the idea and put projects that are not necessary on hold until we get out of this crisis. This also goes for the money that you want to spend on the Parkway project.
Here is the chance of a lifetime for you council members. Instead of being the #11 city, Sammamish could be the #1 city. You could make national news if plays his cards right and be the “Heroes”
Dave Sharp
Neighbors, neighbors, neighbors….Do we really need to remind our neighbors about respect? In my neighborhood I am constantly subjected to the non-stop barking of dogs that my neighbors leave out all day & sometimes into the evening hours, while the owners are away. What makes these owners assume that their dogs sit pretty all day long? NOT the case. It’s non-stop barking. These are not my pets, so why must I have to listen to them bark while the owner is no where around, or sometimes is home and doesn’t address the problem? I work from home, so the barking is extremely annoying. I’m also a dog owner and would never let my dog bark on and on without doing something about it. Try walking & playing with your dogs. Why do you think they bark – they’re bored! Put them inside while your gone. Find someone to walk them for you. There are many solutions if you try. My complaint is not only regarding barking dogs, but also the homeowners who pay no regards to their neighbors by running leaf blowers, lawnmowers, etc., first thing in the morning on the weekends. A guy on my street starts making noise at 7:30 AM on Saturdays & Sundays! Most of us work all week and enjoy sleeping in on the weekends. Did that ever dawn on you? Basically my main complaint here is the lack of respect that neighbors show for one another. Be thoughtful regarding noise. Respect your neighbors by thinking about how your actions effect others.