Off-leash dog park smells

French Lake Off-Leash Dog Park is no longer going to the dogs.

In fact, it’s become a horrid mess and isn’t the great place for dogs that it has been in the past.

Last year, access to all 10 of the park’s acres was reduced by half, so that two of the ponds could be filled in. Numerous delays kept dog owners out of that newly “remodeled” area. Having the same number of dogs in half the space for an extended period took its toll on the turf. As soon as the refurbished side was opened, the original side was closed to refurbish the turf in that section.

There are any number of problems with this. Firstly, dog owners again have only half the park to roam in, which means more wear on the in-use turf. And the turf on this newly remodeled side isn’t that great. It’s mucky and muddy, and in the areas that once held ponds, there is standing water even on dry days. This not only guarantees muddy outings, but also wears more heavily on the grass and turf. This section was not so wet before the fill-ins. And it smells! The ponds didn’t smell that badly, so what happened?

Secondly, fall is not the best time to refurbish turf. Why not give dog owners the entire park to roam in during the wettest months, to spread out the wear and tear? Reseed the grass in the spring, when seeds are less likely to be washed away, and things are more likely to take root and grow. Fence off the existing pond if you want to keep the critters out (with actual fencing materials, and not soft materials that dogs can get through — they don’t read so well). But give dog owners back the park.

I have met numerous people at the park who always comment on what a great resource this park is for our community. Allow it to keep being a great resource. Let it go back to the dogs.

Kat Wamba

Federal Way

Libraries are worthy investments

School libraries are wise investments in student learning.

Research shows that well-funded school libraries with certificated teacher-librarians raise test scores. Solid research shows that this is money well-spent when allocating dollars when student achievement is the goal.

The Federal Way School District proposes having a dual purpose library/cafeteria in the planned rebuild of Lakota Middle School.

The “librateria” would not be available during the periods when the various grades have lunch. That is approximately 1.5 to 2 hours in the middle of every school day. This is to save money and create a building with flexibility.

As part of a budget cut in 2007-2008, the Auburn School District required that middle school librarians teach three periods a day of “library science” in the library, essentially closing the facility during those periods. During the year that this happened at Olympic Middle School, book checkouts dropped by almost 40 percent. Additionally, the number of curriculum-based research projects done by classes in the library dropped from dozens to only one.

If any WASL test scores dropped by these drastic numbers, heads would fly, committees would be formed, curriculum would be reviewed, specialists would be hired, and plans would be discarded, re-done and implemented.

The Federal Way School District has an opportunity to invest the taxpayers’ money in a new facility for students.

The question is, do they believe that our students are worth investing in? Or are they simply an expense?

Jana Fullerton

Auburn

Affordable health care

Congress should be told:

Shamefully, almost 9 million children in America do not have health coverage and millions more are under-insured.

The majority of uninsured children live in two-parent families; almost 90 percent have one working parent; and almost 90 percent are U.S. citizens. When working parents can’t afford to take their children to a doctor, it’s clear that the current system is crap. Congress should step forward and support comprehensive health coverage for every child and pregnant woman in America in every campaign speech and, if elected, in the 111th Congress.

Immediate action is necessary. Health coverage is financially out of reach for too many American families who are struggling to meet health care expenses that are growing faster than wages and inflation. At the same time, health benefits offered by employers are eroding. The annual premium for group coverage for a family of four is, shamefully, more than $12,000 per year.

Guaranteeing access to affordable health coverage for all children in America for a year — including vision, dental and mental health services — would cost every American less than $1 per week. Business leaders and national education organizations recognize that healthy children are tomorrow’s graduates and our nation’s future workforce. America cannot afford to wait. Poor health negatively affects children’s educational achievement, which in turn prevents some children from reaching their full potential and ultimately reduces America’s competitiveness.

Additionally, families without health coverage may postpone a doctor visit for a sick child, hoping the child will get better without treatment. Some of these families end up relying on emergency rooms for health care, which may result in worse health outcomes for the child and higher costs to local communities. Taxpayers subsidize these costs through higher premiums and higher tax dollars.

Americans overwhelmingly support expanding health coverage for children. National polls reveal that 90 percent of Americans believe every child in the United States has the right to health care; 80 percent support expanding eligibility for enrolling in government health insurance programs to middle-class, uninsured children; and 70 percent are willing to pay more taxes to make this happen.

If we can spend so much on banks, AIG, and other financial criminals, why not, for a change, spend something on American kids?

As a parent, a grandparent, as someone who is concerned about the health and well-being of American children, I believe that every legislator at every level of government should work to ensure that all children have access to all the health care services they need by supporting the following critical principles in any child health coverage legislation considered in the 111th Congress:

1. Ensuring every child and pregnant woman has access to affordable health coverage and health services.

2. Guaranteeing all children and pregnant women comprehensive benefits, which must include all medically necessary services.

3. Simplifying applications and enrollment processes to make it easy for all children to get covered and stay covered.

If we truly care about American and its future, we can do no less.

Karen Hedwig Backman

Federal Way

Let’s support Carol Gregory

As your neighbor, friend and fellow Federal Way resident, and as a teacher, a senior center administrator, as parents of three children and foster parents to three more, we write to share our resounding support for Carol Gregory.

Like you, we are a working Federal Way family struggling to access the American dream. We watch with concern as “for sale” and “going out of business” signs pop up all over Federal Way. We work in the public schools and live the effects of underfunding and overcrowding every day.

We serve parents and grandparents who struggle to live with comfort and dignity in our elder care facilities. We welcome our community’s most vulnerable children into our home as foster children and see the effects of drugs, poverty and crime on the lives of children.

Like you, we know and live the concerns of Federal Way. Like you, we have been disappointed time and again by Rep. Skip Priest. So much so that we have made five trips to his office to share our concerns constructively and to shed the light on the real impact his voting record has on real Federal Way families. Five times we have left with a green Skip Priest coffee mug, then watched, waited and have been bewildered and disappointed.

Mr. Priest, green coffee mugs won’t pacify Federal Way residents. We expect more from our elected officials and won’t sit idly by as someone out of touch with Federal Way speaks for us.

Carol Gregory has her finger on the pulse of Federal Way families. She stands for equality for all Washingtonians. She stands with students, seniors and families. She stands with educators and asks important questions about the state of our education system. She listens, she responds. She will vote the voice of Federal Way.

It’s time for a candidate to echo our voices and take our needs and concerns to Olympia. It’s time to see our priorities our representative’s priorities align.

Thanks for the mugs Skip, but no thanks on your policies. My vote belongs to Carol Gregory.

Rachel Smith-Mosel

Federal Way

I-1029 creates problems

As a provider with over 25 years of direct experience in training and supervising caregivers in the assisted living setting, I am writing to share my concerns about Initiative 1029, the caregiver training initiative. The Legislature already acted on this idea twice (once in 2007 and again in 2008) and twice they rejected the proposal. They did so with good reason.

This initiative creates barriers to employment for individuals who may be intimidated by the classroom hours and the certification test. As an employer, I’ve had excellent experience in providing supervised, on-the-job training opportunities for my staff. Not only do they get to know the needs of residents firsthand, but they also get a real understanding of the expectations of the position.

During legislative deliberations on this issue, Department of Social and Health Services representatives testified that there are no significant compliance issues related to lack of caregiver training. This initiative solves a non-existent problem at a great cost to taxpayers — over $30 million in the first couple of years. And, while taxpayers in the State of Washington will pick up the cost of training for state employees providing Medicaid-reimbursed care, consumers who pay for the cost of their own care will bear the cost of this expensive new requirement. This is no time for the state to be driving costs for consumers.

I hope you will join me in voting no on Initiative 1029. It creates more problems than it solves.

Bob Hitchcock

Northeast Tacoma

Note: Hitchcock is executive director of Patriots Landing, a retirement community in Dupont.