More feedback on
Planned Parenthood
Regarding most recently published letters for/against advertising from Planned Parenthood:
An easy solution to those offended by Planned Parenthood advertisements carried in the Bothell-Kenmore Reporter is to pick up your free paper delivered to your driveway (or in the middle of my street, on occasion) and deliver it to your curb-side container for recycling. Please remember to remove the plastic cover and rubber band first.
Of course, by letting your moral indignation lead you down the path to your recycling container, you will miss out on a wonderful community publication that is accepting advertisements from legal entities that provide goods or services to community members who are free to make that choice. Legally.
Linda Little
Bothell
Reporter cartoonist
is ‘mean spirited’
Regarding your April 2 edition:
Oh, by all means, let’s shoot sea lions that eat salmon — along with the orcas, the bears, the eagles and any other creature brazen enough to try to horn in on our God-given right to over-fish the seas by ourselves.
Please ditch this mean-spirited cartoonist and find someone with wit and talent to draw for you, or discontinue the feature altogether. He in no way typifies Kenmore values as I’ve come to know them in my 20 years here.
Jane Hoy
Kenmore
It’s time to prepare
for a disaster
On March 31, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed the declaration to make April the Disaster Preparedness Month for the state of Washington. This declaration is made on an annual basis and each year the public is urged to take preparedness steps: make a plan, build a kit, get involved.
Unfortunately, as we have seen very clearly in the last several years, we are not nearly prepared enough. Even relatively mild disasters, such as the winter storms of 2006 and 2007, saw many people without the resources to deal with power outages or even minor flooding.
These events should be taken as a wake-up call by both individuals and our community as a whole. During a large-scale disaster, it may be days before help is available. Individuals must be prepared to take care of themselves and their families.
We should start by asking ourselves: “Who depends on YOU?”
The idea of preparing for disaster is often overwhelming, and as a result, many people put off doing anything at all. The good news is that preparedness can — and should! — be done in small, manageable pieces. And anything that improves personal preparedness helps the community as a whole.
So, who does depend on you? Children? Spouse? Senior parents? Pets? Yourself?
Once this question is answered, start planning: identify emergency contacts and family meeting places; share the information with family members.
Build a disaster kit. Include water, food and a manual can opener, medications, special supplies for children or pets, radios and fresh batteries.
Get involved. Get trained. The Red Cross offers many training opportunities for first aid and CPR. Your local emergency management agency also provides Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training.
For information on any of these preparedness steps, go to the Emergency Services Coordinating Agency Web site at HYPERLINK “http://www.esca1.com” www.esca1.com, or call (425) 776-3722.
Lyn Gross
Director of Emergency
Services Coordinating Agency
