I enthusiastically support the Lopez Rec District and urge my fellow community members to vote for the creation of this vital community need. I was lucky to grow up in Portland, OR, with the state-of-the-art Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation district, where activities for the entire family felt limitless, full of possibility and inspired my love of the outdoors and of community building.
I cherish the skills I learned on the community basketball courts and leagues, found my best friends on the paths of the cross-country trails and spent countless hours in camps and recreation clubs. Of course, growing up, I wasn’t aware of how this was funded, I was simply engaged in the blissful experience that is parks and recreation. I hope we can provide this opportunity for the island youth and future children who will benefit their entire lives from the roots of this possibility.
We are a community who know our neighbors’ names, care for each other’s families and homes, and cross paths on the stunning beaches, trails and courts. Let’s continue to watch out and care for one another by voting for this district to be formed and watch the beauty unfold.
In gratitude,
Katherine Bryant Ingman
Lopez Island
To my fellow San Juan County Islanders,
I write today in support of the Rally for the Rec community campaign to fund a Lopez Island Parks & Recreation District. My wife and I have thoroughly enjoyed the benefits of our local San Juan Island Rec (www.islandrec.org), which is funded by the same mechanism being proposed for Lopez. Not only do we enjoy Island Rec ourselves, but we also have many friends and neighbors who utilize the benefits of camps, events and classes for their families and children.
One of the first parks I visited on San Juan Island was our Eddie & Friends Dog Park — we’d just got our beloved goldendoodle, River, and wanted a safe place for her to run and socialize with people and other dogs. It was a delight. We now walk her around the ballparks at Linde Field regularly, which is just down the street from our home.
Our Park and Recreation District offers so much to our community! After-school programs, support for school sports, nature walks, whale watching, yoga, pickleball, art club, ballet, Family Bike Day, Parents’ Night Out … the list of available activities and learning opportunities goes on and on! And those are just the fall-spring programs. Summer is filled with camps and classes for students at prices that working families can afford, and scholarships for families that need financial assistance. Kids participating in these programs learn foundational values of teamwork, exercise, self-expression and more. All of this is made possible by a truly affordable levy that enables island kids (and adults) to experience safe, active, cost-effective programs that make a huge difference.
I don’t live on Lopez Island, but if I did, Rally for the Rec and the levy initiative would absolutely have my vote. $21/month so kids can have access to sports, camps, art classes, and special programs? Sign me up.
Nathan Kessler-Jeffrey
San Juan Island
As a citizen, I am very concerned for our Democracy.
Our country is in an existential fight for our democracy. It is of utmost importance that elected leaders truly comprehend what is at risk and view all actions by the administration through the lens of the authoritarian’s playbook. History does repeat itself, although not with fidelity. I have witnessed the catastrophic results of authoritarianism before. These are not normal times and therefore they require unusual and innovative counter tactics.
Preventing the loss of healthcare for millions of citizens is a laudable effort, but does nothing to slow or stop the march of authoritarianism. Substantially increasing the cost of health care and canceling care is cruel indeed, but most people will know who is responsible for the deed. Those who voted for Trump have no one to blame other than him. Rescuing Republicans from their merciless assault only encourages them to further deploy such malevolent actions.
AS citizens, I think we must be forcefully and clearly known for vigorously resisting the authoritarian efforts of the Trump administration to create a theocratic autocracy. If we cannot save our democracy, all the other horrible things the Trump team is doing will seem quaint as we find ourselves standing amid the rubble of our beloved democratic form of government. Our resistance must be persistent, massive, innovative and above all, PEACEFUL. Trump and Miller are only waiting for a crisis to create an excuse to amass more power, emergency power, and remain in office indefinitely.
PS: Trump may not be functionally in charge due to several medical disabilities. A new strategy for resistance must take this probability into account when planning.
San Olson, Navy Veteran
Lopez Island
