Letters Jan. 7

Cause to

celebrate

We greet the New Year with the good news that you reported in a recent issue, namely that State Rep. Joe Schmick has abandoned his efforts to close the John Wayne Trail.

This is a cause for celebration. Just a few short months ago he was committed to introducing legislation to correct the typo that thwarted his previous proviso. Now rather than hand over 6,000 acres of the only cross-state trail in Washington to adjacent landowners, the John Wayne Trail will remain open.

It's a beautiful, epic trail, stretched over 280 miles long. It begins in thick woodlands, rich with lakes and rivers, then through the dramatic and harsh terrain of the scab lands and ending in some of the most peaceful pastoral settings our state has to offer. Every mile is solemnly tranquil and offers dramatic vistas. Imagine the pride of accomplishment and joy that many Washingtonians will now again feel this summer when they cross our entire state on bike or in a horse drawn wagon.

There is no doubt that the hundreds of people who attended recent meetings, cohosted by both the Tekoa Trail and Trestle Association and Rep. Schmick, made it loud and clear, not just Tekoa, but the vast majority of Washingtonians want to keep their cross-state trail, and they want it to be improved.

This message was reinforced by the passage of 15 different city resolutions asking the state legislature to fund the trail rather than close it. These came from Tekoa, Spokane, Cheney, Rosalia, Lind, Palouse, Colfax, Pullman, Cle Elum, Royal City, Rockford, Latah, Ellensburg, Rosalia and Roslyn.

We cannot but feel some disappointment, however, as our victory was less than total.

At these meetings a list of problems that the trail is suffering from was presented to Rep.

Schmick and Sen.

Schoesler, identified by both the adjacent landowners and trail users alike.

Issues such as restoring ranger service, removing the special permit requirement for hikers, building trail heads and ending fees imposed on farmers for using the trail to transport equipment.

All of these could have been addressed by the legislative session that is just beginning, however, Rep.

Schmick has so far chosen not to introduce a bill to make any sort of improvements to the trail.

A bill that if introduced by him would likely pass.

We are encouraged that the State Parks Department has begun a process to solicit recommendations for better trail management. Unfortunately though, Parks is limited in what it can do. Legislative action is required to make many of the improvements the trail needs. In particular the removal of the special JWT permit requirements for people to use the trail and the sharing of their identities to nearby property owners.

No other park or trail in the entire state of Washington has special permit requirements. This unique burden strongly discourages the public's use of the trail and invades the personal privacy of our citizens. It can only be removed by an act of the legislature.

Today, if you want to take your dog or your kids for a walk on any stretch of the trail, from the Columbia River to the Idaho border, you need a special JWT permit.

To get a special JWT permit you must first search online through a series of websites to find the phone number of the one parks employees to whom you may request a permit application form from.

Then you fill it out with your name, address, email, phone numbers, what section of the trails you will be visiting and why you want to be on the trail.

Scan it and email the document back to Parks Dept.

and wait.

They often need a clarification and will email you for it.

This process usually only takes a week or two.

The parks permit contact information is not even posted on the many signs along the trail that ask you to remove yourself if you are not a current permit holder.

You used to need to apply for a permit each time you wanted to go out, but now it's just annually.

(To save you some time here's the phone number you need to call 509-337-6457.)

After that your name is given to the approximately 200 local nearby property owners, along a 160-mile stretch of the trail. This is so they will know exactly who is walking by their land. No other property owner anywhere in the state Washington where their property abuts a public right of way has this entitlement.

Not on any Washington beach, not near any lake, not on a mountain or in a valley, not near a school, a hospital or a church, not on your sidewalk or any other place you ever walked on in the State of Washington that is referred to as public property. The State of Washington bought this land in 1985 for 3 million dollars from a bankrupt railroad so that it would be used for exactly what it is; public property, it should be treated as such.

We see no other logical reason for the special JWT permit requirements to continue to exist other than to purposely intimidate and deter people away from a very beautiful and special part of our states park system. Moms and dads with their kids, Boy Scouts and cyclists, horse riders and grandpas, a lot of good people would use that trail if you didn't make it harder for them.

Because of the special JWT permit requirements people passing by in their cars do not stop and get out to walk the trail. Trail hikers and bikers are inclined to go to other trails where they don't need to fill out paper work. There are even some who have lived by this trail their entire lives and have never walked on it because they felt permit requirement signs meant the same thing as No Trespassing.

The trail goes through the expanse of Adams, Grant and Whitman Counties. It's open use could substantially improve the economy of many of the small towns near the John Wayne Trail. Indeed throughout the greater Palouse.

Our small town economies are struggling, and this type of legislative interference does not make it easier for us.

Our economy is hurting. Last year our town had three restaurants, now we only have two. We need jobs, we need all the help we can get, including from the great resource of a cross-state trail that is already there.

We wonder what exactly is such a compelling problem with this trail, so much more so than any other park or trail in the entire state, that our legislators are willing to hurt the economies of several small towns for?

It's simply neither fair, proper, nor smart to maintain the special JWT permit requirements. They are an invasion of personal privacy, undemocratic and bad for the economy of the Palouse.

Hence the officers of the TTTA have decided to continue to lobby the state legislature to make the John Wayne Trail accessible to all. We have elected to pursue an agenda for the approaching year that combines our normal club activities with a special focus on trail access. If anyone wishes more information or to help our efforts they should email us: tekoatrailandtrestle@gmail.com

Ted Blaszak, President Tekoa Trail and Trestle Association

Monte Morgan, Vice President Tekoa Trail and Trestle Association

Trail View

I want you to know that I think you do a great job of reporting unbiased and as accurately as you can.

I am basically neutral on the John Wayne Trail issue, so I think I can hopefully address a few issues. Yes, the farmers have some valid complaints concerning the trail. First of all, the state should help them get their spraying done by giving them motor vehicle access and possibly subsidizing their cost for spray and fuel on the trail.

Now the dumping on the trail is not a reason to close it. If this reason makes sense, then we should close all the roads in the state because of a few people’s bad habits.

As far as the funding, I knew that would not happen. How can we expect the law makers to come up with the funds to maintain the trail? They can’t even fix the highways because they keep fixing the same roads over and over because they won’t take studded tires off the roads.

There are issues relating to Representatives Schmick and Dye. First, Representative Dye needs to know more about an issue before she votes on it. As for Representative Schmick, I hope he learns from this issue that we constituents expect him to represent all of the people in his district and not just a few. I thought he had a lot more character than to use back door politics on his constituents. I hope both Schmick and Dye will become better representatives and learn from this issue.

Now if anybody thinks a city person doesn’t understand these issues, they are mistaken. I grew up working on a farm and married a farmer’s daughter. I also worked for a utility and covered most of the area in question. I hope the trail stays open, and I think we can all work together for the benefit of the trail users and the farmers. Let’s make this area attractive for everyone who lives, works and visits here.

Jim Gordon, Sr., Tekoa

Sidewalks

I wonder if people think of others when snow packs on sidewalks and is hard to walk on. I do my sidewalks mostly to suit others so they are able to get around tomorrow. C’mon, it doesn’t take much to help others.

Virgil Hatley, Colfax

Winter Suggestions

Properly used space heaters may save you money on your heating bill, but if used unsafely they can be dangerous.

Use the heat to warm one room only. Do not leave it on constantly. It is not designed to heat large rooms or to be left on continuously. Make sure you plug the heater directly into the wall and do not use extension cords. Do not let the heater share an outlet with any other equipment. Electric space heaters should be used only indoors.

Check cord and plug for any frays or cracks before plugging it in.

Keep the unit out of any areas that may be damp, such as a kitchen or bathroom. Water is a conductor of electricity and could cause electric shock or injury.

Never leave a space heater unattended! If you need to leave or go to bed, make sure you turn it off and even unplug it from the wall.

Keep anything flammable at least three feet away from the space heater unit.

All new models come with an auto shut-off if the unit is tipped over. If your unit does not have this feature, it is better to to replace it as soon as possible with one that does.

These are just a few things. Also, you should be sure to read the directions that are provided with the unit.

John Henry,

Colfax