Letters to the Editor

Thank your school board

Editor, the Journal,

January is School Board Appreciation Month. Please join me in celebrating the work of our volunteer school board members and honoring their commitment to the students, staff and community in which they serve.

The Pioneer School District No. 402 is thankful to have a school board that truly cares about our students, their academic achievements, as well as their social and emotional well-being. Our board is committed to providing our staff of 137 employees a positive working environment in which they can come to work each day knowing that they are supported.

School boards have an enormous responsibility in leading our school district. They are stewards of taxpayer dollars that support our schools. Our board also approves new curriculum that is brought forward to them that benefits our students and staff with the most up-to-date educational standards in our content areas. You will find our board members attending a multitude of school and community activities which allows them the opportunity to meet and on occasion, discuss school-related issues with our stakeholders. Our board is responsible for approving and monitoring our fiscal budget and making sure that our school district is following our spending plan for each school year. Our board approves all recommended personnel hires and supports the efforts of the district in providing professional development to improve their craft.

Members of the Pioneer School District No. 402 Board of Directors are Dr. Susan Day, Dr. Stephanie Schlitz, Mr. Richard Lee, Mrs. Ellory Rowe and Mr. Robert Clark. These five community members volunteer hours and hours of their time, ensuring that our schools have what is needed to educate all Pioneer students as well as hold us accountable for following the mission and vision of the school district.

Please join me in recognizing the important work of our school boards. Their guidance and leadership is critical to the success of our schools. Thank you for your continuing support of Pioneer Schools.

Jeff Davis, Superintendent, Pioneer School District No. 402

Twitter comments

Editor, the Journal,

When Elon Musk opened Twitter we saw the conspiracy hidden in odd words; "trend-blacklisted," "shadow-banned," "search-blacklisted," "context-surrounded," "visibility-filtered" data. Twitter excluded people merely for contrary views. Liberals want one-sided Twitter, not fair-for-all Twitter that Musk provides. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford professor, said the current government does not respect the first Amendment rights of the American people.

Democrats divide people by gender, ethnicity, color, politics, age. They believe achievement is racist; thus failure must be inclusive. Democrats preach tolerance yet King County banned Christmas decorations this year; proof of their intolerance. Democrats don't believe in free speech; they want controlled speech. Redefining words controls the language; controlling the language controls the argument which controls the speaker. Democrats support this control by:

■ Limiting information to that provided by approved media (MS/NBC and CNN).

■ Rejecting "bad" information from unapproved media (Fox and Newsmax).

■ Ridiculing and attacking individuals who use this "bad" information.

■ Popularizing slogans: defund the police, tax the rich; make them pay their fair share.

Republicans are showing Democrats how democracy works as they elect a speaker of the House. The GOP controversy is messy compared to Nancy Pelosi's legislative dictatorship. Republicans use the 3 Cs of democracy; controversy, communication, cooperation. Pelosi's dictatorship had 4,000-page bills with multiple topics and 24 hours to review. GOP will have separate bills for separate issues and enough time for research by all legislators. Good leaders lead by example; Biden is selfish. Good leaders advocate changes in laws they dislike; Biden ignores laws, such as border control. Past presidents had Thanksgiving dinner with the troops; Biden went to Delaware. Past presidents stay in Washington, D.C., when disasters occurred; Biden went to the Virgin Islands leaving thousands stranded at airports; our border in chaos; and people freezing to death. Past presidents protect our country from invasion; Biden opened the border to terrorists, smugglers and illegal immigrants; fentanyl killed 87,000 Americans last year. Past presidents leave foreign lands with dignity; Biden turned tail and ran from Afghanistan to get out before the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Past presidents conduct business in Washington, D.C.; Biden took Air Force One to Delaware 59 times his first two years. Biden needed a bill brought by plane to him in the Virgin Islands to keep the government from being shut down. Biden is selfish and incompetent! Where are your voices? Biden takes silence as approval. Why do intelligent people allow themselves to be manipulated by Democrat elites?

Political novels show examples of political futures. George Orwell's name is a dictionary definition of a political society deprived of reason. The United States is about 20 years away from a political cesspool of Orwellian socialism. Without changes, the under-50 crowd will have to live in this cesspool. Have fun.

Ardean Anvik, Shelton

Consider Cheney

Editor, the Journal,

I just watched the seventh failed vote for speaker of the House. Compromise is always difficult; both sides really never get everything they want. I do have an idea for the speaker of the House. It is former Congresswoman Liz Cheney. I left phone messages with Congressmen Jamie Raskin and Adam Schiff suggesting they consider her as speaker. Both of these men know of her character, honor and integrity while working on the January 6th committee. I feel that there could be a compromise in the House of Representatives by selecting Ms. Cheney as speaker. I really do not know if Ms. Cheney would even want to be Speaker. Anyway, it is just an idea and a week away before this letter is printed in the Journal. A lot can happen or not happen in the week to come.

Earl W. Burt, Bremerton

About the House

Editor, the Journal,

Well, it appears we have a new speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, R-California, and we can now get on to cleaning up the mess our one-party-rule government has made.

Over a four-day televised span, the new Republican House engaged in a vibrant, often heated, debate while electing Mr. McCarthy speaker. Our forefathers would have heartily approved of this process and likewise the new rules written. This was democracy in action.

Democrats in Congress, ever the giggling pranksters, decided to show up those wascally Wepublicans by taking little bags of popcorn to the House floor. So, the Democratic Party considers serious government business a circus? I truly hope this isn't so, but it seems what we have.

This Democratic silliness is not surprising given their former leader's behavior. That former leader was, of course, Nancy Pelosi, who told us, almost daily, that something she didn't approve of - especially a Republican position on anything - was "a threat to our democracy."

She was a strong leader who scared her caucus members but was a big fundraiser for the party. I think her favorite music was that great marching song of the Northern armies during the American Civil War, "The Battle Hymn of the Democracy." She will not be missed by many; and Nancy, the U.S. is not a pure democracy, but a constitutional republic.

Now, despite a Biden presidency and a Democrat-controlled Senate, let's start the oversight committees and reveal to us all what the Democrats have done to our government.

Robert E. Graham, Union

Good Bible news

Editor, the Journal,

Happy New Year! I have some good news from the Bible, in response to Darrell Barker's letter in the Dec. 1 issue headlined "Blame the Bible."

The misunderstanding happens in the Old Testament when Moses was leading his people out of slavery in Egypt on a 40-year journey. First, in Deuteronomy 18:15, the Lord tells Moses he will raise up a prophet like Moses from among your own brother. "You must listen to him." (He's referring to Jesus).

Then years later, the Lord tells the prophet Jeremiah in 31:31-34 that he will make a new covenant with his people that will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I led them out of Egypt. This references Leviticus, chapters 18 and 19, which is sadly quoted by many conservatives as being God's current directive. Imagine trying to lead a 40-year camping trip with thousands of people, you would need some extra rules for the trip.

Jesus shares the new commandment in John 13:34, "a new commandment I give you. Love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Jesus did not replace the Ten Commandments, but fulfilled them and summarized them in two declarations: 1. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment." 2. The second is, "Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments." He's referring to the Old Testament. Matthew 22:37-40.

May the new year bring you peace and God's love and blessings!

Monna Haugen, Belfair

You were duped

Editor, the Journal,

All you need is to use your eyes, ears and brain. To all of you who voted against democracy, and for defendant Donald Trump - the leader of the failed coup - and now regret it. You were horribly duped and had plenty of company in the scam to overthrow our democracy and were tricked in becoming a co-conspirator with your vote which of course would not count or matter if the insurrection had succeeded. What don't you people get? There is only a Republican-CON.

Roderic Whittaker, Shelton

Open pool access

Editor, the Journal,

This is in reference to an article I saw regarding the opening of the pool at Shelton High School. I feel that it was misleading. It is not open to all. If a member of the public wants to use it, they must now join the YMCA.

Prior to COVID, there was lap swim and water aerobics for an hour a day Monday through Friday, as well as availability on the weekends. It was very popular and many senior citizens participated. I find the requirement to join the YMCA very discouraging. The current pool availability is very limited, and inconvenient for senior citizens. The pool at the high school is a valuable resource. It is the only pool in Shelton where many of us can go to swim laps and the student lifeguards were wonderful and well-appreciated.

An hour a day to help keep senior citizens physically fit and socially active is a worthwhile cause. I have written to the superintendent of Shelton schools, Wyeth Jessee, regarding my concerns. He told me that the pool was in continual use for school programs throughout the day. My hope is that just an hour a day can be carved out so everyone in the community is able to participate. I forwarded his email and my concerns to the School Board members. Unfortunately, I have not heard back. I have chosen to write my concerns here so we can bring attention to this issue. I hope that as a community we can get the pool open again for all.

Lisa Merz, Grapeview