I read your piece on the evils of woodstoves and the loss of lives they can cause (Dispatch, Nov. 7, "Where there's smoke, there's trouble for lungs"). And now, with our new green governor Inslee, there will be a new push to outlaw them. In fact, you have a picture of the culprit on page B-3, undoubtedly supplied by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. During this next legislative session in Olympia there will be a renewed push to outlaw all woodstoves, certified or not. But why no mention of fireplaces? Why will most legislation skirt around-áit because the poor have woodstoves for heat and the rich have fireplaces to sup their brandy on those cold winter nights?-á In fact, what does the White House, the Capitol building and Bill Gates-áall have in common? They all have working fireplaces. In fact, President Obama's Christmas card had the president's-á dog, Bo, cuddled-áup by a roaring fire. Don't we deserve as much as the president's dog? The answer is no, we don't. Who sits on the air quality board? That would be power companies, trucking firms, the ports of Tacoma and Seattle. So the-áarea's largest polluters are the ones that want the disabled vet's woodstove because he can't afford sky-high electrical bills. Now they want new policing patrols on the ground and in the air, so they can be in a neighborhood near you. When Olympia reconvenes in January, expect the siren song-áfor your woodstove to be amplified. The irony is we now live in a state where you can smoke unfiltered marijuana by the bale, but if you warm yourself with twigs by the woodstove, expect to be fined. Matt Hamilton Graham
I just wanted to let you know about a wonderful experience I had in Eatonville. On Tuesday, Nov. 6, I was leaving work at the Eatonville Veterinary Clinic at approximately 5:30 pm when I saw flashing blue lights in my rear view mirror and realized I was being pulled over by the police. Initially I was horrified, as I had no idea what I had done wrong. Officer Wade approached my driver's side window and very politely informed me that my headlights were not on. I showed him that my dash lights were lit and therefore I was unaware that my lights were not. Officer Wade asked me to pop the hood and then proceeded to see if he could figure out why the lights were not on. He then asked me to follow him to the Napa Parts Store in town to purchase some new bulbs, as he was concerned about my safety in the dark and rain on my way home. I very gratefully followed him to Napa and, after purchasing my new bulbs, was even more astonished when officer Wade and the man at Napa volunteered to put the bulbs in for me in the rain. What wonderful, selfless service. I would have been stranded without their help and am so thankful to them both, but especially to officer Wade, whom I feel went above and beyond the call of duty to help a citizen in need. Who says the age of chivalry is dead? With all the negative media out there against the police, it is so gratifying to be able to give some positive feedback to those wonderful men and women who put themselves in harm's way to serve and protect us all. Michelle Norman
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