It's a new year GÇô one week old, to be exact GÇô and The Dispatch has the following wishes for the communities we cover: " We hope that voters in the Eatonville and Bethel school districts and the South Pierce Fire and Rescue district will find it in their hearts and pocketbooks to vote yes on the levies that the schools will run in February and the bond measure that the fire district is considering for the August ballot. All three entities could use the money to continue the good work they're doing. For Eatonville schools, voter approval would provide funding for teachers, instructional aides, buses, programs for gifted and special-education students, books and technology for in-school learning, and the heat and lights for school buildings. Hard to argue with that. Same goes for Bethel's two levies, one of which would support new curriculum, school building maintenance and security, extracurricular activities for students, all-day kindergarten, and school librarians, counselors and nurses. A second Bethel levy would pay for technology in classrooms that can always use it for innovative teaching and tech-savvy students. As for South Pierce Fire, new and remodeled fire stations came up short of the 60 percent supermajority approval in last fall's bond proposal. The second time should be the charm. " We wish a smooth transition for Eatonville Mayor Mike Schaub. Voters decided last November to give him the top job at Town Hall, where he already had extensive experience as the town treasurer. That position gave him oversight over finances. Now the buck for everything stops at his desk. We believe he's up to the task. " We also give our best wishes to the new-look Town Council. The 2012 election last fall of Bob Walter and Andy Powell gave the five-member council its second and third new faces since last October and fourth new member since 2011. That's a lot of turnover in a short time span, which at the moment is something Eatonville residents either like, dislike or aren't sure about, depending on how much they prefer change. " We're crossing our fingers for a mild rest of the winter, which has 71 days to go. Snow in the mountains is more than welcome for locals and tourists who like that sort of thing for recreation and sightseeing, and of course the deeper the snowpack., the greener the region will be next summer But down here in the lower elevations, good old rain is all anyone really needs out of winter.
The Dispatch editorials are written by editor Pat Jenkins.
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