A great representation

Published 12:11 am Friday, October 3, 2008

Snoqualmie has something to be very proud of sitting along Snoqualmie Ridge Parkway – a new fire station. The station, along with apparatus and staff, is a reminder that development can bring good things to a community.

In this case, Weyerhaeuser provided the land as part of mitigation for Snoqualmie Ridge. Taxes from the entire city allowed for the purchase of new equipment and you, the voters, said yes when asked for a new station and its amenities. Considering the fire station is a home away from home for firefighters, it should provide some of the comforts a person could expect at home. In any disaster that strikes our community, the fire station is one point of cohesion, a place where planning comes together. All of our communities, with the exception of North Bend, now have this type of facility.

So with three Valley communities now sporting new fire stations – Carnation, Fall City and Snoqualmie – isn’t it once again time to approach the subject of a new station for North Bend?

I think that anyone who visits the North Bend fire station would agree that the firefighters’ living conditions are marginal at best. Some will say we pay enough in taxes. I would argue that it would be better to pay for a new fire station than the gas tax to fix the 520 bridge and viaduct in Seattle. Let those who use it pay for the improved roads. What happened to the idea of toll-booths, the funding mechanism for the original 520 bridge?

So, a message to our District 38 commissioners and North Bend’s mayor: come up with a plan for a new station on property near the current public works facility. Let’s put something on the ballot, reasonably priced, and get grass roots support behind it. I think the voting public would be much more open to the idea of a new fire station at present than a levy lid lift. It would at least be a step in the right direction.

So let’s get some letters going here. Do you think it’s time to start the process of building a new fire station in North Bend?

On another subject, how come there have not been any opinions about the way oil companies are gouging us at the pumps? Are we reserved to the fact that $3 for a gallon of gas will be commonplace? Should we be concerned that fuel prices will drive double-digit inflation again? Are we on the brink of another recession based on fuel prices or can we afford the increased costs?

I hear a lot of whining at the pumps, some from myself, although the big red diesel has been sitting at home more often, giving way to a Honda. (Yes it’s tough on my image.) Maybe I shouldn’t be alarmed at the fact that fuel is costing my household $300 more a month than it did this same time last year. Are you concerned?