Letters to the editor | Aug. 25 edition
Published 1:30 am Thursday, August 25, 2022
POST OFFICE
The arithmetic of a lost PO Box
Three months ago we had PO Box 13397 in Burton. I walked down and checked it daily, along with 320 or so other Box holders. Today I must drive to Vashon—10 miles round trip — to check my box and get our mail. Here’s what it costs us: drive 10 miles per day, say, 250 days per year, using a gallon of gas every 25 miles, at $5 per gallon, equals $500 per year. Assuming the same for 320 other Burton Box holders, that adds up to an extra 800,000 Vashon miles, at a cost of about $160,000 total per year. Does this make sense?
Okay, the USPS, had a conflict with their landlord and felt forced to close the Burton PO (temporarily?). They vacated that office, removed their outdoor deposit box, and our PO Boxes, and provided a row of replacements along a sidewalk, five miles north in Vashon. Couldn’t they have placed those along a sidewalk in Burton …and spared us from burning 32,000 gallons of gas per year just to get our mail?
I would like to look into this. If you’d like to join in, drop me a postcard, along with your box number. I’ll take those and our case to the local USPS officer to see if we can be treated more decently.
Ward Carson
23310 Vashon Hwy SW, Burton, WA 98013, tel. 206-715-3330
ILLEGAL DUMPING
Stop costing neighbors time and money
It is appalling to see the practice of not quite making it to the King County dump when one is in need of unloading unwanted things. We have seen more than one instance where dump-worthy belongings have somehow just been left on another homeowner’s property or on the roadside.
In a recent couple of instances, large items were left on property on Ridge Road, across the road from the house of the owners of said property. The owners had to pay the dump fees after securing help to take it all there. Not long after, it happened again — large furniture. King County informed the owners that they would be charged $25 a day for every day it remained there, starting at a certain date and until it was removed. Friends had to help again and a dump fee had to be paid.
We would ask for some awareness, as well as responsibility and thoughtfulness, here and for anyone who thinks they are entitled to pass the burden along to someone else: please cease and desist.
Geri Hixson
SCHOOL DISTRICT
Consultant’s views not important
The Beachcomber’s article (Aug. 18) regarding the consultant who is conducting a review of the school district’s finances to address its dire budget issues totally misses the point of engaging an external person.
VISD has a financial challenge that it has been unable to solve locally. Rather than be second-guessed, Dr. McSheehy sought a recommendation from the Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA). The district has a financial challenge, according to WASA, Mr. Kuper is an expert in solving financial challenges. Mr. Kuper’s personal feelings against the COVID mandates taken by Jay Inslee are totally unimportant with regard to his task – finding a road to financial solvency for VISD.
If Mr. Kuper had made national news by stating Jay Inslee walks on water and his mandate for vaccinations and mask usage should become a part of the Washington Constitution, it equally would have been unimportant.
Would Mr. Kuper fit into the Vashon community? Probably not. Since his contract only calls for one island visit, it is not likely he will be able to upset the community with his presence. The major question, is can he count? VISD and the school board have been unable to find a way to only budget expenditures that match its dwindling revenues. A simple matter of counting.
As to counting, The Beachcomber article further sought to inflame the VISD staff and local parents by highlighting the RIFs Mr. Kuper participated in at his former school district.
For anyone who can count, this was not news. If you have a major budget deficit and 80% of your expenses are payroll expenses, there will be RIFs. In that regard, if VISD had RIFs this year and next year is losing $500,000 in pandemic money, the RIFs only will be greater even If Jay Inslee himself were to do the review.
Scott Harvey
