The Beachcomber is outstanding despite its occasional misstep. One such misstep was the decision to use the candy photo on the recent front page illustrating an article about Bakkhos Holding buying the K2 site. The depiction provided fodder for alarmists and was a disservice to the community.

At the recent public meeting, many of the attendees seemed to believe that selling drug-laced candy to Vashon children is the likely outcome of having the processing plant on the island and in that location. Largely lost among the outpourings of myth and anecdote is the fact that the company will be selling wholesale to retailers and cannot sell directly to consumers, here or anywhere. Even if Bakkhos never locates to Vashon, legal retailers will have the right to sell the products here. Parents and other adults won’t be able to shirk their own responsibility of safeguarding minors simply because they have forestalled a legal, job-producing business from settling here.

At the meeting some raised relevant points about on-site pollution from past practices and about future energy consumption. If the current seller remains responsible for any necessary cleanup, our community is better served by putting the area to good use rather than letting it sit idle and remaining as damaged as it was during its active era.

The energy use issue is worth considering, but isn’t one that affects the siting of the business on Vashon. Whether Bakkhos is located here or Bainbridge or Walla Walla, the same energy issues arise.

In our insular community, some NIMBY attitude may be unavoidable, but after enduring years of obstructionism on a national level with a gridlocked Congress, I hope the community can work together to create solutions rather than relying on a new, local version of a failed Just Say No policy.

— A J Bastarache