LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

?The Editor:
I agree most enthusiastically with John Hammell’s philosophy that we live in a dangerous world filled with hidden conspiracies. Frankly, we should all be paranoid, because there are dangers far more subtle and insidious than cell phone radiation.
Animals: We should all be very very afraid of animal emissions. Sure, we’ve all grown up believing the myth that animals are our friends – special friends, some of which become adorable lifelong pals, some of which we ultimately ride, skin and eat. Yum!
But don’t be deceived: Hostile aliens from another galaxy are slowly gassing us through proxies – you guessed it – those same furry creatures sleeping on the hearth or grazing in our Point Roberts pastures.
You want proof that we’re being surreptitiously harmed? Some sweet Saturday morning when mist rolls in on little cat feet, sneak into a pasture and stand in front of a dozing mare’s mouth. Inhale deeply, but be prepared to faint: That’s no ordinary morning breath; it’s stinky enough to make a dead man crawl. There they stand, inhaling and exhaling, inhaling and exhaling, millions of times a year.
That’s just the beginning. For those people born with a reckless gene, the fearless few who taunt death, gird your loins and stand in close proximity to and behind a horse’s ass. It won’t take long before there’s a whoosh and scent that’ll blow your ears clean off.
They’re everywhere in Point Roberts, those animal butts, whooshing and wheezing billions upon billions of tons of sulphur-scented methane into our atmosphere. Your beloved pooch or pussy, dozing so innocently on your bed, has special instructions from his alien masters to break wind as often as possible while we sleep the sleep of unsuspecting angels. One morning, you might not wake up, never knowing you were gassed by your own loving pet.
There is hope. Once the general public becomes aware of the dual dangers of radiation-emitting phones and animal gas, we might once again be safe, living in a Point Roberts with no cell phone towers or animals.
Cell phone radiation and animal gas. It’s a wonder our brains didn’t rot long ago. Thank you, John Hammell, for warning us of the dangers.
David Mallet
Point Roberts

The Editor:
I have been a regular visitor to Point Roberts since I was a little girl with my grandparents. I have recently inherited my grandparent’s summer home. I absolutely adore the beaches, woods and quiet that I associate with Point Roberts.
I have always felt comfortable and safe while visiting the cottage. I am very embarrassed about writing this letter because I consider myself professional and sane; however, I can not deny the fact that I saw a Bigfoot in the backyard of my cottage this summer.
I was sitting at my kitchen table enjoying a cup of coffee when I saw movement in my backyard. The creature looked like a very hairy human. It looked at me through the window and disappeared at a slow lope.
I am sure that this sounds absolutely preposterous, but I am curious as to whether other people have seen this creature as well. I did not feel threatened by this creature in any way.
I certainly do not want to cause panic or an onslaught of Bigfoot hunting – I am just curious if this is a common occurrence on the Point that has been kept a very good secret.
Absolutely Normal (Name withheld by request)
Vancouver, B.C.

The Editor:
It is shocking that U.S. federal law (The Telecom Act of 1996, Section 704) forbids Whatcom County Council from allowing any discussion of the adverse health and environmental problems caused by cell phone towers.
As a Canadian who spends a lot of time in Point Roberts, I urge the Point Roberts parks board to either scrap their ill conceived plans of putting a cell phone tower on the Point or at the very least to hold a proper town meeting where there could at least be full public disclosure of these dangers. To not do so would indeed invite lawsuits.
Living creatures are loaded with a magnetic material called magnetite – a natural mineral that is millions of times more sensitive to external magnetic fields than other living material. Birds beaks and eyes are loaded with it. It serves as a navigational device in night time migration and on cloudy days. Fish have lateral lines on both sides of their bodies that are pure magnetite crystal chains. That’s what allows them to swim in schools without colliding with each other.
Conservative estimates from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Department indicate that a single cell tower below 200 feet may account for as many as 3,000 songbird deaths a year along major migratory routes. Point Roberts is indeed positioned directly along the Pacific flyway. Here in Surrey, songbirds can’t be heard in nearly the numbers that they can in Point Roberts.
Would people move to sell their cottages on the Point if it loses its rural character? This gives a new meaning to Rachel Carson’s warnings about a “Silent Spring.” How would a cell tower impact migrating eagles and how many would it kill? How do electromagnetic fields impact salmon? Whales?
School children at the Point’s only primary school are very close to where this tower is intended to be located. What about everyone else on the Point? Would this proposed tower negatively impact people’s sleep patterns causing tension and stress? Could it lead to increased cancer rates?
If the parks board insists on going forward with these ill considered plans, shouldn’t they at least provide for proper informed consent via a town meeting at which knowledgeable speakers such as Milt Bowling from the Clean Energy Foundation could speak to these issues?
If I were a U.S. citizen living in Point Roberts, I would vote against every member of the current parks board if they fail to handle this issue with the care that it demands.
Candace Hill
Surrey, B.C

The Editor:
Serving as a senior aide to U.S. Congressman Rick Larsen, Jasper MacSlarrow has worked on critical issues to the district including job growth, community security (including border security), support for schools, and preserving the Pacific Northwest quality of life.
The son of public school teachers Jack and Dorothy MacSlarrow, Jasper graduated from Ferndale high school in 1994 where he was student body vice president and named student of the year by the Bellingham Herald.
Following graduation, Jasper attended the University of Washington earning a degree in international relations from the Jackson School of International Studies. He served as student body vice president and promoted quality of education and access to higher education in his home state.
After graduation Jasper moved to Washington, D.C. interning for U.S. Senator Patty Murray and worked for U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes, focusing on energy, military, and environmental issues.
In 2002, Jasper joined Congressman Larsen’s staff as senior legislative assistant, handling Representative Larsen’s Armed Services Committee work and overseeing energy, environment, homeland security, and tribal issues. As a senior aide, Jasper worked with Rick to fight for jobs at the Alcoa Intalco plant in Ferndale, ensure a secure border that allows the free flow of people and goods, provide funds to our schools, and combat the use of methamphetamine in our communities.
The Nooksack River’s polluted dump site was effectively cleaned up by Jasper and Representative Larsen working with local officials, providing strong support for Whatcom County farmers and small businesses in the region.
Jasper is married to Tiffany MacSlarrow, a first grade teacher at Skyline Elementary School in Ferndale and is also a graduate of Ferndale high school, the University of Washington, and the University of Maryland.
In 2002, Jasper joined Congressman Larsen’s staff as senior legislative assistant, handling Representative Larsen’s Armed Services Committee work and overseeing energy, environment, homeland security, and tribal issues. With the retirement of popular congressional aide Andy Anderson in 2003 in the congressman’s Bellingham constituent office, Jasper jumped at chance to continue with Congressman Larsen near his hometown. He has served in that position with grace, dignity and efficiency.
Up to his last days in that position he continually pressed border security to serve the people of Point Roberts and Blaine so as to protect our economic viability from costly delays. In this respect he has shown ability to work well with others in authority. This will serve us well when he becomes our representative in Olympia in place of the aloof singularity of Doubting Doug who almost always takes a contrary position to whatever his seatmate Kelli Linville supports, even when that position is what his constituents have shown to be detrimental to the county and the state.
Ted Mohr
Point Roberts

The Editor:
The ILWU (Longshore) Pensioners Fish Derby Committee is pleased to announce the winners of our August 12 and 13 fish derby. First prize went to Annette Calder with a 20-pounder, second prize to Chris Hopkins, a 17-pounder, third prize to Scott Stewart, 10.6 pounds, and fourth prize to Scott McLean, with an 8.8 pound fish.
The ticket prize for a seven day cruise for two to Alaska supplied by Northwest Cruise Ship Association and Holland American Line was won by Les Vivian, ticket number 106 drawn on August 17.
The committee wishes to thank all the participants for their dedication to fishing and to all those who helped make the derby a success. Special mention is made to the management and staff of the Point Roberts Marina and the assistance from Nielson’s Building Center and Westwind Marina will always be remembered.
Jim Keith, chairman, ILWU Fishing Derby
Point Roberts

The Editor:
In response to Jim Marshall’s question, “Why would anyone be against a U.S. cell tower?” John Hammell’s letter covered the health aspect.
My position is political. Currently Verizon has a $5 billion lawsuit file against them, so I am not alone.
Why should Americans care? To answer this, I excerpt Sibel Edmond’s All That’s Given Up In the Name of Security:
You may ask how NSA eavesdropping affects you when you have nothing to hide. Let us try to explain why you should worry. Even if, as the government claims, this program is only looking for “terrorist activity,” still all your conversations have to be processed; have to be linked to other calls and sources of possible terrorist activity.
All it takes is an innocent phone call to a friend, who has placed a call to a friend or relative, who has legitimate business or personal contacts in a foreign country where there may be “suspected terrorists.” You have just become a potential target or government investigation – you may be a terrorist supporter, or even a terrorist.
Remember “Six Degrees of Separation,” (the theory that anyone on earth can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances with no more than five intermediaries). The NSA program can easily mistakenly connect you to a terrorist.
Furthermore, since the program is being conducted without judicial oversight and under no recognized process there is nothing to restrict how the information obtained under the program is being used.
But let us take things from the widely shared point of view; the view that there is nothing for honest people to fear from warrantless, presidentially ordered surveillance. What other invasions of rights would such acquiescence to government authority inevitably lead to?
Our government will argue its right to break into your house and search it without warrant based on some tip, intelligence, or information that is considered classified, which you have no right or clearance to know about. It will argue that the search and the secrecy are necessary for reasons of “national security” and within the “inherent powers” of the executive branch, therefore not requiring congressional authorization or judicial oversight.
The cell phone tower issue should be discussed in a town hall meeting. We would also discuss: is there another location that is less polluting, approach Qwest Telecommunications, who did not submit their records. How can the much deserving parks board generate an income stream? Remember, we are a democracy still.
Suzanne Rosser
Point Roberts

The Editor:
With your permission, I’d like to clarify a quote attributed to me in the August All Point Bulletin.
First, by “nobody” I was referring to those who didn’t have the water district documents necessary to understand the water district’s July 13 public meeting.
Second, I was not allowed to finish my comment. Consequently, the quote was from a fragment of an idea.
As laconic as each emendation sounds, neither is it meant to confute Meg’s trenchant observation about the water district’s lack of transparency. On the contrary, I hope the two amplify her point. It seems the whole water district is struggling to balance many more things than appear on the surface, including protecting our rate structure.
However, the wait that the water district imposes on me is crushing. And, the way my papers furtively disappeared at the July 18 water district meeting is disturbing.
On an altogether different topic, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the All Point Bulletin and W. Baird Blackstone for warning us about the bad actors trying to inflame Canadian/U.S. relations. Such exposure discomfits agent provocateurs.
Mr. Blackstone reminds me of why NATO troops prefer Canadians on their flanks. They are alert, tough and proper.
Steven K. Sweetwood
Point Roberts

The Editor:
The neighbor’s kid saved our house from burning down.
A few days ago, we had a few friends over enjoying the view of the ocean and the islands.
One was smoking, somewhat unnoticed by the interruption of the beauty that surrounds us.
A day later, we ventured with some family that were visiting, up for a day trip to Squamish. A beautiful trip it was.
Happy to arrive to the border and cross back into the Point and feel the green arms of the trees welcome us back home.
Pulling up to our house, we were greeted by a friend who was at our neighbors. He beckoned us quickly to look at our deck. Immediately concerned, we rushed to see what he was urging us for. The planter box and the corner of the deck were burnt severely through.
Our friend informed us that our neighbors son was home and readying himself to leave, when he spotted flames shooting high from our deck.
Brandon Gibbs responded with unselfish speed. First calling 911, and second hopping the fence and running to turn on the hose and single handedly fight the fire.
The fire department arrived to find the fire fully extinguished. The cause determined by the fire department was a cigarette having been put out in the planter box.
Apparently, the ember from the cigarette, when supposedly extinguished into the planter box, sometimes may not be fully out and smolder for a couple of days, as it had in this case and then with the right amount of wind and heat, ignite! (Caution with smokers on and around your decks and homes.)
The bravery and selfless act of Brandon Gibbs, saved our family’s home from burning to the ground. If not for Brandon, our home could have literally burnt to ashes.
Almost a week later, my wife and I are still speechless and at a loss for words and ways to thank this young heroic man enough.
So in this letter to the editor, we are hoping that there is a possibility of some chance to publicly announce to his friends and family, and his community. That from the bottom of our hearts, we will forever be thankful to you Brandon Gibbs, for your bravery and heroic act. You saved our home.
Thank you so very much. You are a good man.
Adam Silver, Rena Andreoli and, of
course, Rosie, too!
Point Roberts

The Editor:
The fire department would be much better served by using a satellite phone than a cell phone. Not requiring a tower, satellite phones are far safer as well as far more reliable than cell phones. In Vermont, where I was once a volunteer fireman, all emergency services now use satellite phones.
The Point Roberts parks board told me that “there will be a public hearing before the Whatcom County Council,” regarding the proposed cell phone tower, however, what they failed to say (perhaps because they didn’t know), is that the county council is blocked by federal law from even allowing any discussion of health or environmental concerns from being raised at this hearing, [The Telecom Act of 1996, Section 704].
In September 1997, citizens from 12 states jointly filed suit in the US Court of Appeals for the second circuit challenging the FCC’s authority to set the RF exposure guidelines and challenging the constitutionality of the Telecommunications Act on 1st, 5th, and 10th amendment grounds. This lawsuit was referred to the supreme court which hasn’t yet made a ruling. [Docket # 00-393].
What the Point Roberts parks board needs to know is that Verizon is an LLC. They can’t be sued, but the would be leaseholder (the Point Roberts parks board) would be open to lawsuits by anyone who feels their health may have been negatively impacted by this proposed tower, especially if the board fails to provide the opportunity for a town meeting at which full disclosure of possible adverse health effects could be made.
All Verizon does when they try to con towns into erecting a tower is they tell them about all the money they’re going to make. They don’t tell them about the Telecom Act of 1996, Section 704 or about the fact that they’re an LLC so aren’t liable for lawsuits, (but that the parks board would be liable in the event that anyone filed a lawsuit against them because the jury is still out on this issue- no legal precedent has been set.)
Every member of the Point Roberts parks board would be well advised to read all the articles under the listing: Electrical Sensitivity: A Growing Global Concern- How Wireless Technology May Impact Child Development and Central Nervous System Functioning at www.latitudes.org/articles/electrical_sensitivity_articles.html and the book Cell Towers – Wireless Convenience? Or Environmental Hazard? Edited by B. Blake Levitt
I strongly urge the parks board to scrap these poorly considered plans, and at the very least to hold a town meeting right here in Point Roberts where proper and full public disclosure about the adverse health effects of cell phone towers could be properly addressed. Milt Bowling is an excellent local resource www.cleanenergycanada.com.
John Hammell
Point Roberts

Letters Policy
The All Point Bulletin welcomes letters to the editor; however, the opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the editor. Letters must include name, address and daytime telephone number for verification. Letters must not exceed 450 words and may be edited or rejected for reasons of legality and good taste.
A fresh viewpoint on matters of general interest to local readers will increase the likelihood of publication. Writers should avoid personal invective. Unsigned letters will not be accepted for publication. Requests for withholding names will be considered on an individual basis.
Thank You letters should be limited to ten names.
Only one letter per month from an individual correspondent will be published.

Please send your letter to: P.O. Box 1451, Point Roberts, WA 98281
or fax (360) 945-1613.
E-mail:editor@allpointbulletin.com

BACK TO TOP