LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The Editor:
I find Barbara Brenner’s approach to the issue of septic inspections to be unhelpful. The premise that anybody can do this is missing the whole point. If a homeowner has several thousand dollars riding on the result of passing an inspection, where would you think the incentive to pass would be? Of course the owner is going to pass the self inspection.
If Brenner’s proposal is implemented, no one will fail an inspection. How would this help the environment? How would this help any potential purchasers of such a property? How would this safeguard my own property from contamination by my neighbor?
Property owners have an obligation not just to comply with the law, but also to do the right thing. Weaseling out of third party inspections is not the answer. We need credible evidence that septic systems are functional, and only independent inspections have such credibility. I don’t want my groundwater contaminated by my neighbor just because he is trying to save a couple of hundred dollars.
If we were to condone this approach, how about self-inspection of electrical code, building code, etc. Brenner’s philosophy is leading us into chaos and has considerable potential of being quite odious and/or odoriferous.
Holger Michelsen
Point Roberts
(Ed. note: The sale of any home in Whatcom County requires a permitted and professionally inspected OSS system prior to the sale. The amendment passed February 23 by a 5-2 margin.)

The Editor:
This is not a rant; it is not a complaint. I have no advice to offer and none to seek. Rather, I am taking some space in your paper to offer thanks and appreciation to the Point’s emergency response team.
During the early morning hours of February 8, I woke with sufficient internal pain to convince me that a 911 call was appropriate – the first I’ve ever placed. Within what seemed no more than minutes, the 4 a.m. blackness was alive with flashing lights, often the cause for concern, but this night, a most welcome intrusion.
My little house was immediately filled with five (six?) highly focused, efficient, no-nonsense but sympathetic, professional and oddly calm people. They were going about their routine which, it turned out, was to get me strapped onto a gurney and to hustle me off to the nearest hospital. 
The intervening medical details are of far less importance than the simple and stark evidence of humane compassion and care exhibited by our emergency response volunteers. I say volunteers because whether or not they may be paid for their services, anyone who’ll arrive at a stranger’s house eight minutes after dispatched at 4 a.m. for the sole purpose of rendering assistance ain’t doin’ it for the money. 
To Chief Nick Kiniski and his band of merry men and women (they know who they are), a heartfelt thank you. The pain in my gut will soon be gone. My gratitude will not.
Axel Schonfeld
Point Roberts

The Editor:
As a publicly educated student most of my entire life, I can attest to its relative successes. Public high school in Blaine served me well for four years. I write to you today as a student still engaged in the public education system at Washington State University. It is for this reason that I implore you to allow the state to collect revenue.
Even I must admit that our state has poorly handled its finances of late. We must, both for now and in the future, begin to look at long-term budgets that can keep our state vital and sustainable. However, we cannot accomplish either task if higher education is poorly funded.
More and more students are being asked to shoulder the economic burden of college. Tuition at state universities is slated to go up another 14 percent next year and again after that. In the time that I attend WSU, I could see my tuition rise by almost 40 percent over four years. This is completely unacceptable.
The purpose of state institutions is to provide students the opportunity to be educated at a reasonable cost. If the student is forced to leave with crippling debt, how can they be expected to return to the system that gave so much to them? 
Please contact your legislature and tell them that cuts to higher education hurt all of us. By collecting revenue, we can forestall damaging cuts to our departments.
For now, we must preserve essential programs. Do not force faculties out of their jobs. Do not diminish the quality of our education. And please do not turn your backs on the students of Washington state.
Peter Wagner
Pullman, WA

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

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 or email:
editor@allpointbulletin.com

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