... from the Enterprise.. letter to the editor:
Regarding the "White Salmon Blog" web site, I would like to quote Oscar Wilde: "There is so much to be said in favor of modern journalism. By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, it keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community." - Roger Holen, White Salmon
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Blog shows ignorance of the community
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22 comments:
Wow, I saw this in the paper too..Roger, please, what is so upsetting? Do you think a blog is journalism..? If you disagree just add your comments, you are more than welcome.
Why are people of this opinion so threatened by other views? Every day I read stuff I don't agree with in local papers, I go to public meetings and hear officials say things that are so contrary to facts I am aware of, and/or my views...But,this is what democracy looks like!
You talk, I talk, we share, we agree, we disagree. There are not many simple problems out there so of course there are lots of layers of facts and information and perspectives.
Surely you have something more intelligent to share than just saying the blog is uneducated. I would like to hear it.
Early Riser
the previous mayor of White Salmon calling the community uneducated and ignorant? What a slam.
This viewpoint of the former mayor is astonishing. (I don't recall his campaign rhetoric exposing this hard edge)... I'm curious if the current members of our city and county government share Mr. Holen's viewpoint about the education and intelligence level of their constituency? I hope not.
signed...White Salmon citizen
When I read that commentary written by Roger Holen, I couldn't quite believe it! (For his information, I know at least one person who has posted to this blog who holds a Master's Degree) I can't help but wonder why people seem threatened by words/opinions written by others without their name. Why does it matter so much who says it? Obviously the Holens care a great deal about who said what because they have both had remarks on this blog to that effect. Perhaps the real Roger Holen has now stood before the electorate of the City of White Salmon- the real Roger calls the people of our community "uneducated".
Oh, how gifted we all are to once again hear Roger Holen tell us how he feels about the citizens of this fine community. Is it any wonder he was recalled as mayor! Roger, you no longer have the opportunity to be-little the citizens...we took that away from you, or don't you remember.
Perhaps he should do what it is he does best. Running The Sin of the White Salmon. Keep your insults to yourself, and please stop making an *** out of yourself in public!
The Holens should have remained anonymous. Then the other anonymous people would not know who to dis.
The Holens no longer own the Inn of the White Salmon. Calling it the "Sin" of White Salmon may not set kindly with the current owners. They may consider that slander or lible.
The "former" mayor named no one. It is a qoute. You have all self indentified.
Don't kid yourself Anon. Roger set himself up as "lord over all" and many times proved that was his core belief. As mayor he did not consider what the people who put him in office wanted, he thought we were a bunch of misguided hicks and only he knew what was best for us. He was a small town Mayor with a BIG ego.
Blue Bell
Why can't we all just get along? Let's try to be respectful of each other. We all get carried away. I love this community. Disagreement is a fact of life. Lets not let it poison us and wreck our way of life here.
So, by giving us your opinion Mr. Holen, by definition, would make you ignorant?
Do you guys realize that in a city such as ours, in the State of Washington, it is the City Council that makes decsions....sets the policies? The Mayor only enforces what the City Council has approved. There is no way that a mayor can become a dictator in the State of Washinginton. Check it out.
By reading the 11th/ blog Are you asking to change the council? if so Richard Marx is the only one on the council who should retain his seat.
Blue Bell
Specifically why do you think Ricky Marx is the only one that should retain his seat on the council. Is is apparent that you feel very strongly about this but what has he done specifically that warrants this opinion? I know he is angry about the Salmon Run developement and how it was handled by previous administrators.....but the reality is that we simply can't go backwards in time and reverse this decision......why not move forward? You can't blame a water shortage on the current members of the council so why continnually take shots at them? They do a job than so many are not willing to do.......what good does it serve to revisit an issue that appears was mishandled. White Salmon has never experienced growth like this before.......although I am not defending anyone with reguards to water hookups issue, but it seems to me that so many people expect a perfect performance from people in pulic service when they venture down a path for the very first time. White Salmon had never been faced with a water issue surrounding hookups in the previous 97 years coupled with the explosive growth like we have seen recently. We are not in Kansas anymore! Let's hear some concrete ideas!
Beatledawg
The main reason I feel as stronly as I do about Councilman Marx is: He is the only one of the council members who held a town meeting to answer questions and find out why the towns people feel as they do. The rest of them the mayor included never showed their faces, so to me that says they DON'T CARE what our concerns are and how we feel about issues that concern all of us who live here. He was the only council member that has shown he CARES and wants to solve problems so the town can move ahead and prosper. I hope I have answered your question.
Blue Bell
Come on, Blue Bell, the city council all give a tremendous amount of their time doing pretty much a thankless job - - - and for no pay. You can't say they don't care because they didn't attend the town hall meeting. They care a lot or they wouldn't even do the job. There isn't any glory in being on the city council. It is done by people who care about this city.
And, don't forget that Ricky is running for reelection this year, so he has a reason for wanting to look caring. He 'cares' about getting reelected. Also, by law more than two council members could not attend the town hall meeting because then it would legally be considered a city council meeting without being publically noticed in advance.
Hey Anon. thanks for enlightning me. Personally I like all the council members, but I feel they have done some very misguided actions. Last night the Mayor informed us that there would be a round table meeting with the public before each council meeting, it will last from 5:00 p.m. until 5:45 p.m. Hopefully they have awoke to the fact that people are very unhappy with some of the actions they have taken. Hopefully there IS a light at the end of the tunnel.
Blue Bell
Blue Bell,
I am still trying to get specifics about what you are missing from the other council members. Are you telling me that if any one of the other members called a town meeting, that would be enough to put you in thir corner and feel like they are making an effort? You said......
"The rest of them the mayor included never showed their faces, so to me that says they DON'T CARE what our concerns are and how we feel about issues that concern all of us who live here."
The problem with more council members showing up as opposed to just Ricky is that you end up (by law I believe) having a council meeting and must adhere to their procedures, of which is what I assume you guys were trying to get away from. So really, in the interest of free flowing exchanges of idea, wasn't it best for you that none of the other council members showed up? But again I am not sure what your CONCERNS are, other than not being heard.........that means there are issues you want the council to hear and those issues are what I am trying to get from you.
Does that make sense?
Beatledawg
Some of my concerns are: putting Town Houses aand row houses in residential areas, I'm not sure I want my home town turned into a vacation resort. I worry about our water situation, I know the council and Mr. Wellman are doing their best to rectify the situation. I was very upset with the Wyers End affair, if I'm not mistaken I thought the trailer court was to be torn down and low income housing was to be built, but now it's Cottage Homes. We need a planning commission to oversee new developements. It seems to me what ever is taking place now isn't working.
Blue Bell
Well, you don't have to spend very much time reading all the blogs on this site, however, to see that there are a huge number of statements that reflect a lack of knowledge about what they are talking about. Some are obviously wrong if they only would only check out the facts, or even just read the Enterprise. Some don't understand basic economics, or the legal rights that every property owner has. Isn't that ignorance?
Ditto to your comments, Anon! A lot of this ignorant blogging could be avoided if people would take the time to get accurate information!
Wyer's End was never billed as low income housing - go back and read the paper. And, think of townhomes as the duplexes of the future. There are sure enough of them in the city that have been around for years. Increasing density is the best way to provide services at the least cost to everyone, including home buyers.
Wyers End property owners bought the land and are building according to the law. That really should be the end of discussion.
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