The election, Occupy Olympia and national unrest over the economy were lively topics for community debate on the opinion page in 2011.
Each month, The Olympian’s Editorial Board selects a letter of the month to highlight. Sometimes it’s a witty letter. Other times, it’s a letter that tugs at the heartstrings, or is especially well-researched and written. Other winners of the monthly Silver Pen award have written letters that are provocative or take a bold stand or prompt a community reaction.
Let’s recap the Silver Pen winners for 2011:
Adam Peterson of Rochester kicked off the year by winning the January Silver Pen award with a well-written letter calling for less vitriolic rhetoric and more civility in politics and political discussions. Writing in the aftermath of the shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Peterson said, “I find it sadly ironic that there’s been so much hateful rhetoric arguing over which side is most responsible for hateful rhetoric. This makes no sense and is only making things worse.”
The February letter of the month honor went to Jim Medina of Olympia. He commented on the case of the local woman who was incarcerated at the Olympia jail. She was ordered to disrobe “in a manner constituting a clear violation of state law.” In his letter, Medina called upon City Council members and city officials to drop their defense of the lawsuit filed against them.
Patrick Yirka of Olympia was declared the winner of the March letter of the month honor. His letter, criticizing the Navy flyover jets at the Super Bowl, drew spirited responses. Yirka’s point was the cost of the flyover was an unnecessary expense just to embellish a sporting event.
Debra McReynolds of Lacey was the April letter winner. She aimed her pen directly at Republicans in the state House of Representatives for their frivolous legislation to make pizza an insured item for medical marijuana patients. She asked, “Isn’t it nice to know the state’s future is taken so seriously by those we elected to office?”
The top letter from May was penned by William Collins of Olympia. He took dead aim at habitual initiative sponsor Tim Eyman, noting that Eyman loaned the Initiative 1053 campaign $250,000 that was raised by taking a second mortgage on his home. Eyman was soliciting contributions to repay the debt. “If government has to live within its limited means, perhaps Eyman should do the same,” Collins wrote.
James T. Elder of Olympia cited federal income and estate tax rates to make his point in his June letter that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. “Corporations and the wealthiest 20 percent of this country are making more and contributing less to the survival of this country, while the middle class makes less and foots more of the bill,” Elder wrote. It was a theme that was repeated as the Occupy movement gained footing and spread across the country.
At the halfway mark of the year, Chuck Magnusson of Lacey, wrote about the crying need for universal health care in this nation. He said one day we will look back and wonder just why it took so long to adopt a rational health care system.
Jack Havens of Olympia made no secret of his support for keeping Capitol Lake a lake in his August letter of the month. An estuary, he said, would look exactly like Mud Bay and would have a negative effect on local economic activity. Havens called upon voters to hold City Council candidates accountable for their views on the lake versus estuary question.
The September award went to Fred LaMotte of Steilacoom who wrote passionately about our collective obligation to welcome returning service members, regardless of our personal views on the wars in the Middle East.
Millie Glick from Olympia won the top letter honor for October. She called on members of Congress to get serious about the national debt. “They need to forget whether they are Republicans, Democrats or independents and remember they are Americans and work together to scrutinize every expenditure and decide if it is for the benefit of the country,” Glick wrote.
The November Silver Pen winner was awarded to Ken Brown of Olympia. He urged national campaign finance reform and a switch to publicly funded campaigns to guard against “a government of the rich, by the rich, for the rich.”
And, finally, the winner of the December letter of the month is Chris Rasmussen-Barsanti of Tenino, who wrote about the days before Social Security when the poor, elderly and infirm were consigned to the poor house or a work farm. “Conditions were deplorable, mistreatment was common. If you were poor, this was the result of a moral failing on your part,” Rasmussen-Barsanti wrote, urging the rest of us to think about the entitlement programs we have today and how much they have improved the quality of life for those in need.
Congratulations to the 12 Silver Pen award winners for 2011. Readers can see the full text of all dozen letters at theolympian. com/editorial.
Olympian readers are invited to join the community discussion by submitting a 250-word or less letter. Remember, only one letter every 30 days. Who knows, you might be a Silver Pen winner in 2012.
