Letters to the editor for May 22

Don’t rush to reopen

I recently had to venture out of my house for the first time in more than a week, to pickup prescription medications and some grocery items. As I entered the Lacey Target, I was horrified by the lack of social distancing and the lack of control of the number of people allowed in the store.

The Olympian then ran an article showing a county map with the number of COVID-19 cases, which were highest in the 98503 and 98513 ZIP codes. This did not surprise me.

The shining example of this crisis was the Lowe’s on Yelm Highway. They were only allowing a certain number of people in the store at a time to maintain social distancing.

Even though I am very healthy and active, I am still in a high risk category, in that I am 65. I bet that the people who were protesting the stay-at-home order at the Capitol live in the 98503 and 98513 ZIP codes.

It is unfortunate that people are not taking this seriously enough. Gov. Inslee is correct in not rushing back to “opening” our state. Doing this too quickly will allow the virus to escalate and cause more deaths. Don’t believe this? Refer to the history of the flu pandemic in 1918. This is exactly what happened then.

Please stay at home if you do not need to go out. If you do go out, wear a face mask and wash your hands. This is not that hard.

Julie Robinson, Olympia

Don’t forget your pet waste

This is my response to Jim and Nancy Kelly’s above-titled letter to the editor. I am a dog lover and enjoy watching dog owners take their “best friends” out for their daily walks. I can see most of these owners carry a doggy bag and when their dogs do their thing, they bend down, pick up the poop, tie the bag and proceed on. Thank you.

Unfortunately, too many of these owners are not following through with the final deposit. I know this because I am constantly finding several plastic bags of the poop, discreetly dropped when they think no one is watching. To that I ask, why even pick up the poop? Or are these bags biodegradable? I don’t think so.

So forget about the act of picking up the poop if you aren’t going to properly dispose of it. You are only compounding the problem.

Bob Hill, Olympia