Letters to the editor for Nov. 4

Why coal trains here?

Gov. Inslee and Lands Commissioner Franz always campaign to protect the Puget Sound region from environmental degradation. Yet recent decisions they made have had the opposite effect. They actually denied permits that would have kept mile-long coal trains from spewing diesel exhaust, coal dust, and congestion through the region.

Here’s what happened: When American allies in Asia — Japan and South Korea — signed the Paris Climate Accords, transitioning away from coal, they sought a temporary source for cleaner low-sulfur coal found in ample supply in Montana and Wyoming. But Inslee and Franz denied permits to build a safe export facility near Longview on the Columbia River.

But for two years, the coal has been coming into the state near Spokane to the Tri-Cities, then down the Columbia Gorge. In our Vancouver, the trains turn north and travel past Longview through Olympia, Tacoma, Seattle, Everett, and Bellingham to Vancouver, BC, where Canadian longshoremen load the coal on ships traversing the Straits of Juan de Fuca, adding even more pressure on migrating killer whales.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said no to coal shipments through the Puget Sound region once. We need to stop this madness.

Please let Inslee and Franz know we expect better of them. And let the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers know they can override the politicians’ denials to protect Puget Sound.

Dennis Weber, Cowlitz County Commissioner

Tumwater Lanes the latest victim of COVID closures

Like any parent should, I had my young son try a wide array of extracurricular activities, from baseball to theater. However unexpected, it was bowling that sparked in him a passion I’d never seen before. And it was Sandy and Creed at Tumwater Lanes who helped guide him, as they’ve guided thousands of young people down the right path in life since they took ownership of the bowling alley 25 years ago.

Unfortunately, Tumwater Lanes was put up for sale — another victim of COVID-related restrictions on our state’s ailing businesses. The family-owned-and-operated establishment has been a gathering place for young and old alike, an anchor of the local economy, and one of the few remaining mainstays of family entertainment in the area for over half a century. There’s no telling if a new owner will keep the bowling alley, or bulldoze it in favor of building cheap, revenue-generating apartments on the site instead.

Thousands of kids have developed not only skills on the lanes but skills for life. Sandy runs the business, Creed’s instruction shapes the students into outstanding bowlers, and his brother, Mike, is a genius running the pro-shop – knowing exactly where to drill any ball for any bowler based seemingly on instinct.

It’s a travesty that this wonderful place will become another casualty of COVID-related business closures. When, I ask, will the state provide the economic relief for which its businesses are crying out?

Erich R. Ebel, Lacey

Hold law enforcement accountable for Reinoehl’s killing

I was disgusted and horrified to read the New York Times article that The Olympian published detailing the extrajudicial murder of Michael Reinoehl in Tanglewilde last month.

In case you missed it, officers from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, Lakewood Police Department and state Department of Corrections descended on Reinoehl as he got in his car, holding his cell phone and chewing on some candy.

Twenty-one of the 22 witnesses interviewed stated that they never heard any of the officers announce themselves or give any warning before they started firing. That’s 95%. Ninety-five percent of witnesses said police gave no warning, they just shot. That’s why it’s called extrajudicial. Reinoehl never got his day in court. It’s murder because there was nothing legal, or accidental, about it.

Yet the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office says everything looks fine. Nothing wrong here. How can they come to that conclusion? Ninety-five percent of witnesses contradict TSCO’s findings. And curiously enough, there were no body cameras.

This is unacceptable. This is why there’s a huge movement to defund law enforcement. They cannot be trusted to hold each other accountable. They don’t deserve funding.

Sheriff John Snaza is up for election in 2022. But you can call for accountability now. The Thurston County Board of Commissioners control TCSO’s budget.

By finding no wrongdoing in the Reinoehl shooting, TCSO is covering for and protecting its own. They need to have their toys and money taken away.

Shellee Billings, Olympia