Sequim Gazette Editorial and Letters to the Editor

Aginners.

That's what the late Jerry Norman called them: aginners.

Jerry was the wise West Texan who edited the opinion page of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, where I worked from 1989 to 1995.

He was laconic. He made his words count.

One that hit home especially well was his label for people who, no matter what purpose might be served by a public program or private project, were against it.

Permanently. Period.

You needn't travel to Texas to find aginners. Every community breeds its own unique species.

A bunch - a herd? a flock? a gang? That's it, a gang of aginners - turned out for Wednesday's discussion of rules the state Department of Ecology is considering imposing on new wells in the Dungeness Valley.

No matter that the topic has been under discussion at least

since 2005 in public meetings of the Clallam County commissioners and the Dungeness River Management Team, more recently at open houses hosted by Ecology.

Aginners don't participate in the making of a decision. They wait until it's nearly made, then turn out in force to say they oppose it.

In this case, they answered the e-mailed calls of a real estate dealer to pack Wednesday's meeting.

Also, aginners seldom study the proposal that they oppose, which means that they arrive hooded in ignorance.

With issues as complex as Washington water law, the Legislature's mandate to save salmon habitat and the hydrology of the Dungeness basin, such ignorance is profound.

Most of them almost certainly skipped over the several years' worth of articles in the Sequim Gazette, including the just-concluded 10-part series written by Ecology scientists to explain what likely will happen.

That, to almost dangerously oversimplify the matter, is to limit to a reasonable quantity the amount of water any new well can draw.

I won't argue that the Legislature was right to try to preserve salmon, the Northwest's iconic fish, or that Ecology has taken the best angle on the solution.

And I certainly won't say people shouldn't stand up and be counted at meetings like Wednesday's.

I'll suggest, however, that what happened at the John Wayne Marina was cheap drama staged by people who shrugged off opportunities to steer the decision in directions they desired.

All that those folks needed was a slightly prettied-up version of a mob who, certain only of their distrust of gummint, as Jerry Norman would call it, could be counted on to express their opposition.

That was the easiest part of all for the anti-Ecology

campaigners.

If one thing is as certain as death and taxes, it's that the aginners to be agin it.



Meanwhile, back at the Gazette ...

Readers have responded to our survey of customer's shopping habits, but there's still time to respond and have a chance at the $1,000 prize.

To answer the online questionnaire, go to www.pulseresearch.com/sgazette.

There's also still time to enter the Gazette's Luck o' the Irish project by sharing your true tales of good fortune.

Stories should be 250 words or less and e-mailed to editor@sequimgazette.com with "Luck o' the Irish" in the subject line. You also can snail mail them to Luck o' the Irish, c/o the Sequim Gazette, P.O. Box 1750, Sequim, WA 98382.

Deadline is the end of business hours March 4.

Finally, my deep thanks to the readers who responded to my column on the loss of my dog Pepper.

I guess I touched some of the hearts that have opened themselves to animals, even knowing that our pets likely will pass before we do.

My wife and I in the meantime have adopted a 2-month-old puppy. Like Pepper, she's an Australian shepherd mix we found at an animal shelter.

But no, she won't replace Pepper in our hearts. She'll have to snuggle into her own cozy place in our emotions.

That's how it was meant to be.



You can reach Jim Casey at editor@sequimgazette.com.