Friday, March 29, 2024

Salley Bull seeks Okanogan County Commissioner District 3 office

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PATEROS – Salley Bull, a fourth generation Okanogan County resident, is running for the position of Okanogan County Commissioner, District 3, against incumbent Jim Detro. Bull is a member of the Okanogan County Planning Commission and the Okanogan County Board of Equalization, among other community roles. She recently spoke before both the Brewster Chamber of Commerce, the Brewster City Council and the Pateros City Council.
Bull recently expressed her views on five topics submitted by the Quad City Herald.

1.Forest Management and Wildfire
Since we have had five summers of fires and smoke that hangs on and on, I think it is time to seriously reconsider how we can manage our forests. Since the Spotted Owl, we now have brushy, over-grown forests that are infected with tree killing beetles. Proven fire prevention solutions include thinning tree stands, skinning up the trunks about 20 feet, and removing debris by grinding or pile burning. Thinning stops not only the spread of fire from treetop to tree top, but it removes the easiest transportation of beetles, which fall from one branch to neighboring branch. The work could be part of the WorkSource training program and could be a great employment opportunity for new foresters.

2.Health care accessibility
Our three public hospital districts are all running in the black now. We need to ensure that they stay viable – for the health of the public and for the health of the local economies. Hospitals, and the nearby clinics, provide for a substantial portion of employment wherever they are located. North Valley employs more than 220, and another 60 are in both Tonasket and Oroville clinics. The medical industry brings in “new” money – insurance and Medicaid payments – and this money, that supports families, is spread throughout the communities – rents, food, insurance, etc. Supporting all three local hospitals helps supports all of our communities.

3.Adequate and affordable housing
Brewster has a new apartment complex – Tonasket needs one terribly. Rents are high in Oroville and in the Methow Valley. We have a shortage of apartments and houses. The waiting list for the Oroville Housing Authority alone is nearly five years. We need to look at ways to encourage affordable housing so that more people stay; so that professional people stay to teach or work in the medical field, stay to raise their children here. Housing projects also provide local jobs in construction and in the maintenance.

4.Employment and livable wage
As you can tell, my solutions to the other questions boil down to employment opportunities, livable wage for workers, so they and their families can live here year-round. Okanogan County has a lot of part-time or seasonal jobs. Right now, one new business is the Cannabis Industry, which employs more than 200 year-round workers, plus triple that amount of seasonal workers. This makes this industry comparable to opening a sawmill – it is a big deal for our economy. About $40 million is created here by cannabis grow operations. Again, this is “new” money coming into the county and its dollars supports other businesses, like lumber, hardware store, and irrigation stores. Other businesses could be encouraged to re-locate here – maybe some light manufacturing of products that can be exported on the rail. Year-round work, and work that can support a family, is vital to improving our poverty rate, which is still 20% county-wide; more than 30% in north county and on the Colville Reservation. WorkSource and L&I offer apprenticeships, small business mentorships and could be a good source of a locally trained workforce.

5.Law enforcement and the jail
The staff of 30 people in the Sheriff’s Department is our most valuable asset. The deputies have first contact with the residents and their problems all the time. Time and money spent training to de-escalate crisis situations is the best preventative. Jail is for those who cannot conform to law and is punitive. Mental health issues need to be recognized and the person given direction and care, not just given sentences that are irrelevant to the problem.

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