Politics from the Palouse to Puget Sound

Thursday, July 20, 2006

It's not about Whitman County Development...

The Weekend Daily News editorial (Opinion, July 15 & 16) was partially correct – the mutual aid agreement in question is not a political football. However, the agreement is not needed to allow cooperation among area firefighters. The fire in Troy this past weekend illustrates this. Nine fire jurisdictions faced that fire without the existence of any mutual aid agreement.

What this agreement does is codify existing procedures and common sense. It also spells out who will be responsible for payment for fire suppression chemicals. What this agreement does not do is make cooperation among area fire departments possible. We already have that ability.

The city of Moscow is trying to look to the best interests of its residents with regard to development in Whitman County on our western border. The Moscow City Council is working to mitigate adverse effects this development might have on our city. Among those issues are safety concerns. I would like to see Whitman County address those concerns. Not with the proposed mutual aid agreement, but with a plan that will work if our resources are already engaged elsewhere. Will Moscow cross jurisdictional boundaries to offer aid to our neighbors? Of course it will. With or without this agreement. We are, after all, civilized people, and civilized people help their neighbors.

Aaron Ament, Moscow


Soooooooo... it is not a political football? You are not holding it up for political reasons, but instead you are holding it up because the Moscow City Council doesn't want building to happen in Whitman County. Thanks for clearing that up.

3 comments:

April E. Coggins said...

Mitigate = STOP

It's a confusing letter. What does he mean when he says, "I would like to see Whitman County address those concerns. Not with the proposed mutual aid agreement,(it sounds like he doesn't want Whitman County to participate) but with a plan that will work if our resources are already engaged elsewhere." What does he mean by "OUR resources"? Is he refering to Moscow's resources? Who's resources does Whitman County have to worry about being engaged elsewhere? I am pretty sure Whitman County has a fire department. Maybe Whitman County should be concerned about being called into Moscow and then we won't have enough "resources" for Whitman County emergencies.
What a bunch of petty ****!

Dale Courtney said...

Be glad that you don't have the likes of an Ament on the Pullman City Council.

Perhaps we can export him.

Not having someone like him on your City Council is lAmentable...

Dale

April E. Coggins said...

Dale:

We say Amen-t to that!