Don’t wait for your ship to come in, swim out to it.

_ Author unknown

A Jan. 20 article in the Valley Record provided much needed

background to some of the debate currently underway regarding the ball fields

and community center in terms of what might be best for Snoqualmie as

an overall community. The editorial, unfortunately, used what easily might

be viewed as a derogatory term: “Ridge kids.” This approach to

journalism surely will not help the efforts of

many citizens throughout Snoqualmie _ old and new _ to jointly continue to

build an even better community.

Even the best planning efforts deserve scrutiny if

circumstances change. Accurate facts will help the City Council make whatever

adjustments are necessary to support an equitable number of ball fields in all

areas of the city _ old and new. But what will ultimately address the needs

of Snoqualmie are joint efforts by all geographic areas and diverse groups of

the community to work for the common good of its citizens. So we urge

that citizens look toward building on the strengths we each bring to these

efforts _ the wisdom of the older citizens and the energy of some of

the newcomers _ to all parts of the city.

One example is the planning effort for the next Snoqualmie

Railroad Days, which has brought a cross-section of residents and corporate

sponsors together to build on the work of past committees to create a “Ridge

to Rails” fun run/family walk to raise funds for a charity and a festival

of artists and activities worthy of a growing town.

It is this kind of collaborative approach that will make it possible

to build both ball fields and a community center before 2004. So instead

of looking for all the reasons why something cannot be done, let’s think

creatively to see how it could be accomplished.

Peter and Patty Pecora

Snoqualmie