44 Comments

Thank you for the update! I’m no longer on Nextdoor so I’m checking my email for your newsletter. Appreciated!

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I'm certain your life has improved since leaving Nextdoor. Good job.

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Next Door is the pits. A bunch of anti free speech junior high bullies they proclaim are moderators. No reasoning abilities; no logical thinking skills evident. As bad or worse than the others.

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No rhyme or reason to moderation decisions.

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At least none that make any sense whatsoever. Junior high mentality.

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Like totally.

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😳😲😬😃😂😂😂

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A little bit 😂

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Outstanding...that's what we like to hear! I sent an email to the Board of Commissioners...just keeping the pressure on reminding them how the county has been torn apart, Ozias is responsible, and they better do what they said they would.

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That's the pressure that has gotten us this far, thanks for keeping at it.

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Noice!

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Glad to see you're here!!!

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Love you, man. A good citizen you is.

I had prostate surgery this week and will be laid up awhile but look fwd to participating in citizen participation gov't ongoingly. Hope we can keep the 'Ethics Board' idea near the surface...this 'woke' thing is going to take some persistent awakening to get through. Robert James

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Is it to the point where people are scheduling surgery just to avoid going to commissioners' meetings? That's not a bad idea. Take it easy while you heal up and if your doctor bans anything strenuous, I'll understand if you don't read the next few articles.

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BRILLIANT.........thanks as ever!!!

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Keep it up Jeff. Love your tenacity and dedication!

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I'll keep at it, thanks for staying engaged. Your comment got cut off btw, "Rippling muscles and luscious hair" which is missing after "tenacity and dedication." Oh, and the part about being humble is missing too.

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Jeff, thank you for this post! After walking the project yesterday and viewing the roadbed, your graphic explains the massive design of it. I enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek public comment about closing US101 to reduce tire particles and oil pollution.

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Did you know you are a public speaker? So articulate and fact-based... I'm so glad you took the time to share your thoughts. Thank you.

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And thank you for your comments yesterday Carole.

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Thanks for the update , Jeff.

It supports my guess that the members of DLTA have been fed information that is lacking in truth and full disclosure. I know people and particularly politicians lie, but it's particularly insulting when they don't even bother to do a good job of it and considering the instigator of DLTA and his out of town buddies showing up to talk, it was obvious lots of items had been omitted in their understanding of the situation. .

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It is deceitful to only parse out half the information. I saw people give public comments that I know -- people I grew up admiring and continue to admire. I don't blame them for "protecting a trail that the county wants to convert into a road", but I wish they would visit this website. Not to read our opinions, but just to review public documents.

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If I had been one who spent time to be here and support DLTA and realized I was not given all the facts I would be livid. NOT a good look for them.

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Is it too soon to kindly ask the county to put up signs on both ends of New Towne Road (on the gates perhaps?) that indicate "Towne Road coming soon: Targeted completion date Fall 2024" (or something like that) with a detailed sketch of the road, the environmental friendliness drawing that you shared here, show the walking path next to it, and a QR code/website address for updates? I suppose they will also need to refer to a county ordinance about vandalism to county property being illegal and so on, so the signs aren't taken down by anyone who might not have an interest in seeing this completed.

Y'all probably remember that a few years back they put detailed, complete-with-picture signs up around the old levee parking areas for the Dunguness Restoration project, including the New Towne Road, and websites to visit.

It's fair to ask for something like this to show commitment to completion of this project. It will also make sure that everyone that walks the levee see what is really going on. In my book, the county really needs to overcommunicate their commitment to the completion of this project in order to gain back a bunch of lost trust.

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That would be a step toward informing the public and engaging in "robust community engagement."

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Hi Jeff,

As you know I am coming late to the plight of Towne Road. I’ve gone back and read earlier posts from your blog with the comments. I am struck with how many people are subscribers and have made comments

It may be a good time to ask subscribers to consider writing to all three Commissioners reminding them just how many of us are out here. I am going to write but if I didn’t already have that intention I would welcome such a request from you.

Maybe republish their emails.

Take care,

Deborah

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Inquiring minds want to know.... maybe members of DLTA should inquire too.

Impacts of farm equipment on environment

Heavy agricultural machinery can damage the soil, Nordic researchers find

Date:

May 9, 2011

Source:

The Research Council of Norway

Summary:

Heavy agricultural machinery results in more permanent damage to the soil than previously believed by researchers. This may lead to poorer crop yields and increased pollution from agricultural land, is the message of a group of Nordic researchers. The result is called soil compaction and it concerns the negative effect of driving heavy machinery on soil that is used for growing plants. Soil compaction is characterized by increased density of the soil, reduced air volume and a reduced ability to drain off surplus water.

FULL STORY

Heavy agricultural machinery results in more permanent damage to the soil than previously believed by researchers. This may lead to poorer crop yields and increased pollution from agricultural land.

The result is called soil compaction and it concerns the negative effect of driving heavy machinery on soil that is used for growing plants. Soil compaction is characterised by increased density of the soil, reduced air volume and a reduced ability to drain off surplus water.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110505083737.htm#:~:text=Summary%3A,a%20group%20of%20Nordic%20researchers.

If you start talking with Thomas Keller or Dani Or about farm machinery, sooner or later the conversation will turn to dinosaurs. Why would two experts in the biology and structure of soils segue from tractors and combines to extinct behemoths? Because today’s farm vehicles, they explain in a recent paper, have become nearly as heavy as the largest animals that ever stomped the Earth—and the sheer weight is crushing one of the world’s most precious resources: fertile soil.

“It's not rocket science,” says Or, who splits his time between the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, in Zurich. “For over a century, we have had a persistent increase in the size of [farm] machinery. Something has to give.”

The trend toward the gargantuan has been especially pronounced over the last 60 years. Keller and Or found that from 1958 to 2020, the typical weight of a fully loaded combine harvester for corn or wheat increased nearly tenfold, going from 8,800 pounds 60 years ago to about 79,000 pounds today. A fully loaded sugar beet harvester can weigh more than 130,000 pounds, which is in the range of the heaviest sauropods—the super heavyweights of the dinosaur world. (The weight of the largest living land animal, the African elephant? A pixieish 20,000 pounds.)

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/increasingly-heavy-farm-equipment-is-crushing-fertile-soils

For example, a modern 300 horsepower Tier 4 tractor operated for 200 hour per year would generate 51,950 lbs of CO2 per year. In metric tonnes, that equals 23.5 tonnes per year.Dec 8, 2021

Farm Emissions and Carbon Math - Janzen Schroeder Ag Law

My car has not 1 drop of oil and produces 0 emissions. Can't I drive that road too?

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Great research. Back when I walked the levee (haven't since being accused of vandalism) I looked down and saw that pig farm in the middle of what I thought was a wetland and I wondered how healthy that is. I have pigs and they are little poop machines. We are seeing a fact-based argument vs. an emotion-based argument... I know which one I'm putting my money on.

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Thank you Mary. This is in line with what I've believed for a long time. We need our farms. No doubt about it.

BUT where does the DLTA hypocrisy start and stop? Here we have the Game Farm right next to the river. The pigs. The dairy cows (they're my favorite though because....ice cream). And then Mr. Eberle who, from what I can tell, only mows wetland and pastureland with heavy farm equipment, sells it for hay and harvests some orchard apples once in a while. The damage to the wetlands on his property from the machinery is mind boggling. And these people are theoretically worried about our new Towne Road that has pollution catching technology built into it?

Your focus on facts and data (like Jeff's) is greatly appreciated.

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One other comment. One of the last people to talk at the commissioner's meeting referred to EVs that she presumed DLTA people were driving, using myths about them. I drive an EV. As such I'm VERY tuned in to the increasing numbers of them in the County. And though I often drive by entrances to the Towne Road Levee trail, I've NEVER seen anything but SUVs and trucks at those gates. Please be careful about spreading information that is false and that you don't have any data to back up because it's your opinion. My participation here is due to the data that Jeff has provided. It's a real turn-off to hear people talking about subjects that are LW or RW memes. I get tired of that from other sites where those opinions are countered CONSTANTLY with actual studies and data. Washington State has the 2nd most number of EVs in the US. Please don't turn off potential allies by making statements you can't back up. I doubt those college students could afford one even with their prices dropping. At least until China's $12000 one hits the market here.

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The bunker fuel pollution from the ships that replace local and regional farming and manufacturing leave 100 times the carbon footprint. There are way too many ships in the ocean right now just to keep the greenies up to their necks in biking and hiking trails.

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First, the Discovery trail had to go from city to city. (Port Townsend to LA Push) to "connect the dots" for a total of 115 miles. Now that the 115 mile bicycle "transportation choice" between cities is there, they need Towne Road too? Tour De Towne Road.

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I wish the discovery trail was there when I was younger. I think its cool.

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Wonderful update. Thank you Jeff. I am grateful that the commissioners are staying committed to re-opening Towne Road. The technology they're employing to minimize pollution is wonderful.

Let's keep the pressure on in a positve way because it's guaranteed that the out of town DLTA organizers will continue to fight this as long as they can.

This is a road and not a trail. For the safety of everyone, it needs to be a road opened to all vehicular traffic. If it's not, I can imagine at least three scenarios that are bound to endanger people's lives:

Scenario one: The Eberles decide they want to host a party at their barn over a holiday weekend. Ten +/- cars will need to access New Towne Road to get to the Eberles barn. How do you go about clearing all the "hundreds of walkers", including the toddlers, the loose dogs, the hearing impaired and the slower walkers from the trail-that's-really-a-road to ensure all those cars safely make it to/from the Eberles party without killing anyone? What if someone has to leave in a hurry?

Scenario two: Nash needs to bring his farming equipment through...How do you clear all the "hundreds of walkers", including the toddlers, the loose dogs, the hearing impaired and the slower walkers from the trail-that's-really-a-road to ensure Nash's farm equipment safely makes it to/from Sequim Dungeness without killing anyone? (Are you sensing a theme here? Good)

Scenario three: Emergency services get a call in the middle of the day. The quickest route is over New Towne Road. How do you clear all the "hundreds of walkers", including the toddlers, the loose dogs, the hearing impaired and the slower walkers from the trail-that's-really-a-road to ensure the emergency vehicles traverse the road safely without killing anyone on the way AND still get to the emergency? What if they don't have a code or remote opener for the gates? Who pays when they have to bust through those expensive gates?

I will be so happy when Towne Road is re-opened to all vehicular traffic and this sort of down-the-rabbit-hole thinking doesn't keep me up at night anymore.

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Common sense concerns over very possible scenarios. Thanks A.J.!

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Jeff,

Your updates are so easy to read that even an environmental activist can follow them. I liked your public comments, especially about the pipeline, because, as you stated, it's next.

I am curious: How can you call yourself an environmentalist and be so connected to so many electronics? Looking forward to Tuesday!

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What a good job you've done to keep this information in the forefront! That DLTA was countered so well. Kudos!

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Before you give me credit, I'll confess that a lot of articles begin right here in the comments section, and they are ideas generated by thoughtful commenters (like you).

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I know I read them all..... brilliant folks...for sure!

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Still, Jeff, you keep it all organized. Thank you!

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'These are the days when ANYTHING goes!"

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