It was once said: “We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are.”

We should follow the truth and balance it for the majority.

For the last several years, our community has been in a major battle to stop crude oil by rail from entering Grays Harbor.

The evidence is now clear. There has been many derailments and accidents in Canada and the United States, including 47 deaths. We’ve had several derailments in Grays Harbor, luckily without crude oil. Some of the fixes were inadequate. They laid rail on thin ballast over deep muck. It should have been on pilings.

To bring mile and half trains into Aberdeen, each carrying over a million gallons of crude oil is insane, but to do it on muck is laughable.

We can be proud of coming together as a community to fight this dangerous issue. Thanks to the Quinault Indian Nation, environmentalists, many individuals, elected officials and our county commissioner Frank Gordon. Frank worked hard with all the groups right from the beginning.

The battle isn’t over yet. Support those that are working to save Grays Harbor.

David R. Furford

Aberdeen