Letters to the editor

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Enough is enough

It’s time to move past frustration and into action.

Regardless of our political leanings, most of us can agree that accountability, due process, and transparency are non-negotiable. Whether it’s the handling of immigration enforcement, the abusive use of political power or the misuse of taxpayer funds, we need to see action.

I’m encouraging everyone to take a few minutes to contact their local officials (Red, Blue or Independent). We can advocate for what is right — like upholding due process and releasing the full Epstein files — without getting bogged down in partisan fighting. Just a short, respectful message stating that you expect better from your representative’s voicemail can be a powerful way to remind them who they serve.

We don’t have to agree on everything to agree that our leadership needs to be held to a higher standard.

Mary Dierick

Montesano

To TRL Trustee President Brian Mittge and Trustee Hal Blanton

Thank you for attending the Centralia Friends Q&A on Saturday, April 11. To recap what I said at the meeting on Saturday regarding the hiring of an interim director.

The very long and involved listing for an interim director did not appear to include the fact that this individual will need to dismiss several personnel who are in positions that they are actually not qualified for or do not have the proper personality to work with other employees. Additionally, the candidates should know that they will be evaluating the present budget to make it more efficient, so that employees that have been laid off will be able to keep their jobs. This may mean making some upper-level jobs at the service center redundant.

Once certain positions are vacated the interim director will need to reset the compensation package for these grossly overpaid positions. Perhaps even going back to where they were three or four years ago. I think this goes for the average library user who does not really want to be compared to Seattle’s library district or King County’s library district or any district that has a much higher standard of living than what we see in our five-county region. We are for the most part rural. Additionally, Pacific and Grays Harbor counties consistently fall near the bottom of the poorest (by per capita) regions in Washington. That fact needs to be uppermost in the mind of anyone setting salaries for anyone at the service center.

This also goes for the salary of the new director once he or she is hired. To offset this present cut in salary you might offer a onetime relocation package for those moving to the area from outside of the area. This would be much cheaper over the long run. And then make sure none of the employees at the service center receive yearly increases higher than the recognized COLA for your union employees.

These moves will not be popular and will probably not make the interim director a favorite employee at the service center. But he or she will have to do this so that using Mittge’s metaphor the ship does not sink. So make sure your candidate has done something like this before and by all means let this person know what he or she will be getting themselves into.

Lilly Pomeroy

President

Friends of the WH Abel Memorial Timberland Library