The Island County road crew, as always, worked hard at keeping arterials clear during this winter’s snow storm.

My county commissioner, Kelly Emerson, would like to do away with all government services, farm them out. She ignores the law of the land and tries to sue us. If she had prevailed in her suit against the county, who would have paid? We would have.

In this great county, I am always amazed at the quality of our roads; they are maintained at a high level. If they were privatized would they be as good? A private company might see a pothole and let it get bigger so they could charge more to maintain the road; our great county employees see the pothole and fix it so it does not get bigger, saving work and expense to the county and preventing damage to our vehicles.

So this is a big thanks to all the county employees. I am also thankful to commissioners Helen Price Johnson and Angie Homola, as well as previous commissioners of both parties for all their hard work trying to keep services operating in this county in these hard times.

As to Commissioner Emerson, sorry, no thanks! Your lawsuit may have caused the layoff of more employees if you had prevailed (or have had a legal leg to stand on). The road fire department, the sheriff’s department and basic services would have been stranded in this snow.

Thank you Island County!

Jay Brand
Oak Harbor