Editor,

To Island County Commissioner Jill Johnson, consider this an open letter responding to your objection to COER’s June 22 news release addressing the cancellation of the Island County Health Board Meeting that you chair.

Members of the public worked hard to prepare for the meeting and hoped for an answer to their outstanding requests for relief and protection from Navy Growler jet noise. Our news release expressed disappointment in the unannounced cancellation of the meeting.

If you experienced serious personal problems that caused you to cancel the meeting, you have our sympathy.

However, given the attitude you and the other two absentee board members demonstrated towards noise victims, the suspicion we expressed in our news release is understandable. Any reasonable person listening to your hostile and denigrating comments, made with your microphone on, and when you no doubt thought it was turned off, would share in that suspicion.

You likened testifying citizens to “Haight Ashbury” hippies, and you summarily dismissed their claims and supporting evidence they presented. Your statements are a matter of public record, and can be read at citizensofebeysreserve.com

Perhaps it is mere coincidence that two other Health Board members, both of whom share your views, also had a justifiable reason to not attend. But, it was the first time a meeting was cancelled in the eight years of another commissioner’s being in office.

All of us have experienced unavoidable family problems, but there is a bigger problem at issue involving hundreds of families.

It is for them a personal problem, a health problem and a financial problem. It is one that you, other commissioners and Health Board members have yet to address.

It is the problem of toxic, hazardous, horrific jet noise. It harms people, makes them captives in their homes and drives them from their communities.

You and the two other board members, Richard Hannold and Oak Harbor Mayor Robert Severns, demonstrated neither respect for these families nor sympathy for their plight.

Everyone would be better served if you, as board chairwoman, changed the way you treat people who come before the commission and Board of Health meetings. Those are the people who deserve an apology. Treat them as you would want to be treated.

Also, keep the public comment period of those meetings up front on the agenda where it should be.

This allows citizens to schedule time away from their homes and families and it assures that public officials will be present to hear citizen’s concerns.

Ken Pickard

Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve

Coupeville