Editor,

Another Fourth of July has passed and our local police officers and fire department personnel take a breath and get back to their always hazardous careers of serving and protecting us.

We all should also take this opportunity to express the well-deserved gratitude we owe all our Oak Harbor Police Department and Oak Harbor Fire Department staff members for their dedication, loyalty and courage to the citizens of our community.

The women and men of these departments literally are faced with life and death decisions nearly every day of their careers, and their performance downtown during the fireworks and carnival activities as well as the varied emergency responses, street patrols and aid they rendered elsewhere during the day and evening was extraordinary.

These responses are everyday activities for these dedicated people and whether you know it or not, they have saved and protected many of us without our knowledge.

Take a moment to thank one or more of them whenever you can.

Mike Hokanson

Oak Harbor