Business response to MRNP closures & sequester

Wookie bar is an appropriate description.  Tweakers, thieves and the few paycheck cashers that exist, on one side, and Whittaker aspirants on the other.  Been in there thrice in 10 years - last week looking to sniff out the creep that stole our sled..

Actually, Andy, Lewis County is the west sides' conservative hold out - only red county in the region - and Spokane the only blue on the east side.

Is the Highlander still full of meth tweakers? Last time I was in there it was like a cross between the Star Wars bar and Ratso Rizzo lookalikes from Midnight Cowboy.

Scotty, I think several of those Highlander characters were what's left of would-be whistleblowers after the Park Service chewed them up and spat them out.   

Andy, surely Lewis County leads in both tweakers and conservatives, per capita, west of the Cascades?  Oh, and don't forget that the park tops all local employers with 125 perms, gawd knows how many terms, seasonals, ex-seasonals, volunteers and assorted wannabes.

Hopefully, any new owner will keep those amazing old National Mill photos east of the entry door.  This valley was a completely different place back in the golden age of railroad logging between the world wars.  Locomotive whistles and screaming sawblades echoed 24/6 behind the current yellow Baptist church.  The Highlander itself sits on the foundation of the old Ashford school also shown in one of those photos.  Old-timers say that location for the school, and the passenger train station across the street, was to get them away from all the whorehouses and gin-joints in National, a mile or two west.

Wookie bar is an appropriate description.  Tweakers, thieves and the few paycheck cashers that exist, on one side, and Whittaker aspirants on the other.  Been in there thrice in 10 years - last week looking to sniff out the creep that stole our sled..

Actually, Andy, Lewis County is the west sides' conservative hold out - only red county in the region - and Spokane the only blue on the east side.

Now, David, you are not telling me that everyone of my elected representatives from Congressman Dave Reichert, State Senator Randi Becker, State Reps Gary Alexander and J.T. Wilcox, and County Council Jim McCune and Joyce McDonald (total of 5 out of 7 council members are Republicans) who list themselves as Republicans are really Democrats?

Lewis County: 76,000 people, Pierce: 808, 200; so which has the most Republicans?

But you are right, when you look at percent of elected officials, when you consider all of Pierce, Lewis is even more conservative, and in the Centralia Massacre, American Legion members and timber company thugs killed 7 unionists (IWW, "wobblies"), injured others, then the County prosecuted even more and sent them to prison (later the wobblies were shown to be innocent and released).

In terms of employment, I mentioned private employers; but how many Park employees live in Ashford? A lot live in Eatonville and take the vans to work, some live in Elbe-Mineral, others in Packwood ... if one casts a wide net, say all of Pierce, the State and local gov'ts employ more than the Park and Ft. Lewis-McChord! and Boeing! et al. in west Pierce.

The more I pay attention to the NPS, delve into its inner workings, and attempt to have constructive, public conversation with its leaders, the more despondent and disgusted I become.

I take your point Andy - you're talking about # of elected officials, I was mentioning the way election results usually pan out on other races and issues.  I didn't realize, with all your district representation that you had it so good..       

The more I pay attention to the NPS, delve into its inner workings, and attempt to have constructive, public conversation with its leaders, the more despondent and disgusted I become.

Agreed...It's expensive for government to keep everything equal to all, Except those who provide large sums of cash.
So if they just close it all does it solve the equality issue?