Idaho doing it right

Gov. Inslee. Regarding your “expertise” on mask mandate in North Idaho, specifically one of your comments “I don’t want to sound too judgmental but in a sense I am. Every death in Spokane County, when thinking it might’ve come from Idaho when Idaho is not joining us in wearing masks - that’s painful to me.”

Really! Since you’ve mandated in your own state, starting back in May, shutdown on statewide restaurants, bars, size of gatherings, state parks, etc., we here in the Panhandle have seen a tremendous overflow of our good neighbors from Eastern Washington. Yes, good neighbors. Businesses of all industry, state parks, lakes, rivers, my neighborhood park, even churches, have and still has out-of-town Washingtonians pouring in.

I know, because it’s beyond normal out-of-state Washington plates. How many of them unintentionally bring in COVID, we’ll probably never know. We and our Governor don’t condescendingly criticize/judge/disrespect our fellow state neighbors. I’ve talked to many and they verbatim echo the same language. “We’re tired of not having a life and exercise of our liberties for our families.”

We in Idaho understand, as life is precious to us here as anywhere else in our country. We mask, distance, yes even wash our hands, but we do here what seems lacking in leadership there sir: we use common sense. That’s precisely why we moved from Washington to this great state where “it’s people who run the government,” not “government run the people.” You were elected by Washingtonians, not Idahoans!

Terry Meece

Rathdrum