Letters

Thanks, Mill Creek

Photopia thrived for

17 years in city

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the citizens of Mill Creek for over 17 years of outstanding support of Photopia Photo Lab. When we opened in 1985, Mill Creek was a smaller and less hectic village. Today it is a larger and much busier suburban town. In those 17 years some things never changed. The people who were our customers, clients, and friends never stopped being warm, courteous, and appreciative of the services that we tried so hard to provide. I could not have asked for a better place to have a small business.

I have seen so many families grow through the mechanical windows of our film processing machines. I have witnessed the small and grand adventures that many of you have taken. I believe that we provided a valuable local service to many of our Mill Creek business brothers and sisters. I want to thank you for your teenagers who I have hired over the years. What a very special group of young people. You should all take great pride in the quality of kids that this community has produced. Thank you for letting us post your Photo-Greeting cards in our window every Christmas. This became a tradition that everyone enjoyed, especially the children. Thank you for the faith you showed in us by entrusting us with your irreplaceable wedding, prom, new baby, European vacation and family heirloom photos.

Everything has its time and unfortunately Photopia’s time has past. Unrealistic price competition from big box retailers, the general economic slowdown and the rapid proliferation of digital photography finally did us in. I have no regrets, I would not trade the past 17 years that I shared with Mill Creek for anything. My one request is, try to support the local independent business in our and other communities. We are moving rapidly towards a bland uniformity in our retail world that can only be broken up by creative independent business.

Thanks again Mill Creek,

STEVE MARKEL

Woodinville

Sheets column

U.S. would be seen as liberators in Iraq

Bill Sheets’ opinion piece (The Enterprise, Feb. 7) was so full of inaccuracies and half-truths it had to be countered. You stated “By most estimates … hundreds of thousands … would be killed…” Huh? By most accounts the actual war will be swift with most of Saddam’s forces surrendering without a struggle. The Iraqis are a long oppressed people who long for freedom from Saddam’s tyranny. It is clear you do not care about the people of Iraq.

By your reasoning, if the U.S. just lays very still and quiet with heads buried firmly in the sand, then the terrorists would not strike again. Excuse me, that’s exactly what the terrorists want us to do. Terrorism cannot sustain itself without State sponsor. Our past non-action led to 9/11. A teaspoon of anthrax shut down the U.S. Congress, remember? You admit Saddam has weapons (a violation), he has documented terrorists connections, he’s sworn to revenge against the U.S., and the U.S. has extremely porous borders. Do you still feel safe with Saddam in power?

Jay Inslee bowed to a constituency such as yourself, not because of the facts. Your doom and gloom scenarios did not prove true in the Gulf War, Afghanistan and (based on the 30-year record of the Iraq army) it will prove to be false in this case.

If you recall, America did not start this war. However, you were right about one point, America is known for finishing wars and we will again finish this one. The U.S. military will be celebrated as liberators by the Iraqi people and offer freedom a chance to flourish in the Middle East, which seems to be the scenario that frightens you the most.

MICHAEL NEWMAN

Edmonds

Iraq situation can be handled without war

The column by Bill Sheets, “Iraq war would be huge mistake” (The Enterprise, Feb. 7) is one of the best statements I have seen against this deplorable situation. It clearly demonstrates that there is no real basis for the fear which is being generated in the American people to push this country into the most disastrous, unjustifiable, and brutal action we could take. Rather, we should fear the terrible consequences of this war if we follow Bush in his insistence on waging it.

Even Colin Powell, who once seemed a reasonable man, has joined the fear mongers. His presentation to the UN Security Council last Wednesday was filled with very thin evidence of Iraq’s supposed arsenal of “weapons of mass destruction” and much that was intended to arouse our fear with efforts to link Saddam Hussein’s regime with al-Qaeda. There is little or no real evidence that such a link exists. Both the CIA and the FBI have tried for over a year to find such evidence without success. A recent New York Times article reported that some CIA and FBI personnel have complained that sketchy intelligence is being used for political purposes. This is no way to lead our country – into a war that will take many thousands of fives, including those of our own service men and women, and will destabilize an already dangerous Middle East.

History has shown that Saddam is neither psychotic nor reckless, as the Bush administration would have us believe, but rather acts quite logically to protect himself and his own best interests. In the 1990s, when he really did have a significant weapons capability, an aggressive weapons inspection resulted in the destruction of most of that capability. Let us push for and support tough and complete inspections now and win this one without war.

MARGERY KRIEGER

Edmonds