The new Sounder format is a nice improvement. In keeping with the new look, I would like to make a recommendation: add a “Suggestion Box.” It could be small, perhaps a third the size of “Street Talk,” and provide islanders the opportunity to share ideas on how to improve island life.

The first suggestion comes from my husband Eric Gourley. He suggests the post office place a mailbox at Country Corner, corner of Crescent Beach and Terrills Beach Road. His thinking is it would be convenient for the large number of people who regularly drive by that corner, and it would help reduce traffic congestion by the Eastsound Post Office. The idea has been well received by friends and neighbors, so it is offered here as food for thought.

Barbara Gourley

Orcas Island

Disagree with hunting story

In regards to the article “Neighborhoods in the Crossfire,” I disagree with the conclusions that reporter Nina Laramore presented. From a hunter’s perspective, the evidence sited does not fully explain that high powered rifles were used to wound or kill animals on Orcas Island.

I have three main points. First, Mr. Isakson said he heard “loud rifle shots.” Most people cannot tell the difference between the sound of a shotgun compared to the sound of a rifle.

Second, Mr. Isakson reported that a doe in his neighborhood had “a high-powered rifle shot through her front leg.” If the bullet from a high-powered rifle hit the front leg of a deer, it would have destroyed the leg, and most likely dismembered it from the body. From the picture printed along with the article, it looks to me that this deer was hit by a car.

Finally, the interview subjects make assumptions about hunters and hunted animals that I don’t think are valid. Mr. Isakson said he found the decaying remains of a large buck on his property. But the article doesn’t explain how Mr. Isakson knows exactly how this buck died. Is it assumed that hunters shot this animal? Also, Mr. Szabados said he didn’t notice the type of gun the trespassing hunter was carrying, but he suspected it was a high powered rifle. In both these cases, opinions were stated. What would be more convincing are facts, such as the exact weapons used.

In conclusion, I agree that hunters should not fire their weapons near a house or toward a house. I hunt deer on Orcas Island every fall with my son, and if we hunt off of our family’s property, we always ask the property owner if we can hunt on his land. The people who say no always say “Thanks for asking.” I believe if Orcas Island would like to curtail the outlaw hunting, property owners can sign their land like folks in Eastern Washington — most hunters will hunt in areas if it’s posted: FEEL FREE TO HUNT.

Wally Warm

Anacortes/Orcas