West End residents at a disadvantage?

The following article appeared in the June 23, 2006 Jefferson County edition of the Peninsula Daily News.

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West End residents at a disadvantage?

By Jeff Chew
Peninsula Daily News

PORT HADLOCK — Carol Young, an Oil City Road resident since 1982, politely reminded Jefferson County Planning Commission members at a Wednesday public hearing that West End residents live in the county as well.

West Jefferson County residents came to the Washington State University Learning Center in Port Hadlock from as far away as the Hoh River Valley Wednesday night.

Many of them complained about a lack of notice and information about the county's proposed critical areas ordinance.

"We are at a disadvantage on the West End in that there is no courthouse, no county commissioners," said Young.

"Everyone where I Iive gets the Forks Forum."

No Jefferson County legal notices or Jefferson County news are published in the Forks Forum weekly mailed to readers.

"There are no (Jefferson County) legal notices in the Forum, where there is no Leader," said Young.

The county legal notices travel no farther than East Jefferson County because The Leader, a Port Townsend weekly that has the county's legal notices contract, rarely circulates to the west side of the county.

Young presented a petition with 16 signatures of West End residents living as far south as Clearwater Road who disagreed with the proposed critical areas ordinance.

"We only found out about it because a friend was sent a flier from the farm bureau," Young complained.

"Had we known about it, we probably could have gotten signatures from everyone out here."

Port Townsend/jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.