Sense of community endangered by PUD

To The Eagle:

The recent response by the PUD to Grays River residents Dave Henderson and Colleen Haley reminds me of a slightly risqué story – An attractive young lady was surprised by the amount of her bill when she was checking out of the hotel. When she asked why it was so high, the rather handsome desk clerk responded, “Well, we have a swimming pool and a sauna.” “But I didn’t use either of those,” the young lady said. “Ahh, but you could have,” replied the clerk. “We also have a very expensive fitness center,” continued the clerk. “But I didn’t use that either,” said the young lady. “Ahh, but you could have,” said the clerk. Pondering it for a moment, the young lady sat down and wrote on a piece of paper and handed it to the handsome clerk. “Why are you giving me a bill for $1,000?” asked the clerk. “For spending last night in my room with me,” said the young lady. “BBBuut,” stammered the clerk, “I didn’t spend last night in your room.” “Ahh, but you could have,” said the young lady with a sly wink.

Recently, a leak occurred at the building in Grays River owned by Henderson and Haley that has been unoccupied since Bob and Beverly Paul moved their restaurant to Longview. Henderson requested relief from the water charge noting that the PUD would still be well ahead of the game since he and Haley have been paying the PUD a monthly fee for well over two years and have not used a drop of water in all that time. “Ahh, but you could have,” responded the PUD in their denial of the request.

The PUD is a business. There’s no argument about that. The rub is that this is not New York City and members of the rural community that make up Wahkiakum County and are part of the “Public” in “Public Utility District” should receive a more appreciative consideration. We don’t have a lot of the same amenities available to our brethren in the cities, but the sense of community that has existed here has been more than enough to make up for that. That sense of community is endangered by responses like that given by the PUD to Henderson and Haley’s request for relief.

Nick Nikkila

Deep River