©2021 Central Washington Sentinel,
The Central Washington Sentinel curates, aggregates and publishes a diverse range of views and perspectives. Nothing published or written here is to be interpreted as demonstrating the opinions of the Central Washington Sentinel.
The aggreated views and opinions expressed in this Central Washington Sentinel website are those of the authors and content submitters and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Kittitas County Sentinel or Central Washington Sentinel. Any content provided by our contributors is of their opinion and is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.
Central Washington Sentinel articles and posts feature opinion articles, newspaper editorials and letters to the editor on the issues of the day affecting Central Washington.
Welcome to the Central Washington Sentinel
Thanks for stopping by! The Central Washington Sentinel is a web-based e-Media news source headquartered in Kittitas County.
We provide original, curated, and aggregated content of articles, editorials, other looks, and analysis of under-reported subjects that might not obtain an adequate hearing in traditional local media. We regularly include a smattering of topical comments at the city, county, state, and federal level.
The three words that guide what we do are…
Accountability | Transparency | Vision.
Accountability: To us, those are the essentials of good government, and too often the process of running even a small rural county can hide important information. It is our opinion that officeholders must also be held accountable for their actions since they are basically given a guaranteed non-dismissal pass by their election.
Transparency: Their actions must be as transparent as technology and common decency permit. And they must be held accountable for their actions, the same as you and me.
Vision: And most important for all of us, they must have a stated vision that they are willing to govern by. Everyone talks big about their vision at election time (if they talk about it at all) but that vision often gets whittled down by the actual experience of governing.
We’ll be inviting guest columnists to contribute while soliciting ideas from throughout the political spectrum on how to solve rural county issues like affordable housing, growth management, economic health and diversity, forest use, and wildfire prevention.
In the past we have been successful in stopping/guiding ridiculous Critical Areas Ordinances, trimming back Comprehensive Plan amendments, and making sure that elected officials are aware that we are monitoring their actions. We have started the move for a new view of forest health and productivity, and, with our regular interviews and meetings with pivotal people, we have gathered an overview of what people want in Kittitas County and, many times, have offered them pathways to get there.
Overall we firmly believe a wider conversation is necessary so the smaller counties in Central Washington can share their experiences and ideas, goals, and dreams. And though we hesitate to put it this way, “get the yoke of the western counties off our necks” and allow us to become what we need to be to succeed in our own counties.
We’ll also be keeping an active Facebook page going so you can keep an eye on us and the things we report.
So… thank you for your support in the past and in advance for the future. We hope you continue to follow us, and that you will become an active participant in our mission to encourage our local governments to be Transparent, Accountable, and Vision driven for the positive future of our beautiful Central Washington communities.
Editorial Board
The views and opinions expressed in the Central Washington Sentinel website, blog, social, text, and any and all electronic media are those of the authors and submitters and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Kittitas County Sentinel or Central Washington Sentinel. Any content provided by our bloggers or authors is of their opinion and is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.
Greetings from the Central Washington Sentinel
To us, the essentials of good government are what our vision, purpose, and intended results are all about. Too often the process of running even a small rural county can hide important information. Officeholders must be held accountable for their actions since they are basically given a guaranteed 4-year non-dismissal pass by their election. Their actions must be as transparent as technology and common decency permit. And they must be held accountable for their actions, the same as you and me.
And most important for all of us, those office holders must have a stated vision that they are willing to govern by. Everyone talks big about their vision at election time (if they talk about it at all) but that vision often gets whittled down by the actual experience of governing. We’re here to give you not only information, but a voice in that process.
Ian Elliot – Government/Land Use | Executive Editor
Ian is a retired businessman living in Ellensburg. Ian previously ran an environmental and economic development consulting business and has served in the Washington State Legislature as a Representative for District 1. For many years Ian volunteered as the president of Seattle Community for Youth at Risk, the largest mentoring program in the Seattle school district. He also served as the president of United for Washington, a non-partisan political action committee supporting business-friendly legislators. Recently he has participated in local governmental issues and currently sits on the Kittitas County Planning Commission and the Governor’s Energy Facilities Site Evaluation Council.
Art Colts – Publisher | Editor
Art was born and raised on the West Coast moving to Cle Elum with his wife Susan in 1999. He has enjoyed careers in electronics, system analysis/design/marketing, mortgage banking/real estate investment, and digital communications/publishing. These careers have allowed Art to serve in numerous community organizations like the Breakthrough Foundation and to hold instrumental team building positions with the Seattle Community Youth at Risk Program, Seattle Choral Company, Care Net, and Young Life. His current focus is on local economic development, local government accountability, and digital marketing/publishing.
