With the upcoming visit by Gov. Jay Inslee and other public servants to Green Hill, we're hoping to express that Chehalis has done its duty, housing our state's troubled youth since the 1890s.
It's time for other parts of our state to step up and be responsible and accountable for these young men who deserve to change the course of their lives for the better. Communities in this county, with Chehalis dealt the heavy hand, are responsible for the entire state's concern, continuing to do the work of dozens of other counties and hundreds upon hundreds of other cities and towns.
We have been the guardians and the village for these promising but temporarily wayward teens, but we think it's been enough.
When there's trouble at the school, a century-long daily issue it seems, it's our fantastic Lewis County officers and Chehalis Police Department who respond, not the rest of Washington. This leaves abilities to provide a wider set of police services strained. With local budget reports being recently released, it's clear that over half of our tax dollars go to our awesome first responders.
There seems to be no state line item to reimburse the Mint City for the use of our overworked police departments when they respond at Green Hill. Financial consequences leave little of the local budget left over for the rest of the needs of our city and county.
Unless the state and any of our elected officials step up and pay the bills that our region racks up because of Green Hill, it's a fair reason to say goodbye to the school.
But that's hardly the only reason. We've done our good work, and there's no shame in mentioning the obvious that other areas of our state need to do so now. There's power in admitting that our community spirit and our tax dollars are being used and taken advantage of.
Chehalis and Lewis County residents are not turning their back on these young men. This isn't cold-heartedness or NIMBY-ism; Green Hill's been in our backyard for 130 years and counting. We've done our job. Chehalis and its residents have been good, kind, and understanding. But it's someone else's economic and emotional turn. It's time to put Green Hill in the middle of any other non-Lewis County community, testing their tax base, home values and good-natured souls for the next century.
Though with talks of juvenile prison expansion and new Green Hill facilities, it probably won't be feasible but it is still true that Chehalis has done its duty and then some.
It's still true that it's time for another community to do the same. We've had a prison in the middle of our city for over 130 years. We've more than paid price for our beautiful state — tax dollars, home values, peace of mind — but we think the accounts have all been drained.
Deana and Carpenter Missinne
Chehalis
