Fellow citizens of Coulee Dam, thanks to all of you for your encouragement while I collected signatures for our letter to Mayor Wilder and our council members the week of Oct. 14 thru Oct. 19.

Saturday morning was cold with a chance of rain and I had my doubts. So, I started this effort where I felt the most comfortable and I felt I had the best shot at success — the north end of Ferry Street at the home of Clea Pryor. My timid knock on Clea’s door and a poorly rehearsed presentation were rewarded with a smile, a signature and a “Go get’em.” Better than a caramel apple on Halloween! Wednesday afternoon ended on Tilmus Street in the living room of Patty and Merv Schmidt with 166 signatures. Many of you invited me into your homes to warm up and get off of my feet for a few minutes … which stretched into a half hour while we debated Seahawks vs Packers, Wilson vs Starr. Talk about a no-brainer.

Your response was over 95-percent favorable. Those who declined to sign our letter did so respectfully and encouraged me to knock on your neighbor’s door. No one asked that a damaged section in front of your home be fixed first, and most of you asked that sections in front of senior citizen’s homes be given top priority so they could once again get out and enjoy walking around our town.

Five days after starting I have tired feet and a warm feeling for the people living in this town. We have been through a lot in the last few years but to paraphrase Arnold Schwartzenger… WE’RE BACK! or if you prefer, GO COUGS!

Special thanks to Keith for getting me started, Linda and Ray for a dry port and Ricky for suggesting a second funding source. For those of you I missed and would like to sign our letter, please call my mother (Sargent Netzel) at 633-1235.

Fred Netzel