There’s a clear pattern: Clallam County enforces rules when it’s convenient and abandons them when enforcement requires confronting disorder or political discomfort. From vaccine papers once required for restaurant entry to parents told to reroute children around encampments, from “holistic” plans that ignore human waste to officials too busy for constituents, the message is consistent — accountability is selective, and the public is expected to adapt and pay.

You Paid for This

A Clallam County Health and Human Services–branded “boofing kit” — complete with step-by-step instructions for rectal drug use — is now part of the county’s harm-reduction inventory.

Tips include lubrication, syringe insertion guidance, and reassurance to “use more later.”

This program just received another $100,000 in funding.

This is what county leadership now defines as compassion.

No Papers Required — Except When They Were Required

Clallam County Health and Human Services recently announced on social media that it does not check immigration status for residents seeking county health services, including vaccinations.

That position stands in sharp contrast to the department’s posture in the fall of 2021, when it issued a press release declaring:

“All patrons entering an indoor restaurant or bar in Jefferson and Clallam Counties must provide proof they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.”

In other words: the county once demanded medical papers from patrons eating dinner — but now insists that asking any questions is inappropriate. Same department. Same authority. Very different standards. The inconsistency speaks for itself.

“Just Tell Your Son to Walk Another Way”

A comment from a recent CC Watchdog article captures what statistics never can:

I live in downtown Sequim. The first picture in the article is one of two carts being moved throughout town by a man who is completely unstable. We have him on our outdoor camera multiple times yelling obscenities, blocking sidewalks, and pantomiming stabbing himself. On Sunday 1/18, I took a picture of where he settled himself on the corner on 5th and Fir St blocking a power box and the sidewalk. He remained there for two days. My husband called Sequim PD three times with our concern being that our son would be walking to school in the morning along with many other kids right past this man. He was told they will not respond as he is not blocking the sidewalk and we should just tell our son to take a different route to school. So, it appears that the stance of Sequim PD is they will prioritize the actions of unstable, drug addled vagrants before the safety of children.

The encampment was across from Peninsula Behavioral Health’s Sequim location, half a block from the Boys & Girls Club, and a block from the Elementary School.

Tumwater Creek: Boots on the Ground

Published in full, a clarification from Joe De Scala of 4PA, who works weekly along Tumwater Creek:

“My team works in Tumwater Creek each week. The situation is definitely bad and we’ve spent countless hours keeping things as maintained as possible and will continue to do so. In the meantime I will also continue to try to get our city to implement a plan. I’ve made many suggestions and even submitted proposals, but I believe new legislation being debated at the state level is keeping our city in a holding pattern until it is voted on. I would like to offer a quick point of clarification as well. Last week, as I do most weeks, I mapped all the sites in Tumwater from Marine Drive to the highway 101. There are 27 active camps and 8 that have been abandoned. Some are double occupied but most are single. A much more accurate count of people living along the creek would be 30-40. I’m not suggesting this is good, but 135 is drastically over estimated.”

Check out 4PA’s 2022 Peabody Creek cleanup and consider supporting their efforts by volunteering or making a small monthly donation.

Urban Forestry, Minus the Humans

Marolee Smith’s recent Substack piece, “Urban Forestry Grant on PA City Agenda,” examines a Department of Commerce grant headed to Port Angeles to expand its Urban Forestry Program — with heavy emphasis on salmon habitat, canopy health, and ecosystem planning.

What’s missing? People. More specifically: illegal camping, trash, and human waste along every major creek corridor the plan claims to protect.

“Holistic,” it turns out, means everything except the most obvious on-the-ground impact. Readers should subscribe to Marolee Smith’s Substack — her work continues to ask the questions city hall avoids.

How “Local” Is the Local Paper?

Here are the stories that ran in last Friday’s “local” paper (sports excluded):

Out of 19 total stories, just three were actually local.

* Local stories: Rodeo arena upgrade, Jefferson County’s homeless count, and a local teen running for senate.

* Non-local stories: ICE ends Maine operation, Amy Klobuchar runs for Minnesota governor, shutdoown looms, Iran’s revolutionary guard, Columbian plane crash, federal agents may have to withdraw from Minnesota, being careless about giving, bring back the American dream, should Iran executioners go unpunished?, senate passes bill on police force face coverings, Russia’s Lu Koil sells to US firm, HUBZone certification, trade deficit bounces back, new food stamp rules in Iowa, Costco sued over chickens (not preservative free), Starmer & Xi seek way around volatile US.

That’s 15.8% local coverage — in a county with rising taxes, growing encampments, and nonstop government action.

Plenty of international intrigue. Very little accountability close to home.

“The press is no longer a watchman; it is often a participant.” — Walter Lippmann

Sign Permits Matter — Apparently Camps Don’t

The City of Sequim is reminding residents why sign permits are essential: aesthetics, safety, environmental protection, and community character.

Then comes the visual contrast: a growing homeless encampment, unpermitted, unmanaged, and environmentally destructive — without enforcement, citations, or urgency.

If signs threaten community character, what exactly do city leaders believe encampments do?

From County Payroll to Drug-Use Advocacy

A review of a LinkedIn profile for “Lisa A.” shows a clear progression:

In 2022: Harm Reduction Specialist, Clallam CountyNow: Director of Operations, People’s Harm Reduction Alliance

PHRA openly states it supports people who use drugs “however they envision and define” their lives — explicitly rejecting criticism or deterrence.

This is not incidental. It is the model Clallam County adopted.

“Everything Was Healthy Back Then”

Jamestown Corporation CEO Ron Allen told the New York Times that 50 years ago, rivers were healthy, water was abundant, and sea levels were stable.

Local readers quickly pointed out the contradiction:

* If the Dungeness River was healthy 50 years ago, why dismantle the Towne Road dike?

* Why force taxpayers to pay for the removal of fish-blocking culverts under highways that were there 50 years ago?

* Why spend billions on “restoration” if all was well 50 years ago?

When combined with the Jamestown Corporation’s clear-cutting, wetland development, light pollution, commercial fishing expansion, and drug sales paired with treatment centers, the rhetoric collapses under its own weight.

Town Halls Are Too Hard

After more than a year of shifting explanations from Clallam County Board Chair Mike French — from claims that the 2025 Charter Review Commission consumed too many resources, to assertions that the Clerk of the Board could not absorb additional workload, to suggestions that scheduling a town hall was simply too difficult — one constituent, Eric Fehrmann, has now offered to personally pay for a town hall venue.

Commissioner Mike French now says evenings are family time.Commissioner Randy Johnson says he’s too busy with the legislative session in Olympia.Commissioner Mark Ozias says he’ll only attend if the right organization hosts (but he will not attend one organized by his constituent, Eric Fehrmann).

That selective engagement inspired satire from the Strait Shooter, whose piece “CC Commissioners Successfully Avoid Constituent-Funded Town Hall After Detecting Presence of Voters” skewers the pattern perfectly.

Readers should subscribe to the Strait Shooter — because sometimes comedy is the only way to document reality.

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