Published in the Stevens County Times
I was recently lucky enough to learn more about the “Morris Model” and the work that has
already been done to make our community more resilient to the challenges ahead, from the
late springs and wet falls that delay harvest and stress our farmers, to the decaying
infrastructure as a result of brutal weather that stresses our city and county government
agencies. The amount of research and work that the team put into the plan for the Morris
Model is truly impressive, as are the aspirational goals. I hope that all of our local elected
officials – council members and county commissioners – would embrace the goals of the Morris
Model and take whatever steps they can – however incremental – to move forward to
strengthen our community. A simple example would be to install more solar panels on buildings
or in other areas in the county; solar is inexpensive and a demonstrated technology that pays
for itself. The Morris Model does not have to be “swallowed whole”: even small steps that
strengthen our local economy and support our energy independence are moves in the right
direction. Such forward-thinking action is what is needed now to help our community thrive.
Nancy Carpenter