A FEATHER IN MY CAP-- I wrote a story over Christmas break for the local daily newspaper, The Peninsula Daily News (Port Angeles, WA), about some folks who had lost a large amount of land in their back yard when the Dungeness River flooded. One fellow had an entire homemade baseball diamond wash down the river.

They were stuck, essentially, because flood insurance and Government aid only goes to those who have lost houses. To make it worse the Department of Fish and Wildlife (an agency, in that neck of the woods, dedicated to serving salmon) had to approve the permits to resore their back yards and shore of the new river bank. I wrote the story, expressing their frustration and their doubt that anything would get done by the officials. A little while later, permits came through and only about 11 months faster than they normally do.

I can't prove it was my story but am I sure my story made a difference in these peoples lives.