Unless you've been on the moon since the story broke last Thursday, you know that DNR has decided to postpone indefinitely the 600-acre Powerhouse gravel proposal.

At a time when my depression about this project had begun to flourish, Kevin Pettelle wrote a short email addressed to both Doc Raney and I, which forwarded a letter they had received from the Tulalip Tribe about the tribe's concerns relative to the Powerhouse project. Kevin's was a simple and wonderfully-worded email which exuded a sincerity of soul that few people either have, or can express. Although a bit disheartened, he was nevertheless determined to strive onward to protect his home and family (Kevin's home is basically at "ground zero" where the blasting would have occurred.). A simple sentence at the end of his email gave me the additional heart I needed to strive ahead with even greater effort: "My hopes are that with all your hard work that you are not discouraged. Remember Miracles happen every day!!!!!"

Each time I became discouraged with the seemingly-endless effort, Kevin's phrase leapt into my mind. His phrase became my own personal rallying cry. It's a phrase I think it would do all of us good to repeat, in times of struggle and hardship, when we feel we can't put one more foot in front of the other. Thank you, Kevin. You were right.

But regardless of whether we all received true "divine" assistance in this effort, or were simply putting forth the best attributes that people can muster during times of adversity and challenge (or perhaps a combination of the two), what we all accomplished was not just significant but truly miraculous.

Because this was a city-wide effort which involved countless people contributing whatever special gifts they had, it is impossible to name them all. But I will name a few of the ones whom I believe played key or substantial roles. (And please remember, this is my list, not anyone else's, so if I omit an individual of note, the omission is NOT intentional.)

At the top of my list stands my husband, Ray. He has been at least half of my strength, my soul and my heart, and has had to put up with hardships not covered under ANY marriage vow. He has been my uncomplaining and ever-supportive rock and foundation, as well as the mirror against which I have made decisions.

The next person I would l like to thank would of course be Councilmember Mark Raney. Mark provided, especially in the early crucial weeks, significant leadership on a citywide basis to this effort. He has since held the pennant we have all gathered around, and everyone comprehends the debt they owe him.

Listed alphabetically, huge kudos and thank you's to the following:

Jeff Everett (Candidate for Sultan City Council): Jeff came into the "anti-gravel" movement a bit tardy, but quickly made up for lost time. He spent countless hours online, researching a myriad of issues -- legal, ecological, traffic-related -- the quantity and quality of which seemingly endless, and forwarded information to me. I quickly learned what an incredible resource he was and he thus was brought into the gravel fight in earnest. Later in the fight he would go wherever he was needed, doing whatever mundane and difficult chores were necessary, in addition to providing his intellectual expertise: authoring and printing out flyers and then handing them out door-to-door, or anything else that was required.

Steven Fox/Merlin Halverson: Fire District #5 Commissioner Steven Fox and Chief Merlin Halverson tried to "follow the money" from DNR to DNR's promised destination into the FD #5's coffers. Their five-month-plus search finally led them to the state's Attorney General's office, who was able to explain the distribution, which DNR still does not understand. The bottom line confirms his misgivings: FD #5 receives nothing. (This subject was covered by Steven Higgins' Monitor article in the 8/29 /01 issue.)

Steve Higgins (Special Contributor to the Monroe Monitor, and the only person mentioned here who is outside of the core "gravel" activist group): Steve's incredible investigatory, research and interviewing skills have no equal. He's a reporter who takes his responsibility to citizens seriously, by ferreting out the facts of a situation rather than simply taking a story from others and "reporting" on it. His hard-hitting articles have not just made a difference, in my opinion they substantially helped turn the tide of the gravel proposal by shining the clear light of day on some of the less-savory aspects of DNR's actions. Thanks also need to go to the Monitor's editor, Ken Robinson, without whose support Mr. Higgins would never have been able to accomplish what he did.

Denice Ingalls and Mike Ingalls: Well-known activists and business leaders, the entire Ingalls' family worked to defeat the gravel. At the least, Derek and Denice were instrumental in ordering a $350 public information request from DNR, the core of which provided vital information on what DNR knew and when they knew it. Denice assisted in the search for legal representation. Mike volunteered the money to purchase caps for our bus trip to Olympia to speak at DNR's Board meeting.

Ron Kraut (Chairman of the Sultan Planning Commission): Ron was of tremendous assistance to the core "gravel" activists, especially in the earlier months of this year when everyone was trying to get their balance, find their pace and determine a direction. With expertise and knowledge gained on the planning commission working with codes as well as infrastructure and ecological issues, he provided a significant base of information which others used as a "jumping off" point to contribute their own competencies and skill sets.

Lineweaver/Shepherd: (Residents on 116^th Street. S. E. and co-founders of S.N.A.G.) Andi Lineweaver and Suzanne Shepherd both live at "ground zero": their land borders the DNR Powerhouse site. When they heard about this proposal early on (late December), they contacted me. They had gone down to city hall, and in Andi's own inimitable way, had demanded a copy of the DNR Mitigated Determination of Non-significance (MDNS). At which point they didn't waste any time making copies and then distributing them door-to-door to their neighbors along 116^th Street to alert them of this threat to their quality of life. This was the first clarion call to arms on the proposal. At the very least, Andi and Suzanne were the Paul Revere's of this project and they provided me with my first copy of that now-infamous document.

Both Andi and Suzanne have been invaluable assets to this effort, with Andi providing estimable research and investigation, and Suzanne providing follow-up support on the phone and in written correspondence. They were tireless in providing support wherever and whenever it was needed: obtaining signatures on an anti-gravel petition, going door-to-door with flyers to announce the project to Sultan residents (especially those in Eagle Ridge), and spending endless hours writing and sending letters to various agencies and government representatives. Their energetic contributions -- especially in the early weeks and months of this effort -- cannot be overstated.

Mary Lowry: (Board member of Mark Raney's newly-formed A.P.L. [Alliance to Protect Livability] and a writer/automobile critic for the Everett Herald.) Throughout this effort Mary provided significant and badly-needed intellectual perspectives. She has a rare, intuitive insight which adds weight and character to almost every sentence she utters, and the gift of communicating outlooks of new panoramas not previously explored. Mary, along with Denice Ingalls, also provided significant time and effort in locating and winnowing candidates for A.P.L.'s legal representative, which was ultimately Jeff Eustis.

Kathryn McDonald (Kathryn is a board member of A.P.L. and a professional writer.) Kathryn's contributions came to us late, beginning when she contacted me in early March about an item on our website. When I learned she was a writer and worked for an environmental consulting firm -- and that she was amenable to volunteering her time -- I jumped on her like a cat on a grasshopper and I added her expertise to the other gravel activists. She may have been a late-comer, but she certainly "finished" strongly, administering what may have been the final blow to DNR's weakening struggle to keep Powerhouse alive despite insurmountable problems. Kathryn brought to DNR's attention the fact that their HCP (Habitat Conservation Plan) was wholly inadequate for the Powerhouse project. What is truly ironic about her "discovery" that their HCP might be a problem was the fact that she was spurred on by DNR personnel because of their own obfuscation and/or incompetence. When Kathryn called them to ask what seemed to be a fairly innocuous question, their inadequate response provided the catalyst for her to dig deeper.

Dave Somers (Chairman of the Snohomish County Council and our representative to that body): Dave was brought in on the ground floor of this project and represented his constituents in a worthy manner. Indeed, without Dave's help and assistance in working early on with DNR, the auction might well have taken place as planned, and the successful bidder already chosen. (You can thank Dave personally by voting for his reelection during the primary September 18^th, and again in the November election.)

It's our belief that DNR's decision to abandon this project was based on potentially severe and apparently-unresolvable problems related to proper legal notification, DNR's widespread deceit (not the least of which was their misrepresentation of funds that would be received by junior taxing districts, as pointed out by Steve Fox and Merlin Halverson), traffic and gravel transport problems, hydrological recharge/discharge issues, and a whole host of other possible legal impediments, and the overriding fear of the pounding their "image" might take, the sum total of which added up to a rather large pile of dirt for them to sweep under the rug. Someone was bound to notice the lump if they proceeded.

While there were many more contributors to the overall effort -- especially the "supporting" residents who put the meat on the bones of the early anti-gravel skeletal structure by showing up at the January meeting in force -- the above individuals reflect a few to whom we should be grateful.

We have won a battle, but the war is still to be fought.

One of the most important battlefields will be working with others in the Sky Valley to ensure that the Snohomish County's Mineral Comprehensive Plan appropriately addresses the regulations of how this type of project is handled in the future. We need to guarantee that when proposals like the Powerhouse are approved, their implementation is mindful of quality of life issues and will give appropriate financial recompense and concurrency considerations to address the resultant decimation of our infrastructure.

Thank you to everyone who made this crouching tiger become a sleeping dragon. At least, for a little while…