Good morning Mayor Tim Fletcher here.

As we sort through the events of June 3rd and allow our county sheriff to complete his investigation, I hope my city council will join me tonight and apologize formally to this family and ask for their forgiveness so that we can begin to heal, many community members already have.….. it will be up to the family to forgive if they choose.

We found our community thrust into the nation’s spotlight by individuals that thought they were protecting our community from some outside destructive terrorist group ….seemingly they thought at the time a good intention however it was not. They should have relied on our law enforcement to take care of any perceived threats to our community – real or totally imagined but instead they took things into their own hands and that has never been good for anyone. The county sheriff will decide their fate and I support his decision. My community will be a better place after this.

I joined Sunday’s protest to show my support against racism and discrimination.

Racism prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.

Discrimination is the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people based on ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, or political belief.

What I believe is you cannot be a leader if you are an activist, for your heart is not in the best interest of the whole community and my job is to make sure all community members are treated equally.

A leader is there for the whole community and not the few. I have chosen to be a leader and not a follower of social media instigators.

If you do not like this leader it is your right to choose someone else this next local election cycle.

If you can and have the free time please volunteer, there are many that need help, choose a service group, and volunteer or simply help your neighbor when they need a hand.

Stay busy, stay healthy, stay Forks Strong.

Thank you for listening.