Sharon Michael, The Chronicle, 7/4/98
DOTY - Red Cox has done his part to preserve the national independence and personal freedoms that Americans celebrate today with picnics, parades and pyrotechnics.
As a young soldier during World War II, Cox fought in the Philippines - an experience that helped shape the man he is today. "People in this country - younger people - they don't know what war is," Cox said Wednesday afternoon from the comfortable living room of his Doty home, where he has lived for 40 years.
Too many people in this country take freedom for granted, he said. "To a lot of people, (the American flag is) just a symbol - to me it's a symbol of freedom," Cox said.
"The VFW and Kiwanis bought a flag in Pe Ell and someone stole it," he said. "And I don't believe in that. That old flag means a lot to me." Cox, a self-described "old logger and a union man," is retired now, but he works close to full time keeping an eye on local elected officials.
Red and Sally Cox regularly attend Lewis County Commission meetings, as well as public meetings about flood control, fish, water and land-use issues. "They do stuff that I don't like, and they're not telling us all they're doing," he said. "We've been really active since they started to form the flood district. We hardly ever miss a county commission meeting."
Cox thinks all citizens share responsibility for helping to protect the nation's freedoms and rights. "You've got to participate," he said. But he understands that is difficult for working people, because "all of the meetings are in the daytime." "And it takes so long to get anything done," Sally Cox added. "I sometimes wonder if we're going to live long enough."
"There's so much going on, it's hard to keep up with it," Cox agreed. And citizen participation is sometime less than welcomed by some officials.
Cox was offended by arguments made in a recent Chehalis Basin Partnership meeting against adding more citizen representatives. "Well, I happen to be a 'John Doe off the street,' " Cox said, quoting a reference made by a CBP member, and Cox thinks he has something to add to the discussion of watershed management issues.
The Chehalis River meanders past the 20-acre Cox farm, and the couple also owns waterfront property in Shelton. Their Doty house is less than 300 feet from the river. "I've got riverfront property - a lot of it," Cox said
Proposed setbacks designed to prevent pollution and protect fish habitat would take a large portion of his properties. "I won't have anything left," he declared. Cox said he is not against measures to protect the environment, but believes policy-makers need to understand how their decisions affect people. And he thinks people should let government officials know what they think. Citizens should "read the paper, write letters" - and vote, Cox said. "I think if someone doesn't vote, they've got no right to bitch." "It's just like your memory," Sally Cox added. "You use it or lose it." -