Althauser Rayan Abbarno attorney and Centralia City Councilmember Peter Abbarno: Guest Editorial in the Chronicle on Civil Legal Services!

We all know that there are critical components of every thriving community. We see them every day in our community, professional and public work — like vibrant public schools, servant leaders taking active roles in our community, volunteers helping those less fortunate to improve their lives, and a fair justice system.

Lewis County Bar Legal Aid has provided civil legal services to low-income residents in Lewis County for more than 25 years. Supporting Legal Aid is not only the right thing to do, but it is a fiscally responsible approach to budgetary constraints. Thank you, Carolyn Hipps, Director of Lewis County Bar Legal Aid, Todd Chaput, and the United Way of Lewis County for your effort and continued support of Legal Aid in Lewis County.

In this time of budget and policy challenges, we should all be able to agree that access to justice is part of what helps our community succeed and is a central part of our democracy.  We should encourage our elected leaders to do all they can to ensure the fairness of our civil justice system, and continue to adequately fund the civil legal aid system.

Read my guest commentary with Todd Chaput in The Chronicle.