I visited the Silverthorne post office Sept. 13 to find the front window closed. They are so short handed that they can’t even take a sick day. Lord knows how they are going to handle the upcoming holiday season.

While the shortage of workers here in Summit County and elsewhere is the result of a number of factors, including lack of affordable/available rental housing, government and state unemployment payments resulting in workers not seeking employment, incomes not keeping up with inflation, gas prices nearly doubling in less than a year, etc., our U.S. speaker of the house is now trying include worker assistance payments of $600 per week through at least 2024 in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill they are trying to pass. It is a shame because this is entirely political. These people are not thinking of the businesses or workers. They are about control and power. They exclude themselves from their own mandates. What hypocrites.

Most of us started our careers in one-bedroom apartments and graduated to two-bedroom apartments before even thinking about buying a small home. So it seems what we are missing here is a sufficient supply of apartments for our workers. I have heard Summit is about 1,100 short of these types of units.

My hat is off to Silverthorne for moving forward with an affordable rental option at the Annie Road property where 15 to 20 units will be built for local employees with rent maximum costs of $1,009.50 for a studio and $1,081.50 for a one-bedroom apartment. These units still need approval and to be built, but at least it is a start.

Affordable/attainable housing can happen here with a focused effort by county, towns and private funding working together with specific goals in mind.