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Wednesday,August26,2020
Columbia Gorge News
HoodRiverNews.com • TheDallesChronicle.com • WhiteSalmonEnterprise.com
OPINION
YOUR VOICE
Peaceful Politics
For 4S2!
Cheers to all the pilots, aviation
ground crew, local fire and police
that put out or supported the ex-
tinguishing of the East Hills ground
fire on Monday, Aug. 17.
Without your skill and expertise,
that could have been a disaster.
They licked it in about an hour and
15 minutes, judging from where
I watched the organized water
assault while having tacos at The
Gorge White House with my family.
We are lucky here in Hood River
to have 4S2, Ken Jernstedt Airfield.
This airfield and its many organiza-
tions that help train, support, and
educate current and future pilots
and aviation enthusiasts alike are
vital to our local economy, growth,
education and culture.
Small airports like this that allow
for curious youngsters to get their
first flight or train in a glider or
powered aircraft is what sparked
my distant cousin Neil Armstrong’s
interest in learning to fly. The pilots
that train here become the pilots
that fly you to your vacation or see
your loved ones, allow for your
Amazon Prime item to be deliv-
ered in a couple of days, fly for Life
Flight, volunteer fly for Angel Wings
West, volunteer fly for Pilots and
Paws Rescue Services, fly and de-
fend our borders or other countries
boarders that are less fortunate as
ours, fly to put out fires, fly to stop
animal poaching with the Fish and
Wildlife, on and on, and yes fly for
fun as given to them by their free
rights in our Constitution of our
United Sates of America.
Please help support 4S2 Ken
Jernstedt Airfield and it’s many
amazing organizations, most
importantly Hood River Soaring,
Tac-Aero, and the world’s premiere
antique aviation museum WAAAM.
Mark A. Stanfield
Hood River
Demonstrators taking place in a national “Save the Post Office” peacefully mingle with those manning a Recall Kate Brown/Voter Registration booth outside the
United States Postal Service building in The Dalles. The Saturday protest rally was organized locally by Indivisible Columbia Gorge and Protect Oregon’s Progress
(POP). The recall booth in The Dalles has been present at times for the past three months, according to an organizer. The Recall petition is the third filed against Gov.
Brown, submitted by Bill Currier on June 2. Signatures for the recall are due on Aug. 31. Both prior recall attempts failed to gather enough signatures to move forward.
The “Save the Post Office” rally occupied all four corners of the intersection for approximately an hour.
Mark B. Gibson photo
Masks and avoiding large gath-
erings seem to not be priorities in
South Dakota.
Fortunately, patriotic Americans
As a resident of Mt. Hood, I urge have always been willing to die
Hood River County to install a bal- in order to protect our God given
lot box in both Parkdale and Odell. rights and freedoms. Helping the
economy is just a bonus. How many
The nearest ballot box at this time
is in downtown Hood River. That is people will die to protect the right
a huge inconvenience for residents to not wear masks or meet in large
gatherings during this pandemic?
in the Upper Valley, especially for
Hopefully none.
elderly people.
Freedom to worship as we please
This doesn’t seem like much of
an expense, and with recent federal is also a right, although the largest
efforts at voter suppression it would COVID-19 outbreak in Oregon
(236 people) was traced back to a
be a patriotic and honorable thing
church. We seem to want imme-
to do.
diate gratification of our desires
Thank you.
Tracie Hornung but maybe we should try to strike a
Mt. Hood balance between saving lives with
retaining wealth.
It would be nice to do both. Time
will
tell.
I am pro-choice, and here’s why:
Dave Radley
Even if I grant the other side some
Hood River
questionable presuppositions, such
as life beginning at conception,
at the end of the day, I don’t want
It seems that on a daily basis, I
people who do not want children,
now must drive by people asking
or do not have the resources to be
for signatures to “recall Governor
able to adequately raise a child, to
be forced to have said children. This Brown.” Their signs read “Stop the
abuse.” What is the “abuse” to which
does nobody any good.
they are referring?
Does that mean that abortion
Are these the people, in the flesh,
is fun and easy? Hell no. It’s sad
who believe that COVID-19 social
and painful, and the vilification of
distancing ordinances issued by
exercising bodily autonomy with
Gov. Brown are an abuse of power?
respect to reproduction only adds
Are they arguing that attempting
to the negative experience.
to mandate safety is an abuse of
Conservatives would happily
power? Are these the same people
use the power of the government
who don’t want to wear masks to
to force you to birth and raise
children that you don’t want, while keep themselves and others safe?
Are these the ones who yell “All lives
simultaneously and systematically
disabling the social safety nets that matter”?
Are these the same people who
you probably rely on, as well as
destroying the environment for the fight for “pro-life”? But, for some
reason, they think government
future of those children.
Meanwhile, it is progressives that mandated safety measures for the
are literally and figuratively planting citizens of their home state don’t
comply with their all-lives-matter-
the trees that our children’s chil-
pro-life agendas ... I don’t under-
dren’s children will sit under.
Benjamin Sheppard stand the obvious hypocrisy.
Cognitive dissonance has arrived
Hood River
in full force in our quaint little
Benjamin Sheppard is employed
tourist town, everyone. Please keep
as a social worker.
yourself and others safe.
Jonathan Terharr
Hood River
I saw the pictures from the Sturgis
Motorcycle Rally. Been there and
it is very entertaining. Not just a
The U.S. Census Bureau recently
bunch of rich guys dressing and
announced it would prematurely
behaving like pirates for a week.
end census operations on Sept.
Thousands of people from all over
30, 2020, despite disruptions due
the country will have a good time
and take home pleasant memories. to COVID-19 that have signifi-
cantly slowed data collection. The
Hopefully that is all they will take
counting date had been extended
home.
Add a ballot box
Pro-choice reasons
Obvious hypocrisy
Sturgis
Save the Census
through Oct. 31 for that very reason.
This is an intentional and trans-
parent move designed to sabo-
tage the census, thereby skewing
Congressional representation,
redistricting, and critical funding
allotments for every state in the
nation.
Nearly four of 10 households
have not yet been counted. To a
large degree, these are immigrants,
people of color, and traditionally
undercounted groups. The results
of this misrepresentation will last a
decade.
Congress can and should act to
protect the census by ensuring ad-
equate funding in the next COVID
stimulus package to continue
census counting through October
as planned. Please encourage our
elected officials, Rep. Greg Walden
and Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron
Wyden, to fight for the necessary
funding.
Daera Dobbs
Hood River
Now we see reports that mail-
boxes are being removed, mail is
being delayed, and Pres. Trump
is saying the quiet part out loud,
admitting that he is holding up
post office funding because “that
means that you can’t have universal
mail-in voting because they’re not
equipped to handle it.” It seems that
he believes that only Democrats
vote by mail or care about getting
mail. In the midst of a pandemic,
vote-by-mail in an election year is
the logical, safe way to ensure that
Americans can exercise their right
to vote but that will not happen if
the president is blocking the mail.
My grandpa loved this country
and he hated cheaters. I am grateful
that he is not here to see what Pres.
Trump is doing right now.
Jennifer Hackett
Hood River
with guidelines for the number of
wells this area can support, and
parcel sizes that allow growth in a
sustainable way.
This plan’s intent was to protect
the rural way of life, water tempera-
ture for fish survival, and availability
of well water. With hotter summers
becoming the new “normal,” the
risk of wells going dry is very real.
For this reason I ask that you sup-
port Jeremy Bechtel for Skamania
County Commissioner District 1.
Jeremy understands the importance
of responsible planning. He will
work to protect our rural lifestyle,
and in return protect our water so
that we can remain living in the
beautiful area.
Sherri Irish
Washougal
Support Turner
Responsible
Planning
Klickitat County is beautiful,
safe, and full of vibrant communi-
ties. These are not the reasons my
family moved here, but they are
I live at the Skamania/Clark
the reasons we have stayed for 15
County line. Our well went dry in
years. Klickitat County is a great
The finest man I have ever known February and it cost us $30,000 for a place to raise children. As a parent
new well. People live in rural areas of two teenagers, I want my kids to
spent his entire career working for
because they love the lifestyle. But
grow up in a supportive commu-
the United States Postal Service.
With the exception of the years that rural life has limitations, one of
nity. As an active volunteer with
he spent fighting for this country in them being that we have no alterna-
tive for water if our well drys up.
three different wars (World War II,
SeeWORD,page5
The West End Comprehensive
Korea and Vietnam), he worked to
make sure that Americans got their Plan was created over several years
Social Security checks, letters to
and from grandparents, tax refunds,
and grocery store coupons (a big
deal for my grandma every week).
If he were still alive and working,
he would be delivering stimulus
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HOOD RIVER | THE DALLES | WHITE SALMON
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