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About Columbia Gorge news. (The Dalles, OR) 2020-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 2020)
4 Wednesday,September2,2020 Columbia Gorge News HoodRiverNews.com • TheDallesChronicle.com • WhiteSalmonEnterprise.com OPINION YOUR VOICE Wheeler to sacrifice those they are supposed to be serving just to try and lay the blame on President When I first met Carolyn Long Trump? at a town hall in 2018, she shared Those are the type of elected her story of working on her family’s leaders you want? off-the-highway produce stand. She Steven Nybroten took that trade to Safeway where White Salmon she worked a family-wage job and was a member of UFCW Local 555. That family-wage job allowed her to pay her way through college and ultimately become a WSU Professor President Trump is opposed to and leader in our community. and blocking $25 billion in emer- Carolyn has proven herself to be gency funding to the U.S. Postal a person with a strong work ethic Service that has been approved who is committed to Southwest by Congress because he alleges Washingtonians. Prior to COVID, it would lead to ballot fraud. It’s she held numerous Town Halls another of his false arguments. throughout the 3rd District and There’s no supporting evidence after she has held many Coffee With Carolyn Zoom meetings to talk with for his claim, but he’s using it to and explain her positions to people deny a safe and simple solution to the challenges of in-person voting throughout the district. Her acces- during the COVID-19 pandemic. sibility is a breath of fresh air com- According to the Brennan Center pared to our current Representative. for Justice at NYU School of Law Jamie has so far been unwilling to (named for former Supreme Court commit to debating Carolyn. We need a representative who is willing Justice William J. Brennan Jr.) “mail to meet with her constituents. If you ballots … are secure and essential haven’t met Carolyn yet, join her on to holding a safe election amid Facebook for a live-streamed Town the coronavirus pandemic.” We, in Oregon, know from experience that Hall and ask a question. John Melink mail in ballots work and are secure! There’s more to this. Who votes Longview the most? Older people. The Elections Project shows that more than 65 percent of people over 60 Gorge businesses? They are turn out to vote — twice the turnout just competing merchants whom for people 29 and younger. you might or might not chose to Who is most vulnerable to support. That’s what I used to think. COVID? People over 60. I used to think the “thank you” was So, could Mr. Trump be trying to due me, the customer. discourage older Americans from During these unsettling pan- voting out of fear that they might demic times, I have learned to be contract COVID at in-person poll- grateful for the businesses and per- ing stations? sonnel who daily continue to serve Nah. Not if you choose to believe the community: Groceries, pet Trump’s false voter fraud horse- food stores, bakeries, restaurants, But why would you believe tire centers, hardware stores, filling pucky. it, given that Trump has uttered stations, drug stores, this newspa- more than 20,000 lies since per ... and others I don’t even know well taking office (Washington Post about. They have become service Fact Checker database, wapo. organizations! Can you imagine st/3kHnBnM)? the state our society would be in, if If you care, contact your rep- they, if those workers, didn’t step resentatives and senators and up? I want to express my gratitude Senate Leader Mitch McConnell to them: Just, thank you all. I wish and demand support for the Postal I could personally bring about hazard pay for you, our local heroes. Service. It’s about democracy Peter Belmont Stay safe and well! Hood River Vote! Sieglinde Smith Mosier According to Northwest Harvest statistics from 2019, Washington ranks 10th nationally in overall They say Nero fiddled while wealth, but 34th in food insecurity. Rome burned. Are Gov. Brown Additionally, almost 20 percent of and Mayor Wheeler taking fiddle families in Washington experience lessons? insecurity. It is hard to imagine that to even food When schools in the Yakima more liberals, watching Portland Valley paused in the midst of burn is okay. Is it okay to see the COVID-19 pandemic, these businesses destroyed and people hidden disparities were laid bare, injured, including minorities? Is as Yakima schools distributed it okay for Gov. Grown and Mayor 380,000 meals between March 13 Long for Congress By the Trail Trump false on USPS Miller for Dist. 30 Thanks, merchants Rushing for Dist. 14 Fiddle lessons Indian Paintbrush in low light on Vista Ridge Trail near Dollar Lake. Photo courtesy Mary Jane Heppe and May 27 to students navigat- ing food insecurity — by far the most meals distributed across the state’s counties. As complex as food insecurity is, it’s encouraging to see that Tracy Rushing, a candidate for Washington’s 14th district in the House of Representatives, priori- tizes expanding food and nutrition access for people navigating food insecurity in our county. What’s more, Tracy wants to include our local agricultural experts — our farmers — in the process of access- ing these basic food needs. Tracy’s willingness to address this clear dis- parity in our county is a departure from the incumbent’s approach — he has regularly voted against legislation in committee that would make it easier for struggling families Hiring people with disabilities is just good business ■ By Raven Rutherford My work puts me in front of the nicest people on the planet, an amazing group of folks who collectively comprise a too small percentage of working American adults. I am a job coach and job developer for adults with disabili- ties. When a person has requested to work through their case worker or brokerage, they are paired with a professional like myself. Someone who will help find them work and then help them to excel at it. The State of Oregon has certified me to render those services to the residents of the Columbia River Gorge. More specifically, Wasco, Sherman, and Hood River counties. I do this in several ways. One way is, I help them to create awesome resumes and then send them throughout the labor market within the Gorge. My favorite approach, though, is to develop a relationship with managers and HR reps in the fields my clients would like to work in. I then match the client up with that developed job and if my client has additional needs or cannot do a function of the job, I then help them complete the task to the satisfaction of management. Typically, I learn the job, I then teach it to my client, and I coach them at their job till they no longer need my services. However, sometimes that person needs my services for a very pro- longed period of time, in which case I would be there for them until the day they no longer need me. I could tell you about all the cer- tifications and state requirements needed to do this work; however, I will only tell you what is essential to success. You need to be able to hear “No” a lot, and be tenacious enough to come back the next day for more. I know I have annoyed employers and sometimes fought too hard for a client in the face of a hard “No.” To all of you, I apologize. Just know that for me, it is easy to fight for my clients. I believe in them. Adults with disabilities are loyal to their jobs, they arrive on time as a rule and rarely leave or quit that job. They know all too well the consequence of that action. It is so incredibly difficult to find work in the first place and they may not get another job for many months. Sadly, sometimes the next job is years away. Only four out of every 10 adults with disabilities have gainful employment. Just imagine Senior White House advisor and devout man of God, Jared Kushner, was asked about the NBA deci- sion amid the GOP convention promise to hear and care for every American. Instead of offering an ounce of sympathy or empathy, he said, “I think the NBA players are very fortunate that they have the financial position … to take a night off from work without ... the consequences to themselves finan- cially.” The statement represents an extremely unsympathetic, callous statement, even by Donald Trump’s low standards. Perhaps Kushner should have listened to the conven- tion speakers before offering his entitled position. I hope voters across the country are listening to what the Trump ad- ministration REALLY thinks about them. They simply do not care about anything or anyone who does not support their agenda. Outside of a convention speech, they will not even fake it. #FreeBarron2020. Steve Kaplan Hood River for a moment if that demographic represented women or Americans 55 and older. To the businesses, and employers of our beloved Gorge, please hire a person with I/DD today. They bring hard work, unity, diversity, and inclusion to any workspace they occupy. If the cost of hiring is a concern, adults with disabilities come with large tax breaks for their employers. Consider saying “Yes” to a person with disabilities. I would guess that you have seen them in your stores and retail spaces buying your products. Shouldn’t they get to see people like themselves working in the store where their money is being spent? Complete inclusion of this wonderful community is long over do. Hiring a person with I/DD is not charity, it’s just good business. You can begin the search for your next hardworking employ- ee at any of these three state and county offices. DHS Vocational Rehabilitation Hood River (541) 386-3199, DHS Vocational Rehabilitation The Dalles 541- 296-4661 or EOSSB (brokerage) 541-387-3600. Raven Rutherford lives in Hood River. to access their basic needs. Let’s shift gears and elect a person like Tracy Rushing, who cares about putting more food on families’ tables in District 14. Wyatt Kanyer Yakima True colors The Republican National Convention featured several speak- ers who proclaimed the Trump Party is committed to equality, love of God, and a willingness to hear the voice of EVERY American. The same week, Jacob Blake became the next black man shot in the back by police. His three children had the misfortune of witnessing the event. In response to the situation, the entire NBA, with global support from their mostly white coaches and owners, decided not to play any games Wednesday or Thurs- day. This action was meant to bring further national attention to the all-too-common excessive force displayed by some in law enforce- ment in the U.S. As everyone knows, money is the only language this administration understands. Carina Miller is running on the Democratic Party ticket to replace Lynn Findley as our state Senator for District 30. Last week, I had the opportunity to hear her speak in The Dalles. After hearing her carefully thought out ideas and beliefs and her commitment to rural Oregon, I am 100 percent committed to supporting her candidacy. Recently, as a member of the Columbia Gorge Commission, Ms. Miller showed her willingness to vote for compromise for the sake of moving forward on important issues in the Gorge. Although she and other members appeared to have won an argument to set the cap on Gorge expansion at 20 acres and 1 percent, there were others on the commission who refused to accept the majority decision and continued to reopen the issue. Carina Miller acted as a respon- sible public representative. She stayed in the room for continued discussions on an issue for which her position was in the majority and then voted for a compromise so that the commission could move on to other important issues in the Gorge. This stands in stark contrast with Carina Miller’s opponent, Lynn Findley. Earlier this year, rather than continue discussion on HB1530, the cap and trade climate bill, Mr. Findley and fellow Republicans walked out of the Senate in protest, effectively ending the legislative session and discussion on over a hundred bills, including ones to prepare the state for an earthquake, changes to the way wildfires are fought, efforts to address the state’s housing crisis and an ambitious climate change policy. In her speech last week, Carina stressed the value of sitting down and taking the time to understand each other and a belief that people in District 30 have a lot more in SeeLETTERS,page5 Want to write a letter? C OLUMBIA GORGE NEWS ENCOURAGES READERS TO SUBMIT letters to the editor for the weekly opinion page. Letters of all topics are welcome. Writers must add their name and hometown (for publication) and day- time phone number (for verification, not for publication.) Email letters are welcome, as well as hand-written or typed. Letters must be 350 words or fewer; generally, the briefer the message, the better. Opinion pieces longer than 350 words may be submitted after contacting Columbia Gorge News. Letters are published as space allows, and efforts are made each week to provide as much space as possible. Deadline for letters is noon on the Friday prior to publication. Letters using vulgar or inappropriate language will not be considered, nor are those containing malicious, false or misleading statements. Letters criticizing a particular business over a particular complaint or grievance will not be considered. Letters must run with the name and hometown of the writer; anonymous or “name withheld by request” letters are not accepted. Letters may be submitted online at www.thed- alleschronicle.com, www.hoodrivernews.com or www.whitesalmonenterprise.com. Letters may also be sent via email to Kirby Neumann-Rea(kirbyn@gorgenews.com) or Mark Gibson (markg@gorgenews.com). Regional news for the Gorge Columbia Gorge News HOOD RIVER | THE DALLES | WHITE SALMON Columbia Gorge News (ISSN 0747-3443) Published every Wednesday. Known offices of publication: 811 E 2nd St, The Dalles, OR 97058 419 State Ave, Hood River, OR 97031 220 Jewett Blvd. , White Salmon, WA 98672 Periodical postage is paid at The Dalles, Oregon. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to P.O. 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