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About Columbia Gorge news. (The Dalles, OR) 2020-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 2021)
4 Columbia Gorge News Wednesday, July 21, 2021 www.columbiagorgenews.com OPINION The opinions expressed in the letters below are “your voice,” and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Columbia Gorge News, its staff, publisher or advertisers. YOUR VOICE Not so hot Mountain High I hope that the climate alarm- ists out there have read the story on page B10 of the July 14, 2021, Columbia Gorge News. The article was from The Dalles Chronicle of July 15, 1941. It stated that the tem- perature on July 14 was 104 degrees and that the temperature at 11:30 a.m. on the 15th was already 103 degrees. Pretty much what we’ve been having lately. The progressives have been spreading phony climate predic- tions ranging from global freezing to global warming since the 1970s. None of them have come true. Kenton Mathewson Dallesport EDITOR’S NOTE: 104 degrees in mid-Julywasunusualenoughin1941 towarrantapage1headlineinthe newspaper. Summer rest I’ve recently visited your beauti- ful and ravaged county and Mount Hood and I was inspired to write a poem. I present it here to you beau- tiful people! And Still The Flowers Grow... The mountain stands stalwart and tall. The tree stumps & stalks abound, their branches & leaves burnt to the ground. Over the mountainside, down the hills, from the top of the mountain to the water’s still, the old and gray fall to the ground. And still the flowers grow, be- neath their feet. The purple, the yel- low, the white are a feat, Of survival amongst the Treacherous rocks, as the sun beams down on the burnt tree tops. Mount Hood stands tall amongst her friends: Mount Ranier, Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams again ... The guardians of the lands of the north and west, God’s lands are now taking a summers rest. And still the flowers grow. Darlana Fiehtsam Columbia, SC Mount Adams dominates the view from Trout Lake. moments. Volunteers from White Salmon were also on the scene in short order. To all of them who I know were there — Ryan Kreps, Tyson Trout, Zach Landgren — and to Jay Holtman for manning Hunsaker’s D9, thank you so much. And thank you Bill for the use of the dozer. My friend Donna and I went to And thank you to those whose Shari’s Restaurant on July 14 to celebrate our birthdays and to enjoy names I do not know, but that were a meal, sitting at a table for the first there, either a part of the USFS team and/or there to help in some other time in a long time. We placed our capacity. Thank you, thank you and orders and shortly after our server thank you! came to table to say a gentleman Kevin Herman had paid for our tickets! We want White Salmon to say thank you kind sir, you made our day! Lorna Elliott The Dalles Thank you Essential news The combining of newspapers in the area seems to be going well, and I hope is making a profit. I like the focus on local news and events. The June 2021 Hightower Lowdown has a suggestion that might add to this, a “regular section that digs into the area’s wages, job losses and openings, workplace conditions ... affordable housing, worker safety, job discrimina- tion, childcare availability, abuse hotlines, unionizing efforts, and the myriad of other real-life issues that confront this majority on a daily basis ...” This would be something like the business section of many newspapers, only with policy, mon- ey and economics news essential for most of us. Or would it be better not to have such a specific section, but instead give sufficient attention to such topics throughout the paper? This approach sort of seems to be a healthy trend in the paper already. I’m not sure, but I suggest the concept for discussion. Jerrold Richards Lyle Thank you, firefighters I want to thank those firefighters and other volunteers who helped keep the Strawberry Mountain blaze at bay and eventually put it out. It nearly overtook our little area near the city shed on July 8. USFS happened to be fueling up just down the street at Hunsaker’s Oil and answered the call within Thank you, Gov. Brown I would like to thank Gov. Kate Brown, The Health Division, local health departments, doctor offices and the many volunteers who helped to vaccinate Oregon. It is wonderful that after a terrible year with COVID, many deaths, sick- nesses, and so much loss to our businesses, that Oregon can go back to a more normal life. It is nice to give each other hugs, smile at each other, see each other at church, go to the theater and many other places that we missed over this past year. I think it is important to wear face masks if requested since some still do not have the vaccine and some have compromising health conditions. It is so easy to wear a mask if requested to do so. We want everyone to be safe and we are a better community when we think of each other. We do need to be careful since the COVID Delta Variant is alive and spreading in the United States. It would be refreshing if some of those who criticized Gov. Brown so strongly about COVID state regula- tions would say something positive about the recent statewide lifting of COVID restrictions. Oregon is healthier and safer because of a lot of hard work by a lot of people. Thank you so much! Nancy Johanson Paul Hood River Letters appreciated I appreciate those who write letters to the editor, whether I agree with you or not. I appreciate Peter F. who pointed out the missing Chelsea Marr photo little birds, as we were likewise worrying about their absence from our bird feeders. Here’s the good news — they have returned to us, the Juncos, the Nuthatches, and the Chickadees. Maybe they took a leave of absence to make nests and rear their families elsewhere, away from the Stellar Jays? I also enjoy Benjamin Sheppard’s letters, especially the last one where he points out the inconsistency of some in blaming the insurrection of Jan. 6 on the Black Lives Matter sup- porters and then not being willing to look into the matter. I do wonder why the paper feels it necessary to point out “Benjamin Sheppard is employed as a social worker.” No other letter writer has his occupation delineated like this. Joan Chantler White Salmon or color. I just want to say, with tears in my eyes, my son and late brother’s son both had very close friends at The Dalles High School who were Black and Hispanic, and part of our family. Our boys were also part of their families! God bless America and all of you. Steve Cochenour The Dalles More entertainment For years, the Hood River News had a weekly article on an artist somewhere in the Gorge. It was such fun to read about all the differ- ent ways we are creative. And when there was a major show in local galleries, we could plan to attend. So when I had a show in June, I EDITOR’S NOTE:Therearetwomen namedBenjaminSheppardinHood Riverandthenoteistoidentifywhich Benjaminiswriting,anarrangement workedoutyearsagoattheHoodRiver News. Proud to be an American My family has many nationali- ties in it. I’m very proud to say my family and relatives are made up of not just white Americans, but also Australian, German and Mexican. We need to put our hard earned money to protect all of America, men, women and children of all colors and nationalities! Even the families trying to come to America from Mexico and other countries as they did in the 1020s, 1930s and 1940s. Did we treat them with disrespect as in Germany with the Berlin wall? Stop putting money building a wall and police force. The drugs will find their way over, under and around the wall, even the unwanted criminals. Also, look at what that wall is doing to America. This is also dividing America, a country of many races, colors and nationalities. All of us are related! Men, women and children in America and beyond. Remember, it started with two people, a man and a woman, who also loved each other! We are one family, no matter the country looked in your Wednesday papers only to find out, no art section! Just recently I got a postcard about Gorge Artists Open Studios. There are 42 artists exhibiting this September. And I am sure there are 10 more, even in the Dalles, which means you could write a story once a week and cover all sorts of differ- ent creative work. Art brings folks to our communi- ties as well as revenue. I hope you will add an art section to your paper. Seddon Wylde Hood River Want to write a letter? Columbia Gorge News encourag- es readers to submit letters to the editor for the weekly opinion page. Letters on all topics are welcome. Writers must include their name and hometown (for publication) and daytime phone number (for verification, not for publication). Letters from an agency or group must be credited to the author or a contact person. Anonymous or “name withheld by request” letters are not accepted. Letters must be 350 words or fewer; generally, the briefer the message, the better. Opinion pieces longer than 350 words may be pub- lished as a guest commentary at the discretion of the editor. 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. We reserve the right to edit all letters: Letters must be civil. Vulgar or inappropriate lan- guage will not be considered, nor malicious, false or misleading Regional news for the Gorge statements. Letters attacking an individual, rather than an opinion, are not acceptable. Letters criticizing a particular business over a particular com- plaint or grievance will not be considered. The opinions expressed in letters are “Your Voice,” and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Columbia Gorge News, its staff, publisher or advertisers. Letters may be submitted online at www.ColumbiaGorgeNews.com: Scroll to the bottom of the page and select “Submission Forms,” then select “Letter to the Editor.” NEW — Letters also may be sent via email to Letters@gorgenews. com. Or mail your letter “attention editor” to any of the Post Office boxes listed at bottom of this page. Mailing Addresses: PO Box 1910, The Dalles, OR 97058 PO Box 390, Hood River, OR 97031 PO Box 218, White Salmon, WA 98672 Columbia Gorge News HOOD RIVER | THE DALLES | WHITE SALMON Columbia Gorge News (ISSN 0747-3443) Published every Wednesday. Known offices of publication: (Open by appointment) 1800 W. 10th Street, The Dalles, OR 97058 600 E. Port Marina Way, Suite B, Hood River, OR 97031 Elba Offices, 288 E. Jewett Street, Suite 650 White Salmon, WA 98672 Periodical postage is paid at The Dalles, Oregon. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to P.O. Box 1910, The Dalles, OR 97058 CONTACT US The Dalles 541-296-2141 Hood River / White Salmon 541-386-1234 ColumbiaGorgeNews.COM Publisher Chelsea Marr chelseam@gorgenews.com Editorial: Mark Gibson, Editor Trisha Walker, Lifestyle Editor LisaAnn Kawachi, Copy Editor Jacob Bertram, Reporter Kelsie Cowart, Reporter Alana Lackner, Reporter Noah Noteboom, Reporter News Tips/Press Releases Markg@gorgenews.com Trishaw@gorgenews.com LisaK@gorgenews.com JacobB@gorgenews.com KelsieC@gorgenews.com AlanaL@gorgenews.com NoahN@gorgenews.com News@gorgenews.com Obituaries: obits@gorgenews.com Classifieds: Advertising: Niki Piacente, Digital Ad Director Kim Horton, Sales Rachel Harrison classifieds@gorgenews.com sales@gorgenews.com NikiP@gorgenews.com KimH@gorgenews.com RachelH@gorgenews.com Legals: Oregon: Washington: Subscriptions: Shania McElravy, Supervisor ORlegals@gorgenews.com WAlegals@gorgenews.com Subscribe@gorgenews.com ShaniaM@gorgenews.com Billing/Office: billing@gorgenews.com
