Tuesday, december 13, 2022 A7
REDMOND SPOKESMAN
Write to us: news@redmondspokesman.com
GUEST COLUMN
Travel delays,
cancellations
need a long
hard look
BY DEE STEWART
D
elays and cancellations were all too often
the stories of the summer for passengers
around the United States
and worldwide. While it was natural
to cast blame toward the obvious for
travel disruptions, the truth is far more
complex, with various factors that led
to where we are today. With the end-of-
Stewart
year holidays upon us, it is critical to ask
if the same will recur, will the perfect
storm disrupt travel as millions of Americans are on
their way to see their families?
While I hoped these problems would have been re-
solved months ago, little to no headway has been made.
The problems that rippled across the delicate system of
airports and aircraft operations seem to remain.
Florida is an excellent case study for what occurred
and what will recur. As the number of aircraft and aero-
space users rapidly grew in the state, the problem of
managing each of their needs became nearly impossible.
The number of general aviation flights (private air-
craft) increased by 100,000 in one year during the pan-
demic, as the popularity of Miami, Orlando, Palm Beach
and other communities was reflected in the number of
people attempting to reach them. In addition, ultra-low-
cost carriers such as Spirit, Allegiant and Frontier scram-
bled for territory, pushing for additional flights, nearly
doubling in total number.
On top of these competing forces are space companies.
It is not just Elon Musk but more businesses than ever
jumping onto this train, launching rockets that tempo-
rarily cut off air routes. While successful space launches
are to be celebrated, the likelihood of more disruptive
operations in Florida means more headaches, as each
rocket requires a wide range of airspace to be closed to
protect aircraft. If the current trend holds, with the num-
ber of launches increasing, there will be even more clo-
sures and potential chaos for passengers to navigate.
These problems are not isolated to Florida. Private
jet travel accounts for nearly 12 percent of flights, while
space launches are open to more than just the Sunshine
State. The agency overseeing it all — the Federal Aviation
Administration — is trying to weigh all these demands.
The airspace traffic jams could happen more fre-
quently and in more locations around the country. Trav-
elers are now bystanders as multiple forces compete over
the limited room in the sky. In 2022, the federal govern-
ment directed nearly $1 billion in funding to airports to
improve terminals and build air-traffic control towers.
Now it is time to help the agency monitoring the day-to-
day operations of those airports.
It should be a priority to get passengers to their final
destinations, not discourage travel and the spending that
goes with it. There are definite benefits to keeping com-
mercial flights delivering hundreds of passengers on
schedule. When travelers can consistently count on their
flights landing on time, that’s a win for the entire aviation
industry. Congress and the administration should exam-
ine ways to help the FAA complete its mission and make
passengers happier.
█
Dee Stewart is president of the Americans for a Balanced Budget, an
advocacy organization. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
GUEST COLUMNS
Redmond council meetings
should not start with a prayer
I
enjoy going to Redmond
city hall to go to Red-
mond city council meet-
ings to listen and participate
in our lo-
cal govern-
ment. Usu-
ally there
is a prayer
before the
proceedings.
This does
Baer
not seem
like a big
deal and this probably is not
a big deal. However, I would
like to see this practice dis-
continued for many different
reasons, which I will now
list.
There always has and always
will be a separation of church
and state in our nation. This
is the law. This is a good and
logical law. It is up to the city
councilors to uphold this law
and they are not doing their
jobs.
Religion has always worked
against freedom and democ-
racy and progress in all levels
of society forever, everywhere,
and still does. Religion is pull-
ing us back into the past when
we need to move forward into
the future. People use religion
as an excuse to use violence and
treason to intimidate others
right here in America right now
— and this practice seems to be
increasing.
We need to move forward
with new solutions to new
problems. This new city coun-
cil needs to make a clean break
from the past. We need to rely
on logic and common sense to
address these new issues of the
future. We are not going to get
any assistance from some ghost
floating around in the clouds.
This new city council is going
to be progressive and look at
the big picture and we need to
start off fresh with a big im-
provement, a big jump forward.
There should no more prayers
in Redmond city council meet-
ings.
Christian prayers in Red-
mond city council meetings are
disrespectful to non-Christians.
City council meetings are for all
of us, and to single out Chris-
tians with a Christian prayer is
the same thing as saying that
non-Christians are second class
and are marginalized. This is
wrong and it should not be al-
lowed to continue.
My views are not anti-Chris-
tian or anti-religion. I support
everyone’s right to worship
whatever they want, or to not
worship at all. My point is that
Redmond city hall is not the
place for this for many, many
reasons.
2023 is going to be a big and
important year for all of us, so
let’s start it off right. Let’s start it
off better. Let’s start it off with
Redmond city council meet-
ings to be only about Redmond
city council issues, in a fair and
equal way.
█
Charles Webster Baer is a former
candidate for Redmond city council.
Redmond library needed
more space to serve patrons
BY CYNTHIA CLARIDGE
T
hank you for sharing
the necessary infor-
mation concerning the
Redmond Public Library con-
struction meetings and the lo-
cation for patrons to continue
to check out books. This infor-
mation will help patrons un-
derstand what is taking place
at the current location.
Living in Redmond since
1979 and having been involved
with the library since it was pre-
viously housed in the present
Chamber of Commerce build-
ing, I’ve seen the drastic needs
grow for Redmond and the li-
brary. I taught for 23 years in
Evergreen School, which now
houses our city hall. Visiting
the library across the street with
my students and also checking
out books for my class was a de-
lightful privilege for me.
Serving on the Deschutes
Public Library Board has been
an honor and most definitely
a responsibility to respect the
community’s needs and the fu-
ture of Redmond.
I was disappointed that the
Spokesman created a less than
positive perspective on both
the construction and tem-
porary library. Destroying a
building, and most definitely
one as long-standing as Jessie
Hill School, was not something
I came to easily.
But after we heard from
engineers and architects,
the prospect of renovating a
nearly 100-year-old building
to provide citizens of Red-
mond with a library that will
deliver services necessary into
the future was not cost effec-
tive or possible. Wanting to
maintain some of the history
of the building, we requested
that the architects’ designs of
the interior of the building in-
clude the “teacher wall” that
has remained inside the library
since the first renovation of the
school into the present library.
The architects are planning
on using historic photographs
of Jessie Hill School and previ-
ous students to enrich the inte-
rior of the building.
Keeping the library in
downtown Redmond was a key
component for me. Not only
did I teach at Evergreen, but
I also owned a bookstore in
the downtown. I understand
the city’s development of the
downtown core and believe
the library’s current location is
central to that enterprise. City
staff also requested the library
remain in the city core if at all
possible.
The location chosen to main-
tain library services was the
largest space in Redmond we
could find that met the needs of
a library. It is 5,000 square feet
and allows customers to have
access to books, materials and
several computers. The library
staff is going to do everything
possible to help Redmond pa-
trons access the materials they
need as well as still provide pro-
grams and story times. Staff
has worked diligently to find
partner locations throughout
Redmond to host programs for
children and adults.
I understand that not every-
one may understand or agree
with every decision concern-
ing the library, but I am hoping
that it is understood that the
decisions made are to provide
the citizens of Redmond with
a library they deserve and one
that will serve them well into
the future.
█
Cynthia Claridge is a member of the
Deschutes Public Library board.
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Redmond
Mayor George Endicott: George.endicott@
redmondoregon.gov, 541-948-3219
Deschutes County
County Commission Chair Patti Adair: Patti.adair@
deschutes.org, 541-388-6567
County Commission Vice Chair Tony DeBone: Tony.
debone@deschutes.org, 541-388-6568
County Commissioner Phil Chang: Phil.chang@
deschutes.org, 541-388-6569
Your Legislators
Rep. Jack Zika (District 53): 503-986-1453; 900
court st. Ne, H-387, salem, Or 97301, rep.JackZika@
oregonlegislature.gov
Sen. Tim Knopp (District 27): 503-986-1727; 900
court st. Ne, s-425, salem, Or 97301, sen.TimKnopp@
oregonlegislature.gov
State
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown: 254 state capitol, salem,
Or 97310; 503-378-3111; www.governor.oregon.gov.
Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read: oregon.
treasurer@ost.state.or.us; 350 Winter st. Ne, suite 100,
salem Or 97301-3896; 503-378-4000.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen F. Rosenblum:
Justice building, salem, Or 97301-4096; 503-378-4400.
Oregon Legislature: Legislative documents and
information are available online at www.leg.state.or.us.
Federal
President Joe Biden: The White House, 1600
Pennsylvania ave., Washington, d.c. 20500; 202-456-
1111; to send comments, go to www.whitehouse.gov.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley: d.c. office: 313 Hart senate
Office building, u.s. senate, Washington, d.c., 20510;
202-224-3753; fax 202-228-3997. Portland office: One
World Trade center, 121 s.W. salmon st. suite 1250,
Portland, Or 97204; 503-326-3386; fax 503-326-2900.
baker city office, 1705 main st., suite 504, 541-278-
1129; merkley.senate.gov.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden: d.c. office: 221 dirksen senate
Office building, Washington, d.c., 20510; 202-224-
5244; fax 202-228-2717. La Grande office: 105 Fir st.,
No. 210, La Grande, Or 97850; 541-962-7691; fax, 541-
963-0885; wyden.senate.gov.
U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz (2nd District): d.c. office: 1239
Longworth House Office building, Washington, d.c.,
20515, 202-225-6730; fax 202-225-5774. medford
office: 14 N. central avenue suite 112, medford, Or
97850; Phone: 541-776-4646; fax: 541-779-0204;
Ontario office: 2430 s.W. Fourth ave., No. 2, Ontario, Or
97914; Phone: 541-709-2040. bentz.house.gov.