THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2015
Register to vote
W
ell, the top two Demo-
cratic presidential con-
tenders were in Portland re-
cently. Bernie Sanders had a
rally at the Moda Center with
the people, and Hillary Clin-
ton met with some rich folks
in Dunthorpe. Perfect.
If you haven’t ever regis-
tered to vote, now is the time.
MARY TANGUAY
WEBB
Astoria
Laughing at outrage
he tin pot outrage over
the Bridge Vista plan
— mainly being espoused
by those who can only be
described as the modern day
Àotsam and Metsam of the
North Coast, who more than
likely moved to this area to
escape the disastrous results
of past voting and life style
habits in their places of ori-
gin — is comical and worthy
of every type of mockery one
can muster.
However, one of the over-
all themes of these letters is
that a working waterfront
will affect the livability of the
city. Really? I guess all the
transients who are steadily
turning said waterfront into a
mirror of the Portland water-
front, won’t have an effect. Or
all that pesky Hispanic gang
tagging that is popping up all
over the city, that won’t have
an effect later on, will it? Or
how about the mass exodus of
long-term businesses from the
city, and the city’s not taking
advantage of enterprise zones,
while the rest of the county
does — no way this will not
have a damaging effect in the
long run.
Or how about the war that
is being waged on our local
¿sherman, and the potential
of our ¿shing industry being
eradicated. Not a problem,
right? Or how about if you
are a woman, you can be
dragged into the bushes on
Harrison Avenue, have a per-
petrator attempt to strangle
and violate you in the most
heinous way possible, only
to ¿ght him off, and have
the district attorney drop a
litany of additional charges.
Giving your perpetrator a
cream puff probationary sen-
tence, all at the same time he
5A
)urthermore, any tooth can
crack, but the back teeth have
the highest degree of frequen-
cy, and a tooth with a ¿lling
has the greatest risk.
Any kind of ¿lling will
weaken the tooth and make
it more susceptible to crack-
ing. It is easier to comprehend
when we examine the amal-
gam silver) ¿lling.
In its heyday, early to mid-
20th century, it was a maMor
player in stopping the cavity
epidemic, and it is still being
used today. In order for it to stay
in a tooth, it must be mechani-
cally locked into place, thus
the dentist was taught to make
sharp corners with the drill in-
ternally. )urthermore, those
grooves or lines that you see on
the chewing surface were also
drilled out with the same sharp
corners because this was where
cavities began. This east to west
channel cut into a tooth could
be thought of as a pane of glass
scribed with a glass cutter.
After the ¿lling was com-
pleted, the dentist would in-
struct you to not eat on this
for 24 hours. During that time,
the amalgam is hardening, but
with some amalgams, it was
also slightly expanding.
Keep in mind that amal-
gam is a metal. It therefore re-
sponds rapidly to temperature
changes.
The tooth, on the other
hand, is partially a mineral
and responds more slowly,
much like a coffee cup or
porcelain. If you consume
hot coffee with ice cream, for
example, the amalgam is like
an accordion inside the tooth.
And, because of the tooth’s
mineral-like properties, it is
brittle and can crack.
Keep in mind that life to-
day is very different than it
was in the mid-20th century.
With the daily stresses that we
contend with now, we can be
very hard on our teeth. It is no
wonder that so many teeth are
cracking. About 90 percent of
the observable surface cracks
that I see around amalgam
¿llings also reveal internal
structural cracks when inves-
tigated. These cracks are like
cracks in the windshield of
your car. They will continue
to grow.
RODNEY KATAYAMA,
DDS
Astoria
‘Social Security is alive and well’
O
n the eve of the 80th birthday of
Social Security, I have been think-
ing of something that happened to me
about 40 years ago.
At the time I was working as a
commercial ¿sherman and living in
Chinook, Wash. Several of us were
sitting at a table in a restaurant in Il-
waco, having lunch and taking a break
from working on a shrimp net we had
stretched out on the dock.
An older man came up to us and in-
troduced himself and said, “ I Must want-
ed to thank you all for helping me out.”
When I asked what he was talking
about, he said that he had retired and
is dusting off his set of high
heels, in order to get ready
for the next Walk a Mile in
Her Shoes March — to show
how down for the cause he is,
in stopping violence against
women. No problem at all, I
am sure.
Mayor Arline LaMear
once stated during a city coun-
cil meeting, in regard to the
Bridge Vista Plan, “Not ev-
eryone is against this.” How
true, indeed, this is. Kudos to
those on the city council who
enacted the Bridge Vista Plan.
You’re speaking to more peo-
ple than you think.
JASON KOST
Astoria
Where’s democracy?
L
et me see if I have this
straight. Recently the feds
released a draft environmen-
tal review of the Oregon LNG
proMect “)eds release draft
environmental review of Ore-
gon LNG proMect,” The Daily
Astorian, Aug. 5).
However, a federal Mudge
ruled that the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers controls
the entire site where Oregon
LNG wants to build their ex-
port terminal “Army Corps
prevails over Oregon LNG,”
The Daily Astorian, Aug.
). The Mudge agreed with the
Corps that it has been a dredge
spoil site since 1957.
And, in 2013, the Clatsop
County Board of Commis-
sioners, with the support of
the citizens, voted to reMect the
permit for the delivery pipe-
was collecting Social Security now and
was grateful to us for our contributions
to the system. He also expressed his
gratitude for maintaining the contract
between the generations that would
someday assure us of being in his for-
tunate situation.
He shook our hands and went back
to his table. We talked about it brief-
ly trying to imagine ourselves in our
mid 60s and said that most likely there
would be no such thing for us if and
when we got to his age.
Well, I am here to say that he was
right on with his assessment and both
my wife and I are thankful everyday for
line through our county to the
proposed terminal.
So, even though Oregon
LNG has no access to build a
terminal on the Skipanon Pen-
insula, nor do they have the
permits to build a pipeline to
the terminal, the )ederal En-
ergy Rubber Stamp Commis-
sion aka )ERC) is proceed-
ing to process their permits?
This is Big Government
at its worst. We in Clatsop
County voted no LNG by 67
percent in 2008.
I thought we lived in a de-
mocracy?
TED MESSING
Astoria
A lot at stake
I
walked in the Regatta
Grand Land Parade on
August 8th with many others
who oppose the liTue¿ed nat-
ural gas LNG) export termi-
nal proposed for Warrenton,.
We wore red NO LNG shirts
and displayed our “Save Our
Columbia” banner. We were
delighted when parade watch-
ers applauded and shouted
out, “NO LNG!” along the
entire milelong parade route.
This enthusiastic pub-
lic support reminded us that
most area residents oppose
this reckless proposal. Two-
thirds of county voters voted
against LNG in 2008. Then
county voters replaced pro-
LNG county commissioners
by electing commissioners
who actually read and consid-
ered the public testimony and
voted unanimously to deny
the contract between the generations
that helps support us now.
Social Security is alive and well and
will be for generations to come.
Yes, some changes have to happen
to keep it funded down the road and I
urge all to contact their representatives
and senators to make it happen sooner
rather than later.
And now it is my turn to thank those
in the workforce today for helping my
wife and I enMoy the “golden years”
and for supporting a system that will
enhance their retirement years to come.
NED HEAVENRICH
Astoria
an LNG pipeline in Clatsop
County.
Now it’s Warrenton’s turn.
The city of Warrenton holds
a public hearing on Sept. 2 to
consider whether to approve
or deny the proposal for an
LNG export terminal on the
Skipanon Peninsula. Every-
one, regardless of where you
live, is welcome to attend and
to submit written or spoken
testimony. This is your op-
portunity to remind Warren-
ton that LNG does not belong
here.
What’s at stake for War-
renton? The terminal, with
two gas storage tanks about
17-stories tall, would process
toxic and explosive natural
gas and gas byproducts. Most
of Warrenton and Hammond
would be within the gas-va-
por hazard zone around the
proposed terminal — includ-
ing homes, schools, marinas
and businesses. The terminal
would be built on sand on top
of ¿ll in the notorious Cas-
cadia subduction earthquake
zone. )ederal security mea-
sures for LNG terminals and
tankers would cause ongoing
serious disruptions to ¿shing,
commercial and recreational
river traf¿c.
You can help protect every-
one in our magni¿cent corner
of the world from the dangers,
destruction, and costs of LNG
in Warrenton. Attend the city
of Warrenton public hearing
at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2,
at the Warrenton Community
Center, 170 S.W. Third St.
How will the Warrenton city
commissioners know what
you want if you don’t tell
them?
LAURIE CAPLAN
Astoria
Cracked teeth
T
imes have changed. In the
mid-20th century, about
half our country’s population
at age 50 had no teeth. An ep-
idemic of tooth decay was in
full swing and life was much
more laid back compared to
today. People are now liv-
ing longer and keeping their
teeth longer, which brings on
a whole new set of circum-
stances.
I am seeing an epidemic of
cracked teeth. I see these on
a daily basis and have been
treating them for several years
in an effort to prevent tooth
loss. The population at risk is
middle-aged and beyond.
The worst case scenario is
the actual splitting of a tooth,
which is terminal. Depending
on the location and angle of
the crack, either a chunk of
tooth may break off or a tooth
could split when the crack
runs its course.
Historically, a dentist
would treat what is referred to
as “cracked tooth syndrome”
with a crown, root canal and
crown or an extraction.
However, in some situa-
tions, by the time the symp-
toms arise, it may be too late
to save the tooth. Therefore,
early recognition is the key,
before the crack approaches
the nerve internally.
Small changes can lead
to big energy savings.
Clatsop County Emergency Management presents
August Preparedness Events
Gearhart Aware & Prepared
Speakers, demonstrations & tips for locals,visitors & pets!
Gearhart Fire Department
Saturday, August 15
10 - 1 pm
OFF
OFF
OFF
F F O
F F O
Red Cross Disaster Volunteer Registration & Training
Learn about joining the Red Cross team to respond to local disasters!
Register at volunteer.cascades@redcross.org
Columbia Memorial Hospital, Astoria
Thursday, August 20
10 am
F F
O
O
F F
fan
on
off
auto
Race the Wave
5K/10K Walk, Run, Roll & Preparedness Fair
“Know the Plan, Take the Route, Race the Wave”
Register at Active.com
Cannon Beach, OR
September 13
78
Join us for a free energy workshop.
wattsmart is registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Offi ce.
Clatsop County Emergency Management
clatsopemd@co.clatsop.or.us
503/325-8645
$
$
F F O
Lewis & Clark Preparedness Fair
Free hamburgers, hot dogs and drinks
Emergency preparedness demos and information
Fire Engine rides for the kids and station tours
Lewis & Clark Fire Department
Saturday, August 22
Noon - 4
Great Oregon Shakeout – Get Ready!
Participate as a group or on your own.
Register at http://shakeout.org/oregon/
October 15
10:15 am
$
F F O
F F O
$
$
© 2015 Pacifi c Power
T
FRIDAY EXCHANGE
Pacific Power customers are invited to a
workshop to get on the path to greater
energy efficiency and lower bills.
WHEN: Tuesday, August 25
6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: The Loft at the
Red Building
20 Basin St.
Astoria
Join us and:
•
Hear about no-cost/low-cost ways
to save energy
•
Learn about different types of heating
and cooling equipment
•
Discover the difference between
incandescent, CFL and LED lighting
•
Learn about cash incentives for home
energy improvements
Refreshments will be served. Seating
is limited. Reserve your spot today at
pacificpower.net/bewattsmart.