OPINION
6A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2015
GUEST COLUMN
Music’s favorite son
Founded in 1873
STEPHEN A. FORRESTER, Editor & Publisher
By DENISE REED
For The Daily Astorian
LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor
BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager
CARL EARL, Systems Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager
DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager
HEATHER RAMSDELL, Circulation Manager
The Daily Astorian/File Photo
Jessica Knorzer happily shakes hands with Clatsop County Circuit
Court Judge Phil Nelson after completing the county’s Drug Court
program in 2011. Nelson brought the adult drug court to the area.
3Kil 1elson Kas
serYed us well
Judge ran his drug court on a shoestring
and sometimes his own funds
U
nless you are a lawyer or you end up in court, judges are little
understood, distant ¿gures %ut we do elect tKeP &latsop
&ounty Yoters KaYe elected 3Kil 1elson Iour tiPes to a judgesKip
-udge 1elson Kas announced
Ke will not run again, putting Kis
position into play
:Ken Ke won an open judge-
sKip in , 1elson put togetK-
er tKe Post creatiYe political ad
puElisKed in tKis newspaper oYer
tKe past years $gainst a wKite
Iull-page EacNdrop were a Yast
array oI signatures oI Yoters wKo
supported KiP ,t was a draPatic
sKow oI support
&ourtrooP draPa is Pore pro-
saic tKan teleYision portrays it
3Kil 1elson Kas Eeen tKe essence
oI an anti-teleYision judge ² Àat
in Kis dePeanor and plain in Kis
deliYery :Ken 1elson Kas ren-
dered strong judgPents, Ke Kas
not Pinced words 7Ke %eYerage
and +arris sentencing Iol-
lowing a Korri¿c Purder Ey aEuse
case drew stern language IroP tKe
judge
1elson Kas Iaced Kis sKare oI
ugliness on tKe EencK ,n ,
-year old $sKley &arlson was
Purdered Ey -year old 3atricN
/ee +arned 8nder 2regon law
+arned could not Iace a deatK
sentence ,n an unusual PoYe,
tKe two deIense attorneys cKose
to waiYe tKe rigKt to jury EotK
in tKe guilt and penalty pKases
*enerally speaNing, a judge wKo
deIense lawyers are willing to
)<,
waiYe juries in Iront oI is KigKly
regarded
1elson Iound +arned guilty
and sentenced KiP to liIe witKout
parole
,n Kis own liIe, 1elson Kas en-
countered consideraEle adYersity
+is daugKter was tKe YictiP in
a se[ aEuse case <ears later sKe
was Nilled in a traI¿c accident, to
wKicK 1elson was a witness
1elson is especially proud oI
tKe adult drug court, wKicK Ke
ErougKt to tKe coast 7Kat court
taNes people cKarged witK drug
and soPe drug-related Ielonies
and giYes tKeP direct superYision
Ey tKe judge 7Key are reTuired to
Iollow tKe directions oI a special
proEation oI¿cer, engage in treat-
Pent and appear weekly EeIore
tKe judge
1elson ran tKe drug court on
a sKoestring and soPetiPes witK
Kis own Iunds +e clearly cares
deeply aEout people in tKe grips
oI addiction and is willing to giYe
tKeP second and tKird cKances
7Ke court Kas produced genuine
success stories
2ur dePocracy depends on
Pany tKings, Eut especially on tKe
proEity oI its judges 3Kil 1elson
Kas Eeen an e[aPple oI tKat, and
we are grateIul Ior Kis judicial ca-
reer in our Pidst
&lippings IroP tKe press oI tKe
3aci¿c 1ortKwest and tKe nation
The grown-ups take the stage
I
t was iPpossible not to Ieel
a sense oI relieI watcKing tKe
DePocratic debate aIter PontKs
doPinated by tKe 5epublican
circus oI Katers, ranters and tKat
Yery special group oI Ning Nillers
in &ongress )or tKose despair-
ing about tKe Iuture oI $Perican
politics, Kere was prooI tKat it
doesn¶t KaYe to reYolYe around
candidates wKo pride tKePselYes
on Nnowing notKing or belieYe
tKat goYerning is all about de-
stroying goYernPent
&iYility was a big winner on
7uesday nigKt, and tKe discus-
sion oI real issues was reIresK-
ing %ut wKat stood out Post
was tKe DePocratic 3arty¶s
big tent, capable oI containing
a spectruP oI reality-based
Yiews $ll ¿Ye candidates ²
including two reIugees IroP
wKat Kad been tKe 5epublican
3arty, /incoln &KaIee, a IorPer
5epublican senator, and -iP
:ebb, secretary oI tKe 1aYy
in tKe 5eagan adPinistration
² KaYe real records 7Key also
KaYe real diIIerences on iPport-
ant issues ² national security,
Ioreign policy, gun saIety, ¿nan-
cial reIorPs 7Kose diIIerences
illuPinate tKe cKoices tKat KaYe
to be Pade in goYerning, soPe
liNely to be successIul, soPe
ineIIectiYe
— The New York Times
A
storia¶s IaYorite son, not
just oI Pusic, Eut as a
coPPunity Pinded Pusician
and college instructor is Deac
*uidi
:KetKer you are a new or
long-standing PePEer oI tKis coP-
Punity, , Kope
you KaYe e[-
perienced one
oI Kis perIor-
Pances
,t¶s
ratK-
er unusual to
KaYe a con-
cert
reYiew
tKree weeNs
aIter tKe eYent
Denise
² tKe coP-
Reed
plete
opera,
Don Giovan-
ni — Eut Py tKinNing aEout it was
jogged into writing aIter seeing a
perIorPance oI tKe saPe concert in
(ugene
2n tKis past 6unday, 1ortK &oast
&Korale PePEers participated in a
perIorPance oI Don Giovanni at
tKe )irst 8nited 0etKodist &KurcK
in (ugene 7Ke principal perIorP-
ers and cKorus PePEers are part
oI &ascadia &oncert 2pera wKicK
PaNes e[ceptional and iPaginatiYe
opera in (nglisK, accessiEle to audi-
ences tKrougKout tKe 3aci¿c 1ortK-
west
%y Iar, our $storia Yenue pre-
sented tKe Pore accurate perIor-
Pance 7Ke 3erIorPing $rts &enter
is a jewel in our coPPunity tKat
needs your support 7Ke si]e and
acoustics oI tKe Kall support a pro-
duction sucK as tKis perIectly 7Ke
sound is clear and instant, so you
are iPPediately drawn into tKe ac-
tion 7Kere is no delay in tKe sound,
wKicK Kappened in tKe (ugene Yen-
ue
6o EacN to our IaYorite son and
Kis inYolYePent in EotK oI tKese
perIorPances , don¶t Nnow anyone
wKo can enunciate tKe (nglisK lan-
guage, wKile singing, as e[pertly as
*uidi +e and tKe entire troupe KaYe
Yoices tKat can PatcK tKose oI tKe
Pajor opera Kouses EotK Kere and
aEroad
Submitted Photo
Astoria’s Deac Guidi sings at the Astoria Music Festival in 2014.
Guidi Kas Eeen in tKis coPPu-
nity Ior a nuPEer oI years , Iirst
Pet KiP in , wKen tKe 1ortK
&oast &Korale considered perIorP-
ing Elijah :Ken , contacted KiP
and Keard KiP speaN, , Nnew Ke
was tKe one to perIorP tKe role oI
(lijaK +e is one oI tKe Post tal-
ented and e[pressiYe indiYiduals ,
Nnow wKo liYes and worNs in tKis
coPPunity 7Ke &ascadia 2pera
oI (ugene and tKe 3ortland 2pera
recogni]e and support Kis talent
and aEility
Guidi is perIorPing tKis weeN-
end at tKe 3$&, our Iantastic Yenue,
supporting tKe &latsop &oPPunity
&ollege )oundation 6upport tKe
3$& Ey your attendance and con-
triEute to tKe &ollege )oundation
<ou will also Ee supporting Gui-
di and Kis worN as a proIessional
concert artist +e sings Pusic oI
Pany genres and tKis weeNend Ke is
joined Ey otKer talented singers oI
our coPPunity
7Ke ticNet prices are lower tKan
wKat you would pay in 3ortland
Eut tKe Tuality oI tKe perIorPanc-
es is oIten PucK Eetter and tKe
perIorPers are your neigKEors, to
wKicK you can address your con-
cerns and coPPents /ets Neep our
IaYorite son 6upport tKe 3$& and
otKer groups and indiYiduals wKo
loYe tKis coPPunity and desire to
Ering you Tuality perIorPing arts
Ior your enjoyPent
Denise Reed is the North Coast
Chorale director.
Clinton stands her ground in debate
:ill sKe eYer, eYer ¿nd
7Ke subject oI ,raT
language tKat taNes Iull
caused Ker less grieI tKan
ownersKip oI Ker PistaNe
6anders suIIered on gun
and tKat puts real ÀesK on
neYer douEted tKat +illary control, wKen not only
Ker continued claiP tKat
&linton but also 0ar-
&linton Kad Pany talents
tin 2¶0alley, tKe IorPer
sKe is being as transpar-
, just didn¶t Nnow tKat seaPstress 0aryland goYernor, reject-
ent as possible"
was aPong tKeP
ed Kis e[planation oI Yotes
,t was possibly Ker
7Kere were PoPents in tKe ¿rst in tKe 6enate against Yari-
worst PoPent
DePocratic presidential deEate ous bills and Kis insistence
,t was perKaps 6and-
7uesday nigKt wKen sKe tKreaded tKe tKat Ke was representing
ers¶
best 6urprisingly, Ke
Frank
needle as delicately and perIectly as rural areas witK gun cul-
called
Ior an end to talN
Bruni
a politician could
tures, not a nationwide
about tKe ePails, saying
7Ke deEate¶s Poderator, $nder- electorate ,t was cluPsy, because tKere were Pore iPportant issues
son &ooper, noted tKat sKe Kad told Ke presents KiPselI as a creature oI to Iocus on +igK-Pindedness Pet
soPe audiences tKat sKe was a pro- pure principle, iPPune to political unusual caPpaign-trail generosity
gressiYe Eut e[tolled Ker Poderation conYenience
and gallantry &linton laugKed and
in Iront oI otKers :asn¶t sKe just a
%ut on 7uesday nigKt an odd sort beaPed 7Key sKooN Kands, and ,
cKaPeleon, ÀasKing wKateYer colors oI role reYersal occurred )or PucK KalI e[pected a Kug
suited Ker at a giYen PoPent"
oI tKe debate, 6anders soPeKow
7Ke debate isn¶t going to cKange
³,¶P a progressiYe, Eut ,¶P a pro- caPe across as tKe ePbattled incuP- tKe Iortunes oI /incoln &KaIee and
gressiYe wKo liNes to
bent, targeted by tKe -iP :ebb, wKo were at tKe edges
Iour candidates, oI tKe stage and will rePain on tKe
get tKings done,´ sKe
She mixed otKer
wKile &linton caPe edges oI tKe race 2¶0alley PigKt
said strongly but not
as tKe energet- bene¿t an iota and grew bolder as tKe
stridently ³, Nnow
confidence across
ic upstart
Kow to ¿nd coP-
nigKt progressed
+e seePed bowed,
Pon ground, and ,
6anders grew redundant, return-
and
irascible 6Ke seePed ing witK Tuestionable IreTuency to
Nnow Kow to stand
moments buoyant, eIIerYes- a single issue ² greed and incoPe
Py ground´ ,t was
,t was as poised ineTuality ² tKat Pade KiP sound
a practiced line ²
of passion cent
a perIorPance as sKe liNe a one-note candidate +e is
so practiced tKat sKe
Kas ¿nessed in a long percent rigKt to Tuestion corpora-
used it, soPewKat
with
tiPe, and wKile ,¶Ye tions and truPpet tKe pligKt oI tKe
awNwardly, a sec-
ond tiPe an Kour lat- instances of just about giYen up Piddle class %ut Ke does so as Pore
er %ut it was also a
PaNing predictions oI a ¿rebrand, calling Ior a ³political
humor, and about tKis conIound- reYolution,´ tKan as soPeone wKo
well-craIted line
/iNe Ker Pain
ing election ² , neY- can be trusted to PaNe PeaningIul
riYal onstage, 86 her manner er tKougKt Donald progress
6en %ernie 6anders
7ruPp would last so
&linton Kad Ker own redundan-
was less
oI 9erPont, sKe Kad
long, and , neYer saw cies, saying twice iI not tKrice as oI-
coPplaints about our
%en &arson coPing ten as was necessary tKat sKe would
didactic
country 8nliNe 6and-
² , tKinN &linton be tKe ¿rst IePale president 6Ke Kas
ers, sKe coPPuni- and robotic bene¿ted Pore IroP gone IroP sidestepping Ker gender
cated an unsKaNable
stage tKan in to roaring about it now
than it can 7uesday¶s
$part IroP tKat, sKe was PuP
pride in it nonetKe-
6anders did
wKen
silence serYed Ker best and
less
6Ke
Pi[ed
con¿-
often be.
6anders
said
dence and PoPents ¿ery wKen tKat was tKe rigKt call
$Perica sKould looN
oI passion witK in- ² Ior instance, wKen sKe Yowed to
to DenParN &linton countered ³:e stances oI KuPor, and Ker Panner ³taNe tKe ¿gKt to tKe 5epublicans´
$nd sKe bene¿ted IroP tKe Yisu-
are not DenParN , loYe DenParN was less didactic and robotic tKan it
:e are tKe 8nited 6tates oI $Peri- can oIten be )roP &ooper and IroP al contrast wKen sKe stood side by
tKe Iour Pen booNending Ker at tKe side on 79 ne[t to 6anders, witK Kis
ca´
(Yen wKen sKe was conIronted lecterns, sKe Kad eYerytKing tKrown sligKt KuncK, Kis soPewKat garbled
anew by Ker Yote in tKe 6enate long at Ker ,raT, %engKa]i, Ker co]i- style oI speecK, and a PoPent wKen
ago to autKori]e tKe inYasion oI ,raT, ness witK :all 6treet, Ker personal Ke cupped Kis Kand beKind Kis ear,
signaling tKat Ke Kadn¶t Keard tKe
sKe was neitKer de¿ant nor apologet- wealtK
ic, steering a sPootK Pidcourse by re-
%ut sKe was seldoP rattled, al- Tuestion
+e eYoNed yesterday Despite
calling tKat at debates in , %aracN tKougK tKe discussion oI Ker use oI a
2baPa Kad attacNed Ker Ior tKat KoPe-brewed serYer Ior Ker ePails Pany decades in tKe political trencK-
³$Iter tKe election,´ sKe pointed out, as secretary oI state did proPpt a es, sKe didn¶t ,t was a niIty tricN
³Ke asNed Pe to becoPe secretary oI Yisible stiIIening oI Ker posture, 7urns out sKe¶s a bit oI a sorceress
a conspicuous strain in Ker sPile as well
state +e Yalued Py judgPent´
By FRANK BRUNI
New York Times News Service
I