THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2015
We deserve better
I
n their weekly advertise-
ment in the Columbia Press,
Oregon LNG keeps telling us
that Warrenton deserves bet-
ter. Well, for once I have to
agree with them.
Warrenton does deserve
better. We deserve to not have
a noisy, sulphur, methane spew-
ing plant with a 69 to 150-foot
Àame making the night sky
look like daylight. So much for
looking at the stars at night.
We deserve to know the
whole truth, not just what
Oregon LNG wants us to
know. And, just because the
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) thinks
there won’t be a problem
doesn’t mean that there isn’t
one. Anyone who has followed
the FERC rulings over the last
few years know they rubber
stamp everything. What the hey
— they don’t live here.
If you haven’t been up to
the Astoria Column for a while,
then go. Stand at the bottom and
look way up to the top. Each of
the two liTue¿ed natural gas
storage tanks will be taller than
the column.
And those jobs they keep
promising. How many will
actually go to locals, not to
workers that are from Portland,
Vancouver, Washington, Idaho,
etc.?
And where on earth will all
those people live while they are
working on the LNG plant? We
don’t have enough rentals for
those in the area, much less for
all the people coming into the
area to work on the plant. If
they ¿ll the hotels, then where
are the tourists going to stay, if
they decide to come at all with
the traf¿c mess that will come
with the construction?
Yes, Oregon LNG archi-
tects say that the plant will be
safe and secure during a 9.0-
plus earthquake and resulting
tsunami. How many of these
plants have they designed and
tested in a real life major 9.0
earthquake/tsunami situation,
in an area such as ours, that
they are so con¿dent that they
are right? It’s not their lives on
the line. What happens if there
is an LNG tanker tied up when
the earthquake and tsunami
hit? As we know, there will not
be just one wave but several,
that could span 24 hours.
The three Democrats run-
ning for secretary of state have
told the state’s building trades
council that, in exchange for
the trade unions support, if
elected, they will not block
the Jordan Cove LNG plant
in Coos Bay. Now let’s see
— Gov. Kate Brown, a Dem-
ocrat, is running for governor
in the next election. Makes you
kind of stop and wonder why
she is not invoking the Coastal
Zone Management Act for the
Oregon LNG facility in War-
renton, doesn’t it?
I usually don’t recommend
movies, but has anyone seen
the movie “San Andreas”? If
not, do so. Maybe we should
send a copy to FERC and Gov.
Brown.
Yes, Oregon LNG is
right. Warrenton deserves so
much better than them.
DIANA TALARSKY
Warrenton
Committed to care
I
appreciated the timely ed-
itorial in Oct. 29 edition of
The Daily Astorian, “Dementia
takes costly toll on coast.” The
editorial accurately discusses
the challenges of rising health-
care costs for care associated
with dementia-related diseases
that will not be reimbursed by
Medicare.
Clatsop County is fortunate
to have the Clatsop Care Health
District, whose sole mission is
to serve the community’s long
term care needs. The district
receives a small tax base, ap-
proximately $500,000 a year,
which assists in supplementing
services to those who need care
and are receiving Medicaid as-
sistance.
The district currently oper-
ates the Clatsop Care Center,
Clatsop Care Retirement Vil-
lage and recently opened the
Memory Care facility in War-
renton. This facility was spe-
ci¿cally designed and built to
accommodate those suffering
from Alzheimer’s and demen-
tia-related diseases. We are also
working on the expansion of
in-home care services to serve
the Medicaid population in the
county.
Despite the money received
from taxes, the district is still
greatly impacted by the leg-
FRIDAY EXCHANGE
Pet owner thanks local pet hospital
T
his is Maggie (pictured). We res-
cued her in 2005. Since then, she
has been seen at Bayshore Animal Hos-
pital in Warrenton. They have saved
Maggie twice.
Once when she had a tumor on her
spleen. They removed it in the nick of
time. A couple years later, Maggie end-
ed up having bloat (a life-threatening
condition where the stomach twist and
turns). Once again, Maggie was saved.
Then she had a heart murmur and end-
ed up with liver cancer. Her cancer
doctor in Clackamas gave my sweet
baby three months to live. Dr. Brad
Pope at Bayshore Animal Hospital
helped Maggie live an additional 22
months.
Nov. 5, unfortunately, Maggie lost
her battle with cancer. We had to make
the toughest decision and put my sweet
little baby to sleep. My Maggie was a
strong dog, and I am so grateful to have
such an amazing vet, who in my opin-
islative changes made at both
the federal and the state level.
In 2013, the state passed HB
2216, which targeted nursing
facilities speci¿cally, and man-
dated a reduction of beds across
the state.
In the bill, the rural commu-
nities were held to the same re-
ductions as the metropolitan ar-
eas, even though communities
like ours only have one nursing
home facility that serves a re-
gion that includes southwest
Washington state. The state did
not reach its target of reducing
1,500 nursing home beds by
Dec. 31, which means that we
will receive another signi¿cant
reduction of reimbursement
rates on July 1.
These reimbursement rate
reductions continue to impact
the services we can provide lo-
cally. It forces the district to re-
consider services we offer this
community in the future. Focus
in long term care will be on ex-
pansion of community-based
care, respite programs such as
adult day care, as well as in-
home care programs.
Despite all the changes be-
ing made at the federal and
state level, Clatsop Care Health
District is committed to con-
tinuing to serve the commu-
nity’s long term care needs in
the most economically prudent
way possible.
NICOLE WILLIAMS
CEO, Clatsop Care Health
District
Astoria
Do your job
I
see the Clatsop County
Board of Commissioners has
backed away from adopting a
tsunami hazard overlay district
because it will impact land use.
In Clatsop speak, this means
“this will reduce the value of
my property; don’t tell potential
buyers.”
Yes, it would do this, just
like it would if your property is
in a Àood zone or in a slide area
or a high property tax area or in
a poorly performing school dis-
trict or in an area with contro-
versial Covenants, Conditions,
and Restrictions (CC and Rs).
That is why the state of Oregon
requires that when property is
sold, certain disclosures must
be made by sellers and ac-
knowledged by buyers.
Yes, it can also lead to dif-
¿cult ¿nancing and high insur-
ance. These requirements are
part of ORS 105.464 item 1G.
Where is the state real estate
agency?
Government has a respon-
sibility to study land-planning
issues and publish these results.
This is not the wild west any-
more where sellers and their
Realtors can just shine their re-
sponsibilities. The county com-
missioners should do their job.
If commissioners can’t take
the heat of making decisions
based on what is morally and
legally right, then don’t run for
of¿ce. Realtors should live up
to their responsibilities under
the ethical practices required by
their licenses. Owners should
follow the law.
It is quite feasible to utilize
property in this overlay zone if
it has been correctly designed.
The science is quite clear —
let’s get on to solving problems,
not just kicking the can down
the road for the kids to solve.
JOHN DUNZER
Seaside
Backlashed reels
I
have served as a captain and
guide in Alaska for the past
Maggie
ion is the best in Clatsop County. The
staff is awesome and so understanding.
21 years. I take customers ¿sh-
ing for salmon, halibut and oth-
er bottom ¿sh.
But occasionally the joy of
¿shing is erased by a custom-
er hitting the wrong lever and
bango, there’s a big backlash
on the reel, with the lines on
the reel snarled and tangled in
a big mess. I respond by saying,
“Don’t worry, it happens all the
time” (under my breath, “How
stupid can you be?”). Often,
there will be a ¿sh on the line,
which then requires bringing
the line and ¿sh in hand over
hand.
Oftentimes it seems like
our lives experience a back-
lash. In my wife’s and my
case, within a short period
of time I was diagnosed with
prostate cancer, followed by
surgery. My wife developed a
skin condition which resulted
in itching, bleeding sores over
much of her body, and to top it
off, she had a heart attack that
was remedied by a stent in her
artery.
As I pondered over the sit-
uation, the analogy of a back-
lash reel came Àoating into
my mind. I’m not very good at
unsnarling a backlash reel, to I
usually put it into the hands of
someone more skilled.
So in our situation, we were
totally at the end of our hu-
man ability to unsnarl our sit-
uation — so we have handed
our backlashed reel over to the
Master Fisherman, who said,
“Follow me and I will make
you ¿shers of men,” and who
also said, “Come unto me all ye
who labor and are heavy laden
and I will give you rest.”
Sure, life sometimes hands
us a backlashed reel — but
by the grace and love of God,
lines can be untangled, snarls
undone. Free spool restored,
¿shing goes on, living goes on.
Thank you, Lord.
JAMES BERNARD
Warrenton
Editorial failure
T
he Daily Astorian’s recent
editorial “Why women
are the target” (Nov. 2) was
nothing more than a third-rate
hatchet job. Reasonable peo-
ple ought to be able to disagree
on hot-button issues without
resorting to inÀammatory
epithets lacking any substan-
tive support. Bomb throwers
get peoples’ attention, but
they rarely change hearts and
minds.
The purpose of local edito-
rials should be to enlighten and
persuade. Unfortunately, this
piece did neither. It served only
to inÀame the passions of those
already in the camp.
Instead of the thoughtful de-
construction of the faulty logic
of an opposing view, the edito-
rial took the low road by simply
lobbing ¿re at the shadows of
the fears of the ignorant: “akin
to denial of the 20th century”;
“anti-intellectualism that denies
modern science”; and, “an ob-
session with subjugating wom-
en — controlling their lives and
denying them opportunity.”
What kind of hideous monster
is out there?
I’ve read numerous edito-
rials, on this page, that made
sense, and led me to further
examination of the issues. This
wasn’t one of them.
Regardless of my personal
political leanings, this editorial
failed its readers by failing to
offer anything substantive or
logical to support its position.
If I want to drink the Kool-Aid,
I’ll attend a local party meet-
ing; if I want to be informed,
They have all treated me and my ani-
mals with respect and having patience
with me.
We now have six cats and they will
continue to go to Bayshore Animal
Hospital for treatment because they are
the only veterinarian in this area that I
trust, and when I leave my animals in
their hands, I feel good knowing they
are in good hands. My animals mean
the world to me, they are my kids
and they will only have the best, and
Bayshore Animal Hospital is the best.
Maggie is gone from this household
but she will never be gone from my
heart. I will miss her and think about her
every day, and no other dog will ever re-
place her. Rest in peace my sweet little
angel. Thank you Dr. Pope, Dr. Sheila
Kilponen, Dr. Lisa Lewis and their staff
for everything you do for me and my an-
imals. It is very much appreciated.
BERNICE LAWRENCE
Warrenton
I’ll look beyond this piece of
journalistic drivel.
ROBERT JOHNSTONE
Astoria
Veteran housing
I
n Oregon there are 18. In
Washington there are 29. In
Idaho there are ¿ve. Among
these 52 closed military bases
there must be one or two which
could be converted to housing
facilities for homeless veterans.
There would be some in-
vestment in updating, but the
facilities are there if we could
take advantage of them. For
singles there are probably bunk
room dormitories, lockers and
toilet facilities. They could eas-
ily be set up on the same basis
as many of these veterans had
on active duty.
Most of these bases may
have adequate facilities for
families. I am not talking fancy
facilities. I am talking decent
places to live until employment
can provide something better.
The places could be organized
to provide safety and reason-
able supervision for all, and
provide jobs for many.
There could be all the facil-
ities of any small military base,
given a little time and money
to get them into shape. The
residents could provide a great
deal of the man power needed
to make the places functional,
including employment counsel-
ing, medical services, recreation,
and anything else needed, even
libraries and movie theaters.
Besides, why should sup-
port of returned homeless vet-
erans and their families fall to
the state? The state did not put
them on active duty and into
harm’s way. The state is not
responsible for their unemploy-
ment or homelessness.
The state could obtain fed-
eral grants to provide the care
needed. There are many of
these veterans who can pro-
vide the administrative abilities
needed. If we continue to bur-
den the cities with this problem,
it will never get done more than
half-way.
ED GARRITY
Seaside
Makes no sense
T
he iconic Oregon Coast is
not for sale, we say, as the
pressure for fossil fuel export
expansion mounts. A climat-
ic eruption with criteria that is
laden with eminent domain,
environmental, occupational,
health, and economical degra-
dation are at the helm of this
proposal. All set and ready to
commence with costly and
5A
obscene drippings of synthetic
crippling material and gases
that will forever alter the health
and beauty of the bioregion.
The iconic Oregon coastline
is beautiful and currently public
land, and these are a few of the
many special features of Ore-
gon’s coastline. All watersheds,
forests, and green spaces are of
value, and their protection is a
time honored proven business
model that works. All of these
community lands are currently
owned and accessible by the
public, and produced for the
public bene¿t. A lique¿ed nat-
ural gas (LNG) expansion will
not be in the public’s bene¿t for
use of these lands.
Fossil fuel expansion on
these lands will lower access
and destroy the biggest growing
sector of our local economies,
which happens to be tourism,
outdoor adventure, wildlife
watching, hospitality, and tech-
nology — not fossil fuel export.
The few, full-time, long-
term jobs offered by such LNG
fossil fuel land use expansion
proposed for Jordan Cove
and Warrenton, Oregon, will
be miniscule compared to the
thousands of current jobs lost
in tourism, hospitality, ¿shing,
and wildlife watching.
It is the sweeping vistas and
amazing Àora and fauna all
across the state that fuels Or-
egon’s current growing econ-
omy. Moreover, the beauty of
the bioregion, coupled with a
healthy environment is the life-
blood of our local communities.
It is prudent to note that
very little of these monies from
LNG import/export will stay in
the state, so such a degradation
will not bene¿t the people ¿-
nancially or esthetically, so the
costs clearly outweigh the pub-
lic bene¿ts.
In the end, Jordan Cove and
Warrenton are in a tsunami and
on a subduction zone, and it
simply de¿es common sense
for we the public to forfeit our
land while bearing all the cost
of environmental and economi-
cal suicide to boost the pro¿ts of
multi-national corporations. This
debt ought not to be incurred as
Oregon’s new legacy for future
generations. Fossil fuel expan-
sion in Jordan Cove and War-
renton, Oregon, de¿es common
sense and Economics 101.
NINETTE JONES
Portland
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