THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016
I
Stop the whistle
am writing to express my
disappointment over the
starling whistle at the Co-
lumbia House condos not far
from my home. I wrote about
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Job lies
recently heard a radio ad-
vertisement sponsored by
Oregon LNG. The voice said
that the proposed Oregon
LNG project would create
“thousands” of jobs. Thou-
sands? Whoa, really! This
facility is proposed, thus
job numbers related to it are
speculative. I wondered are
there any precedents for this
FODLPDUHWKHUHDQ\OLTXH¿HG
natural gas (LNG) plants op-
erating in the U.S. that can
validate this job claim?
It turns out there is a LNG
plant in Alaska. It is the Nikis-
ki Plant, on the Kenai Penin-
sula. It has been in operation,
with a short break, for over
40 years. In the re-applica-
tion process, during the short
EUHDN WKH SODQW ¿OHG SDSHU
work with the Department of
Energy. On the application,
the Nikiski Plant, operated by
Conoco Phillips, stated that it
“employed 50 direct employ-
ees.” (Aaron Selbig, KBBI,
Homer, Alaska)
Fifty employees, not thou-
sands, as purported in the ad-
vertisement. There would be
some short-term positions in
addition, during the construc-
tion phase. Even counting
short term positions, thou-
sands is a grandiose number.
Further, not all of those 50
long-term employees would
be local hires. If the Nikiski
plant is an example of what
happens in actual practice
— and remember it has been
operating for over 40 years —
Oregon LNG would not bring
a large number of good long-
term jobs to our local area.
In addition, there are a
number of environmental
concerns with the proposal,
not the least of which is the
location. Building on a land-
¿OOFRPSRVHGRIGUHGJHGULY-
er sediments is not generally
considered a good idea. I have
not asked the local planning
authorities; however, I would
venture a guess that the Ski-
panon Peninsula would not
be considered a safe place to
build a single-family dwell-
ing.
If it is not a safe place for
a house, why would anyone
consider it a safe place for the
processing, storage, and dis-
SHQVLQJ RI ÀDPPDEOH SURG-
ucts?
As a resident of Hammond,
I want other Warrenton-Ham-
mond residents to consider
this information. The Oregon
LNG project would not bring
us the “thousands” of prom-
ised jobs, and it would present
safety hazards. Oregon LNG
LV QRW D JRRG ¿W IRU :DUUHQ-
ton.
KATHLEEN ADAMS
Hammond
FRIDAY EXCHANGE
n Christmas Day, as I sat in my
living room enjoying the holiday,
there were a couple of instances where
I heard sirens go by outside. That in it-
self is not unusual, as I live two blocks
above the roundabout, and the sound of
passing sirens is very common. What
hit me very hard was an extreme feel-
ing of gratefulness for the people in the
emergency vehicles.
O
While I feel that none of us takes
our first responders for granted, I felt
that during the holidays we really
owe them some special words of ap-
preciation. So on behalf of the gen-
eral population, I want to wish all of
the emergency medical technicians,
drivers, police, firefighters, doc-
tors, nurses and any other respond-
ers I may have missed a very Merry
Christmas and Happy New Year.
Plus, a special thanks to those who
gave up their holiday so the rest of us
could enjoy ours in a safe, peaceful,
and worry-free manner. These words
don’t seem to be enough, and they’re a
little late, but it’s the best I can do. With
all my heart, thank you.
WILLIAM BELL
Astoria
ant way to connect to that
part of the brain that is being
taken by disease. This not
only benefits the person with
dementia, but it also benefits
those of us who choose to
take care of them.
MINDY STOKES
Administrator
JO BANTA
Administrative assistant
Clatsop Care Memory
Community
Hard choices
this a year or two ago, when-
ever it was they did this the
last time.
Every evening between
approximately 4 and 6 p.m.,
someone at Columbia House
activates a whistle intended to
drive away the large number
of starlings that gather under-
neath their building, which is
built on pilings over the wa-
ter about two blocks from my
home. It has also happened
occasionally at about mid-
day, but usually just in the
early evening.
They started doing this
again about two weeks ago.
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brief periods. Now, the length
of each whistle blast and the
total duration of the exercise
seems to have grown consid-
erably.
I don’t doubt that there is
an excellent reason for the
Columbia House owners to
want or need to drive away
the starlings from under their
building.
However, I found it very
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did this, and it is no less so
for me now. I work in a home
RI¿FH,¿QGLWGLI¿FXOWWRFRQ-
centrate on my work when
their whistle is sounding. It
is a shrill and grating sound,
nothing at all like the long
throaty sighs of the great ships
that pass by our window.
But more than the annoy-
ance I experience from the
sound itself is the irritation I
experience over the thought-
lessness and, in my opinion,
the rudeness of the Columbia
House owners relative to this
issue. It is an irritation that be-
gins as a simmering anger and
builds to a monumental rage.
I end up beside myself with
distraction.
“How dare they do that?”
I think.
Perhaps the Columbia
House folks are to be credit-
ed for trying to deal with the
starlings in a humane way. It
is not, however, humane for
me and the few of my neigh-
bors who have mentioned
this as an irritation for them,
as well.
I think what they are do-
ing is a public nuisance and
that they should be prevented
from doing this. I can sympa-
thize with their need, but they
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does not impinge on the peace
of mind of their neighbors.
PAUL HAIST
Astoria
means that voters will not be
empowered to know what
Kudos for panel
special interests and corpora-
ewis and Clark’s Corps tions are backing candidates
of Discovery had one of and their positions in the 2016
LWVORQJHVWVWD\VLQWKH3DFL¿F elections. Without knowing
Northwest at the little-known where the money supporting
Point William campsite at these candidates is coming
today’s Tongue Point in No- from, we cannot make in-
formed decision at the ballot
vember-December 1805.
An interpretive panel box.
That said, disclosing polit-
highlighting the campsite has
recently been erected on the ical spending is not enough.
east end of the Astoria River- We need to go one step fur-
walk at Alderbrook Lagoon, ther by amplifying the voices
along with a commemorative of average voters to combat
bench honoring Keith G. Hay, “the groups that are spending
co-author of a landmark study hundreds of millions of dol-
commissioned in 1962 by the ODUV WR LQÀXHQFH RXU IHGHUDO
Interior Department’s Bu- elections.”
reau of Outdoor Recreation
One way to do this is
WR GH¿QH ZKDW ODWHU EHFDPH through the Congressional
the National Lewis and Clark bill, The Government by the
Historic Trail.
People Act (HR 20). This bill
The monument is stunning uses public matching funds to
thanks to the 12 students from augment the impact of small
the Tongue Point Job Corps donors. This is a way to help
Center who prepared the site make sure that “all citizens
and assisted with the installa- get an even break in elec-
tion. Combined, they contrib- tions,” not just those giving
uted 168 hours. Their gener- unlimited sums of money.
ous donation, which helped us
MADDIE
secure a grant from the Lewis
KUSCH-KAVANAGH
Portland
and Clark Trail Stewardship
Endowment, made this proj-
ect possible. I also want to
acknowledge the outstanding Reinstate Balzer
support of Jonah Dart-Mc-
¿UVWPHW0LNH%DO]HUDERXW
Lean, maintenance supervisor
15 years ago, when we
at Astoria Parks and Recre- ZHUH ERWK SROLFH RI¿FHUV ,
ation.
was immediately impressed
With their help, more than by his sense of community
40,000 visitors and residents and dedication to the people
who use the Riverwalk annu- he served. I noticed that even
ally will have greater insight while working as a police of-
into the Lewis and Clark sto- ¿FHU KH ZDV PRVW SURXG RI
ry.
KLV VHUYLFH ZLWK WKH ¿UH GLV-
MARK JOHNSON trict. I was pleased when he
President, Oregon Chap- was promoted to Fire Chief
ter, Lewis and Clark Trail DIWHU VHUYLQJ DV D ¿UH¿JKWHU
Heritage Foundation for over 30 years. As a Can-
Portland non Beach resident, it was
comforting to know that a
man of his experience and
Make it even
competency was heading the
he editorial board at The department.
Upon returning from va-
Daily Astorian is right
— nothing much will change cation in mid-October, I was
about dark money and cam- shocked to hear of his dis-
SDLJQ¿QDQFHODZV³XQWLOYRW- missal and the manner in
ers realize political spending which it was conducted. The
determines who wins and los- board has stated that it was a
es in our economy, courts and personnel matter and would
corridors of power” (“Power not comment further.
Over the years I have ob-
goes to the political spend-
served Balzer’s pride in, and
ers,” Dec. 28).
The dark money riders FRPPLWPHQW WR WKH ¿UH GLV-
on the budget package will WULFW DQG WKH ¿UH¿JKWHUV ZKR
hamper a functioning democ- worked with him. Under
racy. Blocking the IRS and Chief Balzer’s direction, the
the Securities and Exchange district opened a new station
Commission from making in Arch Cape, acquired a new
new rules to disclose anony- EUXVKWUXFNIRU¿JKWLQJZLOG-
mous campaign contributions ¿UHV DQG UHSODFHG DQ DJLQJ
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T
ladder truck. Chief Balzer’s
PDQDJHPHQWRIWKH%LVWUR¿UH
several years ago no doubt
saved much of the downtown
business district.
A board member indicated
that Balzer was very strong
operationally, but not admin-
istratively. I highly doubt that
the alleged lack of adminis-
WUDWLYH VNLOO ZDV VXI¿FLHQW WR
merit his termination. Until
the board can demonstrate that
it was, Chief Balzer should be
reinstated.
ERIC REITER
Tolovana Park
Music, dementia
e were very pleased to
read the article written
by Katheryn Houghton in the
Dec. 9 paper regarding mu-
sic re-engaging the minds of
dementia patients (“Music
re-engages minds of demen-
tia patients,” The Daily As-
torian).
There have been multiple
articles in The Daily Astori-
an over the last months rais-
ing awareness of the grow-
ing population of people
with dementia. By the year
2025, the number of Ore-
gonians living with this dis-
ease is expected to rise from
76,000 to 110,000 (Alzhei-
mer’s Association).
Since opening Clatsop
Care Memory Community
in July of this year, we have
used music therapy to create
well-being in our residents
diagnosed with dementia.
The music not only brings
happiness but stimulates the
brain as well. Our activities
director has loaded several
iPods for residents, depend-
ing on their musical interests
throughout the decades. This
information is captured in a
“Life Story,” which families
provide before their loved
ones move in.
We are also able to offer
weekly sing-a-longs with lo-
cal musicians, who provide
live entertainment. A grant
has recently been secured
to offer bimonthly concerts
throughout 2016 for our res-
idents. Live music makes
them “come alive,” wit-
nessed in singing, dancing,
clapping, and laughing.
It is wonderful to know
that more attention is being
paid to this growing disease
and that there are ways to
cultivate joy for those af-
flicted. Music is an import-
W
oncerning the story
about Roberta Morgan
on Dec. 14 (“At adult foster
home, a crash course in re-
sponsibility,” The Daily As-
torian):
First off is a correction to
the story concerning one of
the many reported incidents.
This one occurred on May
22, 2013. In this case Ms.
Morgan hit our stopped ve-
hicle on the passenger side
door, and the Astoria Police
Department press release on
May 22 stated: “While the
vehicle was stopped the mo-
torized wheelchair exited the
curb and struck the side of
the Scion. It did not appear
that Morgan slowed prior to
exiting the sidewalk and en-
tering the roadway.”
So what is the probabili-
ty that someone would have
eight traffic/pedestrian acci-
dents in a two-year period,
and five this year alone?
Based on this number, how
many near misses have there
been? This would suggest
that her behavior is creating
the potentially lethal scenar-
ios.
While we all have a shared
duty to watch out for fellow
citizens, why are the people
truly responsible not doing
their part to prevent this?
This includes Ms. Morgan,
her family, the foster home,
and the state of Oregon. Peo-
ple should be responsible for
their own actions.
If Ms. Morgan does not
have the requisite judg-
ment and ability to operate
a motorized vehicle (yes the
police described it as a mo-
torized), then the people re-
sponsible for her care need
to do their jobs, even if it
means some hard choices.
As to the point of denying
Ms. Morgan her indepen-
dence, the article described
alternatives to allow her to
enjoy those activities, while
not risking her life or the
safety of the public. I do not
understand the assertion that
somehow the city of Astoria
or drivers are at fault.
I would hate to see the
next Daily Astorian article
about Ms. Morgan telling the
story of a more serious inju-
ry or her death, and having
some poor driver trauma-
tized, because we were more
concerned about her “inde-
pendence” than her safety.
RICHARD WOLF
Astoria
C
Space: The visionaries take over
WLRQRIDQHZHUDLQVSDFHÀLJKW
Musk predicts that the reusable
rocket will reduce the cost of ac-
cessing space a hundredfold. This
ractured and divided as we depends, of course, on whether the
are, on one thing we can wear and tear and stresses of the
launch make the refurbishing pro-
agree: 2015 was a miserable hibitively expensive. Assuming it’s
year. The only cheer was pro- not, and assuming Musk is even 10
vided by Lincoln Chafee and percent right, reusability revolution-
L]HVWKHHFRQRPLFVRIVSDFHÀLJKW
WKH 3OXWR À\E\ WZR
Which both democra-
separate phenomena),
tizes and commercializes
it. Which means space
as well as one seminal
travel has now slipped the
aeronautical
break-
surly bonds of government
through.
— presidents, Congress,
On Dec. 21, Elon
NASA bureaucracies. Its
Musk’s SpaceX, after
future will now be driven
far more by a competitive
launching 11 satellites into
marketplace with its mul-
orbit, returned its 15-story
tiplicity of independent
booster rocket, upright and
Charles
actors, including deeply
intact, to a landing pad at
Krauthammer
PRWLYDWHG¿QDQFLDOO\VDY-
Cape Canaveral. That’s a
vy and visionary entrepre-
$60 million mountain of machinery neurs.
To be sure, the enterprise is not
— recovered. (The traditional boost-
entirely
free of government. Af-
er rocket either burns up or disap-
ter all, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket
pears into some ocean.)
landed on a Cape Canaveral pad
By CHARLES
KRAUTHAMMER
:DVKLQJWRQ3RVW:ULWHUV*URXS
F
The reusable rocket has arrived.
Arguably, it arrived a month earlier
when Blue Origin, a privately owned
RXW¿WFUHDWHGE\-HII%H]RV$PD]RQ
CEO and owner of The Washington
Post) launched and landed its own
booster rocket, albeit for a suborbit-
DO ÀLJKW %XW ZKHWKHU \RX DWWULEXWH
priority to Musk or Bezos, the two
events together mark the inaugura-
formerly used to launch Air Force
Atlas rockets. Moreover, initial
financing for these ventures al-
ready depends in part on NASA
contracts, such as resupplying the
space station.
That, however, is not much dif-
ferent from the growth of aviation a
century ago. It hardly lived off air-
show tickets or Channel-crossing
Space travel has now slipped the
surly bonds of government — presidents,
Congress, NASA bureaucracies. Its future
will now be driven far more by a competitive
marketplace with its multiplicity of independent
actors, including deeply motivated, financially
savvy and visionary entrepreneurs.
prize money. What really propelled
the infant industry was government
contracts. For useful things like
mail — and bomb — delivery.
The first and most visible con-
sequence of the new entrepreneur-
ial era will be restoring America as
a spacefaring nation. Yes, I know
we do spectacular robotic explo-
rations. But our ability to toss hu-
mans into space disappeared when
NASA retired the space shuttle —
without a replacement.
To get an astronaut into just low
Earth orbit, therefore, we have to
hitch a ride on Russia’s Soyuz with
its 1960s technology. At $82 mil-
lion a pop. Yet, today, two private
companies already have contracts
with NASA to send astronauts to
the space station as soon as 2017.
The real prize, however, lies be-
yond Earth orbit. By now, everyone
realizes that the space station was a
colossal mistake, a white elephant
in search of a mission. Its main
contribution is to study the biologi-
cal effects of long-term weightless-
ness. But we could have done that
in Skylab, a modest space station
that our political betters decided
four decades ago to abandon.
With increasing privatization,
such decisions will no longer be
exclusively Washington’s. When
President Barack Obama came into
office, the plan was to return to the
moon by 2020. A year later, he de-
cided we should go to an asteroid
instead. Why? Who knows.
Today future directions are be-
ing set by private companies with
growing technical experience and
competing visions. Musk is fixated
on colonizing Mars, Bezos on see-
ing “millions of people living and
working in space,” and Richard
Branson on space tourism by way
of Virgin Galactic (he has already
sold 700 tickets to ride at $250,000
each). And Moon Express, another
private enterprise, is not even in-
terested in hurling about clumsy,
air-breathing humans. It is bent on
robotic mining expeditions to the
moon. My personal preference is
a permanent manned moon base,
which would likely already exist
had our politicians not decided
to abandon the moon in the early
1970s.
We have no idea which plan is
more likely to succeed and flour-
ish. But the beauty of privatization
is that we don’t get just one shot at
it. Our trajectory in space will now
be the work of a functioning mar-
ket of both ideas and commerce. It
no longer will hinge on the whims
of only tangentially interested pol-
iticians.
Space has now entered the era
of the Teslas, the Edisons and the
Wright brothers. From now on,
they will be doing more and more
of the driving. Which means we are
actually — finally — going some-
where again.