THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2016
FRIDAY EXCHANGE
5A
German lesson
n the early 1930s a man
came to power in Ger-
many at a time when they were
suffering through the great
depression. They said he was
a strong leader and a man who
could return Germany to its
former greatness. He blamed
minorities, immigrants and
those who were not of German
identity for all of the country’s
problems. Eighty years later
the people there are still suf-
fering from the tragedies and
effects that have come from
putting this man in power.
In 2016 there is a possibility
of electing a man to the presi-
dency of the U.S. This man is
also being promoted (or self
promoted) as a strong leader.
He is a man who claims we
are not doing well as a coun-
try, and blames it on immi-
grants and minorities. His ego
is enormous, and he is some-
one who brags about his sex-
ual harassment of women. He
belittles people who are phys-
ically handicapped. and he has
zero concept of what truth is.
He is a bully. His name is Don-
ald Trump and he has no quali-
fications to be our president.
I understand now how
Adolf Hitler was able to ascend
to power in Germany. I urge
everyone to vote in this com-
ing election, and to remember
what happened over 80 years
ago and the suffering it brought
upon the world. The whole
world is watching us, and hop-
ing that we come to our senses
on Nov. 8.
I will be voting for Hillary
Clinton, and know that she is
up to the task of running this
great country of ours.
NED HEAVENRICH
Brownsmead
Thanks and no thanks, please
I
What I’m getting
would rather vote for a boor
than a sneak; I know what
I’m getting.
TOM GILL
Astoria
I
Safe schools
ne of my favorite parts
about serving as your
Congresswoman is visiting our
local public schools. Hearing
from students is always uplift-
ing, and it gives me hope for
the future. But when the stu-
dents at Seaside High School
recently shared their concerns
and fears about going to school
in a tsunami zone, I was dis-
mayed. Students should never
have to be afraid that the build-
ings around them — or worse
yet, their lives — are in danger
while they are at school.
I spent many years as a par-
ent volunteer in the local pub-
lic schools when my children
were young, and I’ve spent the
last two decades working to
strengthen public education so
all kids have the opportunity
to succeed. Safe schools are a
critical part of our public infra-
structure, and an essential part
of a strong system of public
education.
In times of tightening bud-
gets and limited resources, our
children are always a worthy
investment. Moving the Sea-
side and Gearhart schools and
replacing aging buildings is the
right thing to do for our stu-
dents, our community, and our
future. That’s why I support
Measure 4-185, and I hope you
will join me.
U.S. REP. SUZANNE
BONAMICI
Beaverton
O
Join another party
he two main political par-
ties bring you the 2016
Presidential Election, which is
the biggest insult to the intel-
ligence of Americans yet. Did
you know that the U.S. was
ranked dead last in electoral
integrity among established
Western democracies, according
to the Electoral Integrity Proj-
ect? Uh huh. Is this why only 9
percent of eligible voters vote?
The two parties, Democrat
and Republican, are both terri-
bly corrupt, which is why we
are where we are. But I have a
solution, and it doesn’t require
very much effort on your part.
First, leave those parties and
join another. In Oregon there
are several parties that you can
join, like the Green Party, the
Working Families Party, the
Independent Party and oth-
ers. You can change your party
affiliation after the election.
Third parties? That would
be a disaster — no third par-
T
e at Pennywise Thrift Store would
like to take this time, the holiday
season, to thank the many loyal custom-
ers to our store for their many contribu-
tions of good, usable, quality items and
cash donations to be used for the cause of
ending the stigma of mental illness.
The many donations have included
good, quality, gently used furniture
and clothing, as well as the donation of
vehicles and, recently, a 1998 Yamaha
motorcycle (which we still have at the
shop). Your item donations, as well as
your cash donations, are greatly appreci-
ated by the members of your community
that we service.
In addition, we would like to take this
W
ties, no-no-no. Do you know
why you hear that? Because
the two parties want you to
believe it. Because it would be
a disaster for them, not for you
or America. I have been hear-
ing about the Supreme Court
nominee for years. Jill Stein
would pick a better one than a
racist idiot or a psychotic liar.
Everything is rigged in
favor of the two main politi-
cal parties. Mainstream media
makes you think that it has
to be just those two. Forget
it. Take their corrupt power
away from them, for your own
sake and the sake of the future
of this country. Its too late to
try to change the Democratic
Party from within, this party
is running corporate people
against their own progressives.
In a leaked email Nancy Pelosi
assures a Goldman Sachs lob-
byists that “Elizabeth Warren
does not speak on behalf of the
Democratic Party.” (http://bit.
ly/2dUH5CF)
If everyone who voted for
Bernie voted for Jill Stein, we
might have a chance to have
a president who was capable
of leading this country out of
constant warring into a better
future. Clinton and Trump will
not do that.
It’s either global corpo-
rate interests, or your interests.
The interests of the once-great-
est democracy in the Western
world, lie with you. Now is
the time for you to think about
joining a party that represents
you, and vote.
DIXIE GAINER
Nehalem
Be proactive
am writing today to urge all
voters within the Seaside
School District’s boundary to
vote yes on Measure 4-185,
which will allow the dis-
trict to construct two schools
and expand a third school to
withstand earthquakes and
increase the safety of the stu-
dents and staff who attend and
work within Gearhart Elemen-
tary School, Broadway Mid-
dle School and Seaside High
School.
Those three schools are cur-
rently located inside the tsu-
nami inundation zone, and are
rated with a high probabil-
ity of catastrophic collapse in
an earthquake. These schools
have well served their commu-
nities but average 65 years of
age, and buildings need to be
replaced that have crumbling
unreinforced masonry, inade-
quate fire and security systems,
rusted pipes, leaky roofs and
old electrical wiring.
My husband and I are
retired educators who moved
to Seaside one and a half years
ago. We were drawn to this
community because Seaside
was a family-friendly tour-
ist destination, provided good
safety and health services and
provided a wide variety of
business and community ser-
vices. After we moved here,
we met many residents who
had attended Seaside schools
and decided to stay here to
raise families in a secure and
positive environment.
I have worked in school
districts in Los Angeles and
Napa counties in California,
and saw firsthand the major
damage done to school build-
ings after moderate earth-
quakes (5.1 to 6.5 in magni-
tude). The costs to repair or
rebuild damaged school build-
ings and replace educational
materials was staggering. Dis-
ruption of instruction after
such an event was also a seri-
ous problem.
We do not have control
over potential earthquakes
or tsunamis. We do have the
opportunity to be proactive
I
opportunity to thank the many customers
who have bought from us, and who con-
tinue to utilize our facility, when they are
aware that there are other outlets within
the communities who provide the same
service. Know that your purchases and
continued support of our mission is grate-
fully acknowledged, even by “Grumpy,”
if you know who we mean.
The “no thanks, please” part of this
letter is to all out there who are unwilling
to take their discarded items — such as
furniture which is broken, has tears, rips,
stains and other unhealable blemishes or
damage — to the dump, or to discard it
in some other manner than dumping it in
front of our shop when we are closed.
and relocate our schools to a
safer location. If we vote yes,
we can save taxpayers money
by reducing maintenance costs
and using land donated for
the new schools. We can help
modernize our schools and
better prepare our students to
become productive citizens in
our community.
Our students are our great-
est resource, and providing
safe and adequate facilities is
essential to their learning and
development. Please join us
in voting yes for our schools.
This is an opportunity that can-
not be missed.
TRICIA and ROBERT
HOWELL
Seaside
Thanks for show
n behalf of our commu-
nity, I would like to send
a big thank you and thumbs
up to all involved with pro-
ducing the Astoria football
games that are streamed live,
and then offered as archived
games to watch on YouTube.
First, thank you Dane
Gouge of Astoria Ford. Your
call of the varsity games
along with Matt Samuel-
son truly sounds of duos that
will be remembered long
into our community’s future.
Like when Astoria scored
the game-winning touch-
down against Scappoose on
O
Just in the past month, this has resulted
in us incurring a $240 fee to dispose of
items so left, this in addition to the $172
that we already pay in monthly dump
fees. We would appreciate it if you could
spend the small amount it would cost to
properly dispose of your own items.
To all, we would like to extend best
wishes for a safe Halloween, a thankful
Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas (with
remembrance of the reason for the sea-
son) and a most Happy (and fruitful)
New Year.
PETER and PATRICIA FESSLER
Owners, PennyWise
Thrift Store
Warrenton
Saturday, with 19 seconds to
go for the Cowapa League
Championship.
Gouge and Samuelson
gave us an awesome sound
bite to stand the test of time
(watch the archived game
and fast forward to 2:33:45).
I attended that game in per-
son, but enjoyed the moment
again watching the archived
game on YouTube. Also, a
thank you to the students and
school district staff who assist
with making the live streams
happen.
And of most importance,
a thank you to the head of
Rub-Nation, coach Rub: a
class act who truly leads our
young adults instilling respect,
passion, and a sense of duty.
It makes my day to see this
culture in a small town like
Astoria.
And finally, I would like to
congratulate the entire Fight-
ing Fishermen football team
on their big win against Scap-
poose and the Cowapa League
title. Their never-give-up con-
stitution prevailed in an abso-
lute thriller. It is a game that
will be remembered for a long
time by football fans in Asto-
ria and Scappoose. Go Fish!
To watch the archived
games or the upcoming
live streams, visit http://bit.
ly/2eSdhGG.
CHRIS LEADER
Astoria
Maximize funds
am writing today to voice
my support for the upcom-
ing Seaside School District
bond.
Learning is a complex
activity. The environment
for our students needs to be
secure, comfortable and safe.
When looking at the current
facilities, it is clear that the
cost of maintenance for build-
ings (which have exceeded
their useful life) is something
that cannot be sustained.
The schools were built to
last 50 years and were not
designed for our harsh con-
ditions along the coast. The
average age of the schools
is now 65 years — and they
are deteriorating. A walk
down the halls on a rainy day
will show leaky roofs. Upon
closer look below the hall-
ways, there are rusted pipes,
old electrical wiring and fail-
ing heating systems. In one
school, there are 17 portable
classrooms because the septic
field is at capacity.
Why should we rebuild the
schools and not repair? Cur-
rent maintenance costs are
$300,000 to $500,000 a year
beyond normal maintenance
costs. These tax dollars could
be used to go into the class-
rooms if we decreased main-
tenance costs. To fully correct
and renovate the roofing, pip-
I
ing, plumbing and electrical
systems would cost over $30
million. This doesn’t include
seismic retrofitting and cor-
recting structural deficiencies.
Our community has been
able to develop corporate
support. Weyerhaeuser will
donate the land to locate the
new facilities next to the Sea-
side Heights Elementary
school and outside of the tsu-
nami zone.
Although I am not a parent
of a child in the schools any
longer, I believe that every-
one in our community bears
a responsibility to support
the current generation of stu-
dents. Business and individu-
als do look for good schools,
and a well-educated work-
force when they make deci-
sions about where to locate.
Investing in our schools is
an investment in our com-
munity and employment
opportunities.
We have a great oppor-
tunity to maximize avail-
able funds, take advantage
of very favorable interest
rates, reduce project costs
and incorporate donated land.
We should move forward to
receive the best bang for our
education dollars.
CARYL SCHARPF
Gearhart
Yes for Boone
tate Rep. Debbie Boone
has represented House
District 32 for 16 years.
During her time as a state
representative, Debbie has
always been accessible and
responsive to her constitu-
ents. With Debbie (similar to
Betsy Johnson), we never feel
like it’s about the party line;
it’s about dialogue, listening,
gathering information and
advocating for our needs as a
community.
Debbie is engaged with
the community and represents
us well regarding areas that
affect us; business, education
and health and welfare. We
fully support Debbie Boone,
and we ask that you consider
supporting her re-election, as
well.
PATRICK NOFIELD
Cannon Beach
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