THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2017
FRIDAY EXCHANGE
Just share
ur union fishermen broth-
ers in Salmon for All
have the full support of the
local International Long-
shore and Warehouse Union
(ILWU) in their battle to
maintain a just share of the
salmon quota.
This is not an us vs. them
debate until the sport inter-
ests tried to co-opt the whole
main Columbia River stem
resource. Most reasonable
people understand that there
are enough fish for all inter-
ests to share. This is econom-
ically disastrous to Clatsop
County in its current posture.
Yes, there is some mortal-
ity to salmon, but this occurs
plenty on sport caught fish.
A salmon that bleeds dies
upon release, as well as many
from stress and exhaustion.
The idea that this is cleaner
than commercial fishing is
ludicrous.
CHRIS CONNAWAY
Astoria
O
Experienced nurse
am running for Position 3
on the Clatsop Health Dis-
trict Board. I have over six
years experience as a licensed
nurse. My opposition, Micheal
Aho, has no healthcare back-
ground. I care about vulner-
able people in our commu-
nity, and I pledge to advocate
for the district’s residents and
staff.
JACQUELINE DeVANEY
Astoria
I
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
The Eighth Street Dam in Warrenton is the subject of a clash between the city and the Skipanon Water Control District.
Eighth Street Dam ‘antiquated, dangerous’
C
an we just cut through all the
right-fighting, mudslinging,
name-shifting (it’s not really a “dam,”
it’s a “flood control structure”), legal
drama and, ka-ching, resulting legal
bills, and get down to brass tacks?
You, the city of Warrenton, are about
to slap some tide gates, if given the
green light, on an outdated, obso-
lete 53-year-old dam whose shelf-life
expired in 2014.
After reading “A Report To Con-
gress On Aging Water Infrastruc-
ture,” a damning fiscal year 2000 U.S.
Department of Agriculture/National
Resources Conservation Service study,
which includes our beloved Eighth
Street “structure” in its study group,
Man cave
hy doesn’t Stephen Ful-
ton do the citizens of
Clatsop County a favor and
build his own “man cave,”
retire to it, and never be heard
from again.
PRESTON DEVEREAUX
Gearhart
W
it is clear that the Skipanon Water
Control District is guilty of trying to
inform and protect the citizens along
the Skipanon River, and within the
city limits of Warrenton, from this out-
moded sham dam.
Page 1 of this report, “Time Takes
Its Toll,” and Page 5, “Potential For
Loss Of Life Caused By Dam Fail-
ures,” detail why old earthen dams,
such as ours, should be decommis-
sioned after 50 years, and how truly
dangerous they are. Indeed, this report
indicates that the failures of these
small- to medium-sized dams have
resulted in the majority of dam-re-
lated fatalities in the U.S. Our particu-
lar dam was inspected by the Oregon
Water Resources Department in 2012,
five years ago, and the dam hazard
then was rated between “significant”
and “high.”
So, citizens of Warrenton, before
we take on this potential public safety
hazard and legal liability, and dig
deeper into this money pit for the sake
of “flood control,” let us first ask:
Why? Why are Mayor Mark Kujala,
the Warrenton City Commission and
the Nygaards so suddenly and com-
pletely fixated over seizing control of,
and operating, this antiquated, danger-
ous structure? It just doesn’t pass the
sniff test.
KATHLEEN ZUNKEL
Warrenton
Tsunami warning
’d like to see The Daily
Astorian localize the five-
part “Cascadia Day” series
that ran in The Daily Asto-
rian Feb. 20 through Feb. 27.
I don’t think enough is being
done locally. I live in Warren-
ton, and the city is moving at a
snail’s pace to address a siren
system. We don’t have “go to
bag” containers. A tsunami on
the coast is going to be deadly.
DUGAN JENNINGS
Warrenton
I
Sanctuary cities
hile so many of our pol-
iticians are hoping to
create an image of being kind
hearted by supporting the ille-
gal aliens, they probably are
hoping that we don’t know,
or care, what these aliens are
doing in regard to our local
and federal deficits and crime.
The fact is that this is not
only aiding and abetting ille-
gal aliens, but it is also doing
the same thing for enemy
combatants, including Islamic
terrorists, with the sanctuary
city and state policies. Are we
to believe that many of our
politicians don’t really know
what they’re doing by sup-
porting the sanctuary policies?
It’s probably not a good
idea for the Democrats to sup-
port our enemies with sanc-
tuary policies. They just
want to try to stop Trump
from looking good, because I
would think that would prob-
ably cause a lot of their vot-
ers to switch parties. But then
maybe this is some good that
can come from this stupidity.
Are we going to eliminate
all of our other laws that were
established to protect our great
country?
JIM ELVIN
Salem
W
Beyond Vietnam
ifty years ago, on April 4,
1967, Martin Luther King
Jr., perhaps best known for
his “I Have A Dream” speech,
gave what is considered the
most controversial sermon
of his brief career: “Beyond
Vietnam — A Time to Break
Silence,” in front of 3,000
people at New York’s River-
side Church.
In a powerful indictment
against the actions of the U.S.
government, King spoke of
how the triple evils of racism,
militarism, and extreme mate-
rialism must be overcome in
order for our country to sur-
vive. In this sermon, King
repeatedly reminds us of the
F
connection between Ameri-
can government violence in
the world and how it impacts
everyone, especially the poor,
the vulnerable and people of
color.
King was murdered in
Memphis exactly one year
to the day after he delivered
“Beyond Vietnam.”
King’s words are a cau-
tionary tale for us today, as we
plunge deeper into the void
of endless war, and the need
to develop “beloved commu-
nity” is greater than ever. The
problems we face in 2017
are essentially the same as
those in 1967, only with fewer
resources and far more people
in the world.
Although King’s 1967
delivery of “Beyond Vietnam”
is an historical event, if you
substitute “Iraq,” “Afghani-
stan,” “Syria,” ”Yemen,” etc.,
for “Vietnam” throughout the
sermon, you will find it to be
presciently topical.
In commemoration of its
50th anniversary, an audio
presentation of King deliver-
ing “Beyond Vietnam — A
Time to Break Silence” will
be presented at Grace Epis-
copal Church, 1545 Frank-
lin Ave., on Tuesday, April
4, at 7 p.m. Following the
sermon, we will sing a cou-
ple of King’s favorite hymns.
Those attending are encour-
aged to stay after the event,
and sit quietly or meditate in
the candlelit church. Admis-
sion is free, and childcare is
available.
For information, con-
tact Janet Weidman at
503-325-1306.
SUE SKINNER
Astoria
Kindness in Astoria
his is just a shout out to
the kind Astoria stranger
who found my cellphone in
the washroom at McDonald’s
in Astoria while we were on
vacation on the glorious Ore-
gon Coast. Many thanks, too,
to the staff at McDonald’s, for
their kindness and securing
the phone until we returned.
MARIANNE GARRISON
Maple Ridge, British
Columbia
T
Voice of reason
hen the Clatsop County
commission was dom-
inated by pro-growth-at-any
cost zealots, Dirk Rohne was
the sole voice of reason. The
people of Clatsop County
W
came to Dirk’s aid, and voted
in a new commission that was
more responsive to the wishes
of the people.
We now have a dysfunc-
tional Port commission that is
in danger of becoming a sim-
ilar entity. The difference in
Dirk Rohne and his oppo-
nent are marked. Dick Hell-
berg has never met a develop-
ment proposal he did not like.
Dirk Rohne will consider the
merits of any proposal with a
discerning eye that has seen
many issues over the years
as a member of the Clatsop
County commission and the
board of Clatsop Community
College.
We urge all voters to cast
their ballot for Dirk Rohne,
the most qualified and reason-
able candidate for the position
of port commissioner.
NED and LULU
HEAVENRICH
Astoria
Quilt show
he Peninsula Quilt Guild
would like to say thank
you to everyone who made
the 22nd annual Quilting at
the Beach quilt show an amaz-
ing success. First, we
would like to thank all
of you who attended, it was
fun for all of us to meet all of
you. Thank you to all of you
who purchased tickets for our
beautiful raffle quilt; the funds
made from their purchase
will be going to local chari-
ties soon.
Then we want to thank
the Columbia Pacific Heri-
tage Museum, all the mer-
chants who let us hang our
posters and get the word out
about this fantastic event,
the Chinook Observer, The
Daily Astorian, Cannon
Beach Gazette, Seaside Sig-
nal and the The Daily News
of Longview, Washington.
We especially want to thank
all the guys who volunteered
their time and muscle, and
worked so hard setting up and
taking down the show it. Is a
big job, and we couldn’t do it
without your support.
Thank you again so very
much to all of you.
MERRI JOHNSON
and the Peninsula Quilt
Guild
Ocean Park, Washington
T
Extra mile
s a lifelong Astoria res-
ident, my family and
I have spent a significant
A
amount of time at Colum-
bia Hospital, now known as
Columbia Memorial Hospital
— 98 years to be exact. Every
department we have dealt with
has exceeded our expecta-
tions, and has gone the extra
mile to provide excellent care.
We have been fortunate to
work with and meet outstand-
ing human beings and pro-
fessionals at CMH, includ-
ing Dr. William Armington
and his staff in the Radiol-
ogy Department; Dr. Michael
Lewis and his staff in the Pul-
monology Department; Dr.
Rachel Van Dusen and her
nurse, Katie Bogh; the Cardi-
ology Department; and espe-
cially Allison Hall and Les-
lie Claterbos, among others;
and volunteers Peggy Person,
Berit Madsen and Carol Ray,
who give us their time weekly.
The friendly gift store staff is
welcoming, and does such a
wonderful job keeping spir-
its high with their beautiful
merchandise.
Our family truly appreci-
ates all the professionals and
staffs at Columbia Memorial
Hospital who strive to make
a difference in our commu-
nity. We are so grateful to call
Astoria our home.
Keep up the excellent
work, Erik Thorsen.
KIM TINNER-SUPPLE
Astoria
A chilling trend
uring the infamous
Kristallnacht of 1938,
D
5A
non-German Jewish fathers
were suddenly extracted
(without legal representa-
tion) and sequestered by Ger-
man police from their German
wives and children. The wives
and children had limited, if
any, access to their husbands
and fathers, who were the
family breadwinners. Even
at 10 years old in 1938, I was
aware of this kind of cruelty.
Shift now to Portland,
Oregon. It was reported two
weeks ago on local televi-
sion that a Mexican father
had been extracted without
legal representation by ICE
from his family — the chil-
dren are American citizens —
and sequestered near Tacoma,
Washington. It was also
reported that the mother was
not permitted to visit him, and
only was allowed to contact
him every three days. If this
television report was accu-
rate, it is every bit as chilling
as the events in Nazi Germany
of 1938.
The fear and unfairness
being generated by Donald
Trump and his appointees are
unforgivable, and not at all
characteristic of the U.S., into
which I was born of an immi-
grant Dutch mother (1928)
raised, educated and became
subsequently a father, grand-
father and great-grandfather. I
am ashamed of the character
into which the U.S. seems to
be developing.
J. KAREL LAMBERT
Hammond
Well prepared
rank Spence is running for
a seat on the Port of Asto-
ria Commission. My support
for Frank couldn’t be stronger.
Frank has a work history as a
city and county manager over
a 45-year career.
He moved here to be closer
to his family, and immedi-
ately involved himself in a
dozen groups over his four
years, including Kiwanis, the
North Coast Chorale, Colum-
bia River Maritime Museum,
Astoria Senior Center, Astoria
Downtown Historic District
Association, Cruise Hosts,
and the Astoria Planning
Commission.
He has served on the Port’s
Budget Committee for two
years, and understands their
complicated organization. He
has focus, intelligence and
energy. He knows how to
work collaboratively with oth-
ers. I’ve served on the Plan-
ning Commission and county
charter review with Frank. He
shows up well prepared, asks
good questions, and is able
to take principled stands. The
Port of Astoria needs him as a
commissioner.
JAN MITCHELL
Astoria
F
A PRIL 6
Pulitzer Prize Winning
Author and Journalist
Buzz Bissinger
A Columbia Forum Presentation
Buzz Bissinger is among the nation’s most honored and
distinguished writers. A native of New York City, Buzz is
the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the Livingston Award,
the American Bar Association Silver Gavel Award and
the National Headliners Award, among others. He
also was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. He is
the author of the highly acclaimed nonfi ction books:
Friday Night Lights, A Prayer for the City, Three Nights in
August, Shooting Stars and Father’s Day.
Buzz has been a reporter for some of the nation’s most
prestigious newspapers; a magazine writer with published work in Vanity Fair,
The New York Times Magazine and Sports Illustrated; and a co-producer and
writer for the ABC television drama NYPD Blue. Two of his works were made
into the critically acclaimed fi lms: Friday Night Lights and Shattered Glass .
Three more are in active development. Friday Night Lights also served as the
inspiration for the television series of the same name.
TO ATTEND:
LIMIT
E
SEAT D
For Members: Dinner & Lecture: $25 each; Lecture only: no charge
RESER ING
SPACE VE YOUR
For Non-Members: Dinner & Lecture: $35 each; Lecture only: $15 ea.
TODA
Y!
Appetizers will be available at 6 p.m. • Dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m.
The speaker will begin after the dinner service is complete and non-dinner
members and guests of the audience take their seats.
Forum to be held at the CMH Community Center at 2021 Exchange St., Astoria.
ColumbiaForum
FOR RESERVATIONS OR TO JOIN COLUMBIA FORUM CONTACT:
Holly Larkins at 503.325.3211 ext. 227 or forum@dailyastorian.com by April 3, 2017
Columbia Forum is sponsored by:
The Daily Astorian • Craft3 • OSU Seafood Laboratory • KMUN-FM
Cannery Pier Hotel & Spa