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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2017)
OPINION 4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2017 Founded in 1873 DAVID F. PERO, Publisher & Editor JIM VAN NOSTRAND, Managing Editor JEREMY FELDMAN, Circulation Manager DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager CARL EARL, Systems Manager OUR VIEW E ach week we recognize those people and organizations in the community deserving of public praise for the good things they do to make the North Coast a better place to live, and also those who should be called out for their actions. SHOUTOUTS • Columbia Memorial Hospital Chief Executive Officer Erik Thorsen and the hospital’s staff, who conducted a grand open- ing and two open houses last week to familiarize the community with the new $16 million Columbia Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian The ribbon is cut during a ceremo- Memorial Hospital- ny to celebrate the opening of the Oregon Health & Science Knight Cancer Collaborative. University Knight Cancer Collaborative. Hundreds of attendees took tours of the new facility during a grand opening last Thursday, which was followed by open houses on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The center took seven years to come to frui- tion and greatly enhances cancer care on the North Coast. • The Cannon Beach Library, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary. Unlike most libraries, Cannon Beach’s has never been public, and its legacy as a private, almost solely volun- teer-driven library has remained through its nine decades. There is one paid position and other day-to-day tasks like running the front desk, book collection and inventory, maintenance and fundrais- ing are done by more than 80 volunteers, who each year collec- tively donate 9,000 hours of their time. The library’s board is host- ing a celebration Saturday as a way to thank the community for its longtime support. People are invited to dress as their favorite liter- ary character and enjoy a buffet of snacks from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the library. • Kelsey Balensifer, events coordinator at the Astoria- Warrenton Chamber of Commerce, and volunteers who staged the 36th annual Great Columbia River Crossing last week- end. The family friendly, 10k run/walk across the Astoria-Megler Bridge drew about 3,000 participants, observers and volunteers. The participants started their trek at the Dismal Nitch Rest Area in Washington, crossed the bridge into Astoria and finished the event at the foot of Basin Street in Uniontown. Last year’s crossing, which coincided with the 50th anniversary of the bridge, was can- celed for the first time because of bad weather. • Seaside Rotary event committee chairmen Al Peinhardt and Greg Sawyer, who planned last weekend’s Roaring ‘20s Gala and Auction. Members and guests dressed as flappers, bootleg- gers, gangsters and molls while attending the Rotary Club’s annual fundraiser at the Seaside convention center. About 280 people attended, and a special appeal during the evening raised $12,450 specifically for holiday programs. Rotary President Raven Brown said other money raised at the gala through ticket sales, silent and live auctions and a blinky sale with a prize of a live auction item will support additional community projects. The gala is conducted each fall and every year it features a different theme. • Seven businesses which were recently recognized as Pacific County (Washington) Economic Development Council Business of the Year award winners. Various Pacific County business orga- nizations each select one winner to be recognized at the annual awards ceremony. Honored were the Don Nisbett Art Gallery, nominated by the Ilwaco Merchants Association; Kenanna RV Park & Campground, selected by the Tokeland-North Cove Chamber of Commerce; Englund Marine & Industrial Supply, chosen by the Pacific County EDC South Committee; Elixir Cafe and Floral Design of South Bend, selected by the Willapa Harbor Chamber of Commerce; Anita’s Coastal Cafe in Ocean Park, nominated by the Ocean Park Chamber of Commerce; the Dennis Company, selected by the Pacific County EDC North Committee; and Oman & Son Builders Supply, chosen by the Long Beach Merchants Association. CALLOUTS • The driver of a vehicle that somehow managed to spill more than 7,000 roofing nails on U.S. Highway 101 in Warrenton last Saturday. The spill occurred in the southbound lane in front of the Premarq Center, by the New Youngs Bay Bridge. Police were called about 4 p.m. by a driver who didn’t see who spilled the nails but stopped to report the mess in the roadway. Southbound traffic was stalled for more than an hour while authorities and state Department of Transportation workers cleaned up the dan- gerous situation. The nails obviously weren’t properly secured in the vehicle, but fortunately police said they received no reports of injuries or accidents as a result. Suggestions? Do you have a Shoutout or Callout you think we should know about? Let us know at news@dailyastorian.com and we’ll make sure to take a look. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Beach fire concerns ow is a good time to address public fire safety codes, and restrictions and enforcement of cur- rent laws — prevention being the operative word. Each year as summer approaches and beach fires and fireworks line our beaches, residents fear for their safety, due to the lack of adherence to posted fire rules. When the fire- fighters are called, little is done. The firefighters say there is no access to the estuary. The residents clear beaches and possible burning foli- age, and hope for the best. The beaches are lined with the remains of fireworks and other trash left by inconsiderate beach visi- tors. This may be a vacation site for many people, but it is our home. We pay taxes, do annual cleanups, and take pride in our yards, homes and beaches. I have never seen a firefighter patrol the beaches. I have never seen prevention programs advertised, nor the laws currently enforced. It is time for our elected officials to step to the plate and prevent grass fires, driftwood and ultimately, home fires, as in California. The cities say it’s the state’s responsibility; the states say it’s the city’s responsibility. The insur- ance companies say it’s not their responsibility. This is an unending approach to a problem that will only get worse. The winds and storms on the beach are coming, and the inconsiderate and the noncomplying public will destroy the beaches if we don’t do something now. MERILEE LAURENS Seaside N Shriveled morality T he timing and tenure of the recent article on “black guns” demonstrates an appalling level of insensitivity and callousness on the part of the editors of the Coast River Business Journal and The Daily Astorian (“‘Black guns’ face back- lash: Firearm prices fall to a frac- tion of what they were in the Obama years,” Coast River Business Jour- nal, Oct. 10). Less than a week after the most deadly mass murder in American history, they chose to publish a busi- ness news article that in essence was a two-page advertisement pro- moting the sale of the very weap- ons used to kill 58 innocent people and injure and traumatize hundreds more, including two women from our area, their friends and families. Was it numbness to the moral breach of his wording, or a act of sociopathic journalism that prompted the article’s writer to open with the sentence, “If you were con- sidering pulling the trigger on a new gun, an oversupply means this is a buyers’ market.” Further in the text, the business owner proclaims fire- arms manufacturers are practically giving away assault rifles. Beyond its shameful disregard for a nation in mourning, the arti- cle does serve to lay bare the dubi- ous motives of those who purchase weapons which were designed with one purpose in mind: to kill people. Hiding behind their Second Amend- ment rights to a “Hillary gun” are fearful men who have fallen for conservative talk show propaganda that has convinced them that their right to own a gun may be taken away. They have been taught to fear their federal government, and believe their only safety lies in own- ing a “black gun.” No doubt there are darker motives for owning these guns, as well. The biggest lie these individuals tell themselves is that they are patri- ots. But gun hoarding and owning an assault weapon creates an even more dangerous environment. Mass shootings have increased as owner- ship of these weapons has increased. To make matters worse, these “patri- ots” are weakening our democracy by dividing us in a fake argument over Second Amendment rights. The Daily Astorian should pro- mote a real discussion of these issues, rather than coming down on the side of a shriveled morality that can no longer identify the forces destroying America. ROGER DORBAND Astoria Critical reasoning? ’m glad Clatsop Community Col- lege has a new hall; but I find an aspect of the process disappoint- ing. What’s problematic about the so called “redevelopment” of Patriot Hall, is it obfuscates the truth (“Shoutouts and Callouts,” The Daily Astorian, Sept. 22). It surren- ders to the epidemic of our time: distortions of principle, reason and truth, which, by convention, cus- tom and law, become accepted real- ity. The more we normalize even subtle falsehoods, the more secure we make the foundations for bold whoppers like “alternative facts.” Fact: The college built a new building. Distortion: The college “redeveloped” Patriot Hall. I think the motive for this distortion was to avoid coming into compliance with modern setbacks from the road. Why even good people can use the letter of the law to avoid its prin- ciple and purpose is the reason we keep a nation of lawyers employed; and why the law is one thing for the wealthy, and another for the poor. I want to believe that the college, at least, had a discussion about the benefits of modern setbacks in con- trast to the benefits of maintaining the present ones, and rightly chose the greater good; but still those most responsible, in our area, for teach- ing critical reasoning, honest argu- ment, then entered into a hybrid of fact and fiction. If they could have kept a doormat from Patriot Hall, and called it a “redevelopment,” would they? I had the pure joy of taking crit- ical reasoning, from John Hauser at CCC. Then, I was sure of my criti- cal thinking. This “redevelopment” has me wondering if how I thought I thought, is actually how I think, or if my thinking on my thinking, wasn’t as thoughtful as I thought. These are smart, principled peo- ple. Would they enter into a lie to achieve a desired end, and isn’t that the antithesis of what we expect them to model? Or perhaps my thinking upon their thinking, isn’t as thoughtful as I think. M. A. “SASHA” MILLER Astoria I trailer parked where the school sign is now. The trailer was, for its time, really high tech, set with a dozen arcade-style driving simulators. It was designed to give permit-seeking drivers some “realization” learning. On almost every pop quiz or test I remember taking in that class was this statement: The No. 1 rule in driving safely is to drive with respect and courtesy, while looking at least two blocks ahead. It gives you time to react to someone else’s miscues. Often he would say with his sarcastic smirk, “We’re human aren’t we?” I am tired of keeping my mouth shut because I have nothing nice to say. Obviously it does not work. So I’m writing this on bended knees. Please drive with respect, courtesy and some patience. It could literally save a life. And thank you, Mr. Sarpola. TROY J. HASKELL Astoria River Song needs our help o you know what it’s like to walk uphill on a slippery clay path in never-ending rain? That’s what Rita Smith — self-charged these last nine years with the River Song Foundation — feels like while she and the several members of her staff try to tend to the ever-increas- ing numbers of abandoned animals left behind on the other side of the Astoria Riverwalk near Safeway. And that’s really only part of River Song’s problems. They also help with the animals of incapac- itated, homeless or senior citizens who can no longer take their ani- mals to the vet or provide enough food for them. River Song is fully accredited and tax deductible. It works to fill in the niches for the larger animal shel- ters. It receives small grants from time to time, but it’s never enough for the many needs of all the peo- ple and their animals. Rita and her group deal with hundreds or ani- mals, including goats, pigs, rabbits and ferrets. We, as a family, have been con- tributing to River Song since we first heard of its good work. And, if half of you who read this have $5 or $10 extra monthly, or even occa- sionally, it would help Rita and the animals to get off this slippery slope. Her address is: River Song Founda- tion, P.O. Box 44, Hammond, OR 97121. Or, you can donate at http:// riversongfoundation.org We all feel deeply when we catch a glimpse of lost furry ones peering from the bushes. If we can afford to, let’s help out. PAT GUERIN Astoria D Driver courtesy Beware of catch phrase round 9:15 a.m. Oct. 11, it happened in front of my eyes again. Coach Ted Sarpola is surely disgusted at the way most peo- ple drive a car today, having one or more person standing at the cross- walk’s edge, and drivers ignoring the law. Pedestrians have the right of way when crossing the street. Today’s drivers more and more are controlling a 2-ton weapon that has only a what I call “5-foot bubble realm of responsibility.” Mr. Sarpola is one of Astoria’s larger than life natives who taught life to at least one-third of Astoria’s students. After putting the Astoria High School Fishermen of 1932- 1933 state basketball champions, and the town, a place on the map, so to speak, he spent all his adult life after college teaching in Astoria. After being forced to retire by our society’s rules of age discrimi- nation, he taught driver education. In 1977, when I took the mandatory semester, the class was held in a I A t is about time that someone who is “in the know” told you and the people of your area/region the truth about a phrase that is very often used by today’s conservatives. That phrase is “limited-government con- servative.” To me, those are the three most frightening words in the English language. You might have noticed recently that some conservatives feel very badly because, as they have said, President Donald Trump is not a limited-government conservative (as they are). That happens to be true. That phrase is actually a buzzword and codeword that really means that the person does not believe that the federal government should spend one cent on social programs that are intended to help people. Their ulti- mate goal is to one day see that all of them are abolished/eliminated from existence, especially Social Security, which they hate the most. STEWART EPSTEIN Rochester, New York
