THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2017
FRIDAY EXCHANGE
A couple of things
ast week, after the Hallow-
een massacre in New York,
there was a press conference at One
Police Plaza. The governor was
there, and the mayor was there, and
various representatives of the New
York Police Department. A lot of
people.
Many of them took turns offer-
ing condolences, encouraging cit-
izens to be strong, to not be fear-
ful. There was something odd to me
about the conference. Then I real-
ized what was wrong. No women
were represented. No women
spoke. Not one. How could this be?
Decades ago, the traditional fish-
ing villages on the Columbia were
flooded out when three dams were
built. The tribes were promised
that the villages would be rebuilt,
and they never were. In 2016, with
the encouragement from former
President Obama, the feds finally
acknowledged that responsibility to
the Warm Springs, Yakama, Uma-
tilla and Nez Perce, and the initial
planning began. The Army Corps of
Engineers then made a request for
the promised $1.6 million that was
needed to finish the planning, and
was abruptly denied by the admin-
istration (read President Donald
Trump).
I can still remember going by
the old tribal villages when I was a
little girl. Sometimes we could get
a glimpse of the fishing, and some-
times we saw the very poor condi-
tions the tribal members lived in.
There were shacks beside the river
that were in shambles. And still, the
housing has never been replaced as
promised. It was, and is, an outrage
against humanity. We are certainly
not the greatest nation in the world.
Trump has shown that he has lit-
tle interest in helping minorities.
This is just another example. The
feds could easily pay for the next
planning of this much-needed tribal
housing if Trump would donate the
millions of dollars that it costs to fly
back and forth to the White House
and Mar-A-Lago a few times.
MARY TANGUAY WEBB
Astoria
L
Let Gearhart heal
t’s time for the healing process to
begin. The citizens of Gearhart
have had a tumultuous couple of
years. Measure 4-188 pitted neigh-
bor versus neighbor, short-term
rental owner versus citizen, and
business owners versus the city.
Our citizens voted overwhelm-
ingly to keep Gearhart residential,
and we all need to honor the will of
our voters. But that doesn’t mean
our work is finished. When we give
our current regulations a chance to
work, over time we will be able to
identify parts that are working well,
and parts that need fixing. I very
much look forward to hearing com-
mon sense ideas from all sides that
benefit our citizens, while following
the guidelines in our comprehen-
sive plan.
I encourage folks who have con-
structive ideas to come to our City
Council meetings, stop by City
Hall and pick up a copy of our cur-
rent regulations and comprehensive
plan, or contact me and other coun-
cilors at any time with suggestions.
Protecting our residential zones,
empowering our businesses and
current business zones, and being
welcoming to the influx of new
full-time residents moving back
to Gearhart, while welcoming our
seasonal visitors, are not mutually
exclusive ideas. With a near-record
number of nightly rentals still oper-
ating in Gearhart, and our new cit-
izens finding available housing to
make Gearhart their permanent
home, we are primed for excellent
economic conditions going into the
next decade.
Let’s all take a deep breath.
We’ve all been through a lot, and
now it’s time to come together and
celebrate 100 years of this amaz-
ing city next year. I look forward
to continuing reaching out to folks
with different opinions than my
own, and help promote what we all
love about Gearhart.
There’s nothing we can’t solve
if we respect each other, and work
together. Cheers to 100 years of
Gearhart, let the celebration and
healing process begin.
MAYOR MATT BROWN
Gearhart
I
trates the brilliance of the Native
American people who inhabited this
area and built sustainable lifestyles,
particularly through their ingenious
use of cedar.
Cronin calls Astor a pioneer.
Pioneer is a term that refers to
the first person to open or settle a
region. The Clatsop-Nehalem and
Chinook tribes were already here.
Our vision for Clatsop County, and
the cities within, needs to be based
on an inclusive history that recog-
nizes contributions of all peoples,
not just Europeans.
MARIAN DERLET
Astoria
Library access for kids
read the article “Why every child
needs a library card” (The Daily
Astorian, Oct. 30) by R. J. Marx
with great interest, but I found that
I missed one very important point
that Warrenton Library Director
Nettie Calog filled in for me.
The Reading Outreach in Clat-
sop County program, commonly
called ROCC, ensures that any
child living in our county, in any
of the five school districts, can get
a library card from one of the three
libraries in the program: Warrenton
Library, Astoria Library or Seaside
Library. It was not clear in the arti-
cle that any child can ask for a free
library card, no matter where they
live within the county.
I would hope that The Daily
Astorian would do a little more to
clarify that through the ROCC pro-
gram, every child in our county
has access to our libraries. This is
a great program that needs promot-
ing. Thank you to the librarians for
coming together to make this pro-
gram work.
RICK NEWTON
Warrenton City Commission
I
Water runs downhill
y father quit school before
he graduated from the eighth
grade. Before this epiphany, he
learned water runs downhill. There-
fore, he went into the civil engineer/
land surveyor business. While thus
employed he set the county line.
You might think whoa, surely
the county lines in New York state
had been set before your father’s
time. Probably that would have
been the case, if that line didn’t
directly cross a precipice rock that
climbers come from miles around
to practice their skills on.
Shortly after my father’s accom-
plishment, the state of New York
decided, unilaterally, to require civil
engineers/land surveyors to have a
college degree in civil engineering/
land surveying.
If perchance an employee, or
employees, of my father had pro-
duced a plan such as this, he would
have kicked them out the door and
redone the plan himself, so that a
bus shelter did not serve as a conve-
nient leak off for a major highway
intersection (the southwest corner
of U.S. Highway 101 and Ensign
Lane in Warrenton).
BENJAMIN A. GREAVES
Seaside
M
Another Astoria vision
More cooperation
was puzzled and saddened by
Kevin Cronin’s article, “My
vision for Astoria” (The Daily Asto-
rian, Oct. 31). The second objective
dealt with empowerment, and sug-
gested that along with a John Jacob
Astor volunteer day, all should
read “Astoria” by Peter Stark. The
goal, as I understood it, was to cre-
ate a sense of pride for the area we
inhabit.
A more appropriate initial read-
ing would be the book “Cedar” by
Hilary Stewart. Her research illus-
I
I
have known Lianne Thompson
for several years, and supported
her election as commissioner in
District 5. She has not disappointed
me in her commitment to the needs
of Clatsop County. Her work has
been steadfast and exemplary.
Rarely has there been a county
commissioner more dedicated to
service for the well-being of all in
Clatsop County and beyond.
She has done hours of volun-
teer work, attended meetings, and
has been receptive to the ideas from
the communities she serves. Lianne
studies issues from all angles, and is
not beholden to any specific inter-
est group. That she attends meet-
ings and training outside of Clatsop
County for knowledge and other
perspectives is a plus.
The number of assignments she
has accepted, and her attention to
them, is remarkable. In reading the
numerous letters written in her sup-
port, obviously she has made an
impact in helping constituents in the
county as a whole, which has been
noted not only by state Rep. Deb-
orah Boone, but by commissioners
from other counties, and from those
holding, or who have held, signifi-
cant positions in Clatsop County.
District 5 is large and diverse.
The issues affecting coastal areas
can be very different from those in
rural areas. Commissioner Thomp-
son works diligently to help find
solutions to everyone’s needs: fam-
ily-wage jobs, affordable housing,
environmental impacts affecting
regional livelihoods, and prepared-
ness to deal with catastrophes and
recovery.
In the future, I would hope that
the commission would find ways to
address the challenges facing Clat-
sop County with more coopera-
tion, and less castigation. There is,
indeed, value in listening to other
perspectives on issues. No one has
all the answers.
I will, indeed, support Lianne
Thompson for another term repre-
senting District 5.
KAREN HOYT
Cannon Beach
Patriot Hall thanks
latsop Community College
would like to say thank you to
everyone who participated in the
Veterans Day ceremony and reded-
ication of Patriot Hall. So many
thanks go to the American Legion
Clatsop Post 12, Cory Pederson,
band director of Jewell School and
organizer of our 100-plus com-
munity band representation at the
event, CCC student veteran volun-
teers, and facilities services crew
who prepped Patriot Hall for the
event. CCC Veteran Services was
present to offer information, and
Bandit Café made a delicious light
lunch for all.
We appreciate everyone who
attended, and all the musicians and
singers who gave us their time and
talent. We cannot say enough about
the Jewell School Wind Ensemble
and the amazing members who per-
formed “Taps” on bugles. The event
was filled with song and ceremony,
and Patriot Hall is now officially
rededicated to honor those who
have served.
JULIE KOVATCH
Astoria
C
Thompson earned respect
latsop County Commissioner
Lianne Thompson has earned
our respect, gratitude and admi-
ration. I have observed her work
tirelessly on a variety of projects
that benefit the citizens of Clatsop
County, including economic devel-
opment, affordable housing and
community emergency response
preparations.
My experience is that she always
presents herself very profession-
ally and passionately. I particularly
appreciate her emphasis on com-
munity service built on trust, hon-
esty and integrity. She strives to
understand a situation thoroughly,
and another’s point of view, before
effectively communicating her own,
resulting in meaningful and reward-
ing collaborations.
Commissioner Thompson has
truly embraced her responsibilities
to the county and its constituents by
C
helping to emulate the proper roles
we should expect from our elected
representatives. She holds herself,
and therefore the county, account-
able for their actions, and has
always sought to involve stakehold-
ers rather than exclude them from
the public process.
I appreciate how she respects
the diversity within our county with
relation to us as individuals, and
within the various business sectors
of our community. Commissioner
Thompson’s inclusiveness and
compassion for a diverse group of
stakeholders is a trademark of her
interactions, a sign of her strengths
and wisdom as a trailblazer, and the
type of leader that makes our com-
munity a special place to live, work
and show pride.
MARK MORGANS
Cannon Beach
Thompson’s behavior
am troubled by recent letters sup-
porting Commissioner Lianne
Thompson that suggest that Chair-
man Scott Lee, and the com-
missioners asking for her res-
ignation, are the ones acting
unprofessionally.
For the better part of a year I
attended Clatsop County Commis-
sion meetings in order to make reg-
ular public testimony on the Linn
County timber lawsuit. I can say
unequivocally that during that time
I never observed any behavior, or
heard comments made by Chair-
man Lee or the other commission-
ers, that were in any way unpro-
fessional. Regrettably, I cannot
say the same about Commissioner
Thompson.
At one of the meetings, I pointed
out that Commissioner Thomp-
son’s husband serves as the busi-
ness manager for Linn County, and
was integral to the filing of the tim-
ber lawsuit. I suggested that she
recuse herself on the lawsuit vote. I
made this suggestion after confer-
ring with someone who had served
on various boards who agreed that
recusal would be the professional
thing to do. Thompson’s reaction to
my suggestion was one of defiance,
because I was bringing up her “per-
sonal life.”
At another meeting, Thomp-
son claimed that she had not been
on the commission when the vote
was taken to approve the Clat-
sop County Vision 2030 Together
plan, which demonstrates the pub-
lic’s support for conservation of for-
est lands.
A review of the record showed
that Thompson was on the board at
the time, and had voted to approve
the plan. When confronted with
the misrepresentation of her voting
record, Thompson said she had “a
senior moment.” That’s a difficult
excuse to accept, considering the
importance of that vote.
In her efforts to keep Clatsop
County in the class of the lawsuit,
Thompson discredited the Vision
Plan because the meetings held by
the research firm conducting the
study were only attended by “activ-
ists.” Having attended one of those
meetings myself, I can say that was
not the case. Finally, when the over-
whelming majority of public com-
ments, along with many emails and
letters sent to the commission called
for opting out of the lawsuit, Com-
missioner Thompson chose to go
against the public with her vote.
ROGER DORBAND
Astoria
I
What’s going on?
live in the Coast Range of Clat-
sop County where, for the most
part, we require few county ser-
vices. We rely on our volunteers
for fire suppression, motor vehi-
I
5A
cle rescue and traffic control, emer-
gency medical services, removal of
downed trees on state and county
roads and handling all manner of
high winds, flooding and landslides.
We worked hard to see that
our representative to the Clat-
sop County Commission, Lianne
Thompson, was duly elected to
speak for us as a commissioner
about rural housing, jobs and envi-
ronmental protection. When she
educates herself within county
guidelines and is then publicly
excoriated under the guise of
“reviewing travel/expenses pol-
icy,” told repeatedly that her atten-
dance at seminars has “no value,”
and subjected to a PowerPoint pre-
sentation containing inaccurate
information and exaggerated graph-
ics, it gets my dander up (“Lee calls
for Thompson’s resignation,” The
Daily Astorian, Oct. 26).
What’s going on? Why does my
commissioner have to ask the chair-
man to stop members of the gal-
lery from repeatedly displaying her
campaign T-shirt with an X across
it? Where did respect at public
meetings go? Why have there been
five commissioners (with four-year
terms) in our rural district since
2009? Where can I get these dis-
turbing questions answered?
DIANE JETTE
Elsie
Politics in church
he Johnson Amendment —
named for Lyndon Johnson,
when he was a senator — prohib-
its all 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi-
zations, including churches from
endorsing, opposing or fundrais-
ing for political candidates. It does
not prohibit churches from talking
about the issues of an election, or
politics in general.
There is currently a movement
in Congress to repeal this amend-
ment by those churches that want
to endorse or oppose candidates or
fundraise for candidates. Under the
guise of “religious freedom” this
action will allow churches and non-
profits to funnel money, which is
given to them with a tax deduction
for donors, to candidates of their
choice.
Churches and clergy still
have freedom of speech, just not
to fundraise or advocate for or
against candidates. The Episcopal
Church opposes this repeal, along
with almost 100 other denomi-
nations. This repeal is in the tax
plan now. Write your senators and
representative.
REV. ANN FONTAINE
Cannon Beach
T
The wall
am totally disheartened with the
way our government has taken
respect for ourselves and thrown
it out with the trash. Americans
have children in the military who
are being killed in action almost
daily. God forbid we make it pub-
lic, and give respect to one of our
own for making the ultimate sacri-
fice. The least we all need to do is
publish that service person’s name,
and cherish their actions for as long
as we live.
Today less than one-half of
1 percent of the U.S. population
serves in the military. That is 1 out
of 200 people. No one knows we
are losing an average of five service
people a week. Yes, severe conse-
quences may happen if you sign
that dotted line, but without risk
there can be no reward.
Let me put this in context for
way too many “Americans” to
understand. A television show
called “Game of Thrones” has
knights and dragons. Besides all
the drama there is “the wall,” a gla-
cier cliff manned by very few to
defend the realm against an army
of ice zombies. Only those who are
slaves or duty-bound serve at the
wall. With so few having the honor
to serve for others, the ice wall is
blown apart.
Now, as someone who has put
his own life on that dotted line, I
can tell all who may read this: Not
making a public ceremony for a
fallen hero, someone who has put
your way of living ahead of their
own, is the biggest disrespect that
can be done to that soldier, sailor,
Marine, airman, guardsman and
their families. Wackos who murder
people get much more “script” than
my family in arms. That is pathetic.
It’s time to stop taking the priv-
ileges and freedoms 200 of you
take for granted because of that one
poor neighbor kid who will stand
at the wall for you. Not for himself,
as much as for his understanding
that freedom is not free. So pretty
please, let us get back to showing
respect wherever and whenever a
service person dies. It may help to
burst the bubble too many Amer-
icans are living in for freedom’s
sake.
TROY HASKELL
Astoria
I