4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JULY 9, 2018
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
JIM VAN NOSTRAND
Editor
Founded in 1873
JEREMY FELDMAN
Circulation Manager
DEBRA BLOOM
Business Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
OUR VIEW
THE PRESS IS NOT
THE ENEMY
A child looks at four
crosses and a Star of
David representing
slain journalists at a
makeshift memorial
outside the office
building housing the
Capital Gazette news-
paper in Annapolis,
Maryland.
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
T
he press is not the enemy,
despite what President
Donald Trump has said.
In fact, it is the news media’s
responsibility to make life uncomfort-
able for people in power — to be a
watchdog on potential abuses of that
power. It’s no surprise that the polit-
ically powerful have long responded
by accusing the press of being inac-
curate, unfair or unpatriotic.
Vice President Spiro Agnew in
1970 famously referred to the news
media as “nattering nabobs of neg-
ativism.” Two years later, President
Richard Nixon said in a taped White
House conversation, “The press is
the enemy,” a phrase Trump adopted
early in his presidency.
Even President George
Washington “expressed dismay that
his farewell address might not receive
adequate press coverage,” according
to the John F. Kennedy Presidential
Library and Museum.
As for Washington’s predecessors,
the colonial governors allowed no
freedom of the press. Criticizing the
British monarchy was a crime. That
is why the press was included among
the five freedoms inscribed by our
founders in the First Amendment.
Jay Reed/The Baltimore Sun
Current and former Capital Gazette staff members march in the Annapolis Fourth
of July parade.
And so, as the nation returns from
its Independence Day celebrations
and vacations, it’s worth reflecting
on the role of the press in our country
and our community.
It would be extreme to some-
how blame Trump’s exhortations
against the media for the mass shoot-
ing late last month at a newspaper in
Annapolis, Maryland.
As is often the case in workplace
violence, this apparently was the
work of a deranged man carrying a
grudge. Something sent him over
the edge. His long-festering com-
plaint had been that the newspaper
had written — accurately, according
to the courts — about his legal trou-
bles for harassing and threatening a
woman.
It is deeply unsettling that, along
with a great outpouring of commu-
nity support, the Capital Gazette
has now received additional death
threats and communications celebrat-
ing the slaying of its five newspaper
employees.
Yet even in that environment, even
amid the tragedy of losing colleagues
in a senseless shooting, the newspa-
per continued publishing.
Because that’s what journalists do.
Journalism is a calling. It’s tell-
ing stories about crops and canneries,
community festivals and classroom
projects, and all sorts of groundbreak-
ings and fresh starts, both in con-
struction and in life. It’s about crime
and punishment, probing the deep
underbelly of society and alerting the
public not only to what went wrong,
but also revealing when things go
right. It’s about going alongside first
responders into the winds and wild-
fires when others are fleeing.
On the opinion pages, it’s cheer-
leading at times and challenging the
community at other times. And, yes,
holding the powerful accountable.
It’s about seeking truth as best
we can and sometimes making mis-
takes — we’re human and fallible
despite our best efforts every day
— but promptly correcting our fac-
tual errors. And it’s about always giv-
ing readers the last word through
letters to the editor, as we have for
generations.
People can and will disagree. But
that should not make any of us ene-
mies. This is our community and our
country — they belong to all of us.
SOUTHERN EXPOSURE
Partnership to bring wheelchairs to the beach
S
easide will join Manzanita and
Cannon Beach as the third coastal
town with free wheelchair access
for visitors.
The program, which will offer wheel-
chairs to the disabled at no cost through
the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation
District, was inspired by Seaside resident
Randy Anderson.
“I would like to propose to the city of
Seaside to begin a long-needed service
in a ‘free of charge’ beach wheelchair
program to help people experiencing
mobility disabilities to be able to safely
and easily access our
beaches,” Anderson
said in a City Council
presentation in June.
“Typical wheelchairs
and sand do not mix.”
The beach wheel-
chairs are designed with
R.J. MARX “fat balloon tires” to
provide easy access and
mobility on the sand.
“I’ve walked down the Prom and seen
people with mobility issues looking out
at the beach wishing they could get out
there,” Anderson said. “It’s just heart-
breaking to see.”
Anderson, whose daughter has a
disability, said he is a “huge advocate”
for all people experiencing mobility
challenges.
Anderson researched the Cannon
Beach wheelchair program initiated in
2017 by the Haystack Rock Awareness
Program and the Cannon Beach Chamber
of Commerce.
The chairs may be checked out at
Cannon Beach City Hall. Anderson met
with outreach coordinator Pooka Rice,
who helped initiate the program.
From Jan. 1 through June 18, Cannon
Beach has accommodated 84 requests for
the use of their wheelchairs, Anderson
said.
Cannon Beach
A window sign provides information
about beach wheelchairs in Cannon
Beach.
of gratitude. We’re going to miss the
interaction.”
Looking to expand
R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian
Denise Duhachek, Patrick Duhachek, Randy Anderson and Skyler Archibald
demonstrate a beach wheelchair.
‘Good partnership’
Anderson brought his concept to
Russ Vandenberg, general manager of
the Seaside Civic and Convention
Center.
With construction underway at the
convention center, Anderson’s first
choice — storage of the wheelchairs at
a city location close to the beach — was
impractical.
Vandenberg encouraged Anderson
to talk with Skyler Archibald, executive
director of the recreation district.
Archibald saw it as a “good part-
nership” and brought the proposal to
the district’s board of directors for
consideration.
The program got an added boost when
Patrick and Denise Duhachek, owners of
Wheel Fun Rentals in Seaside, agreed to
donate two wheelchairs.
The Duhacheks had provided wheel-
chairs to visitors at no cost through
Wheel Fun, but will transfer storage and
administration to the district.
The wheelchairs, which run about
$1,800 to $2,200 each, will be available
for free from the district at the Bob
Chisholm Center on Avenue A.
“I’m thrilled that they’re going to
take it over,” Denise Duhachek said.
“But now that they (the wheelchairs)
are actually going to leave, it’s kind
of sad. We’ve gotten so many letters
The audience at the City Council
meeting in June greeted Seaside’s new
program with applause.
“I thought it would take some time
and I was really pleased how little time it
took,” Anderson said after the meeting.
With a council endorsement,
Anderson plans to purchase and donate a
third wheelchair, he said.
If successful, he said he will apply for
grants or solicit donations to expand the
program.
The city of Gearhart has shown inter-
est in creating its own wheelchair loan
program, he added, with details to be
presented at the city’s Thursday council
meeting. The effort was also spearheaded
by Anderson.
Wheelchairs are available from the
recreation district, Archibald said. “The
only challenge we’re working through is
our proximity to the beach, which is not
as great as it could be.”
R.J. Marx is The Daily Astorian’s South
County reporter and editor of the Seaside
Signal and Cannon Beach Gazette.