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THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, AuguST 2, 2022
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
Founded in 1873
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
SAMANTHA STINNETT
Circulation Manager
SARAH SILVER
Advertising Sales Manager
GUEST COLUMN
On journalism and anniversaries
I
’m closing out July the same way
I started, with a column about
the late political columnist Ron
Blankenbaker.
This column, however, centers
around my clumsiness as a fledgling
political reporter.
I tell this true tale today in hopes it
produces a chuckle or two, giving you a
few moments of mental
relief from the oppres-
sive heat that grips much
of Oregon.
Besides, we jour-
nalists should take our
work seriously but not
fall into taking ourselves
DICK
too seriously.
HUGHES
So let us begin.
It was March 1983.
A Statesman Journal trio – columnist
Blankenbaker, photographer Ron Coo-
per and I – flew from Salem to Klam-
ath Falls in a little chartered airplane to
cover President Ronald Reagan’s brief
visit to the Weyerhaeuser mill there.
Gannett owns the Statesman Journal,
and my assignment included reporting
nationally for Gannett’s print and broad-
cast media. In retrospect, my sole qual-
ification for being chosen probably was
my cub-reporter willingness to do what-
ever was needed, including bypassing
my wedding anniversary for this trip.
We arrived a day early to report on
local preparations for the presidential
visit.
Blankenbaker and I shared a motel
room and what passed as a portable
computer. He got first dibs. After we
finished our separate interviews around
town, I showed him how write his col-
umn on the balky machine: Connect
to the newsroom in Salem by plac-
ing the telephone receiver into the two
cups. Type, but not faster than the cas-
sette tape allows. Watch the tiny screen,
which shows only a few words. Be pre-
pared to start over. And over.
Once finished, he and Cooper headed
to a steakhouse for dinner. Then it was
my turn to use the computer and write
my story. Heading back to the motel,
they thought to stop at a Wendy’s
restaurant and get dinner for me.
Blankenbaker called to ask what I
wanted.
“A cheeseburger,” I said, annoyed
that they got a steak meal but I …
Klamath County Museum
The Weyerhaeuser mill southwest of Klamath Falls.
“Don’t you want two cheese-
burgers?” he responded. “It’s on the
company.”
The next morning, Cooper was sta-
tioned at Kingsley Field to cover Rea-
gan’s arrival and departure. That meant
I also had photo duty while reporting on
Reagan’s meeting with the wood prod-
ucts executives. I staked out a position
alone in the press area, not realizing the
phone at that spot was faintly marked
“CBS.”
Suddenly, the national press corps
exploded into the room, fresh from Rea-
gan’s tour of the mill itself, which I
could not attend. I was shoved from my
carefully chosen prime spot.
I found myself relegated to the back
of the room where Reagan was meet-
ing with the timber folk. As they talked,
I scribbled notes by hand and shot pho-
tos, while also holding a bulky tape
recorder to catch every word Reagan
uttered. This was the president, after all.
Then … the … recorder … started
… burping … loudly … .
Ergh. Ergh. Ergh.
Everyone stared at me.
The reporters.
The Secret Service.
The industry reps.
The president.
Juggling camera gear, notebooks
and all, I managed to turn off the
offending recorder.
Once the meeting was over, I
rushed – or so I thought – to write my
story. But the national press was long
gone by the time I reached the Gan-
nett News Service editor on duty.
He was incensed. I was too slow! I
chose the wrong angle for the story!
Why, like The Associated Press,
had I not led with Reagan’s brief
response during the mill tour to a
shouted question about the embattled
Environmental Protection Agency
director?
Well, I, uh, wasn’t on the mill tour.
Still, flying back to Salem, I felt like
a journalist failure.
But I gave our readers an honest
accounting of the president’s visit:
“KLAMATH FALLS — President
Reagan used a lumber mill here Sat-
urday to pronounce the economy on
the mend, even in Oregon’s wood
products industry.
“Reagan, who scolded the nation’s
television networks earlier in the
week for ignoring ‘good news,’ prac-
ticed what he has been preaching. …”
My day brightened when I got
back to the newsroom from Salem’s
airport. My wife had just dropped off
a bottle of bubbly and a note celebrat-
ing our sixth anniversary.
Journalists’ spouses put up with a
lot. For us, it’s 45 years and counting.
And chuckling.
dick Hughes has been covering the
Oregon political scene since 1976.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Breaks my heart
A
s one with many years behind me, it
breaks my heart to see anti-Semitic
messages being distributed in our state,
and in Tillamook County. If we are to con-
tinue as a democracy, and a place where
we can all live together and celebrate our
diversity, messages which promote hatred
have no place. We must be better than that.
I’m proud that our Democrat candi-
dates for state Senate and House, Melissa
Busch and Logan Laity, immediately
spoke directly, and with strength, against
the ideas expressed in those flyers. We are,
indeed, fortunate that these two intelli-
gent adults are eager and prepared to take
on the challenges of public office in these
complex times. I encourage you to join
me in supporting them in the coming elec-
tion. If you have never voted before, regis-
ter and vote!
It is indeed a time when we need to
draw upon our reserves of self control,
and practice kindness and what wisdom
we can muster. Our democracy and future
demand our best.
JAN MITCHELL
Astoria
Fallen short
I
attended the July 25 Seaside City Coun-
cil meeting to support my neighbor,
Frank “Corey” Buck, in his appeal of
the conditional use permit issued to his
next door neighbor for a vacation rental
dwelling.
During the public comment portion
of the meeting, four of us spoke about
the interactions we’ve had with the peo-
ple who are renting those VRDs, and the
negative impact they’ve had on our lives,
our neighborhoods and the infrastructure,
such as the increased demand for electric-
ity, water and waste disposal. The issue
regarding the multitude of illegal vacation
rentals in the area was also addressed.
Unfortunately, the only takeaway for
the councilors was the matter of the illegal
vacation rentals. Not the negative impact
that the licensed VRDs are having on our
quality of life, which is slowly deteriorat-
ing. They went ahead and denied Buck’s
appeal, and approved the permit for the
LETTERS WELCOME
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mar and factual accuracy. Only two
letters per writer are allowed each
month. Letters written in response
neighbor, after all. To say I was disap-
pointed would be an understatement. It’s
like they didn’t hear a word we said.
Our city councilors have fallen short
of their responsibilities to those they rep-
to other letter writers should address
the issue at hand and should refer to
the headline and date the letter was
published. Discourse should be civil.
Send via email to editor@dailyasto-
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Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR.,
97103.
resent and serve. It should be people first,
and money second. Not the other way
around.
MARTI WAJC
Seaside
Bright new faces
T
his fall, we have two bright new faces
to represent us in the Oregon House
and Senate. With open seats in both houses
on the North Coast, I urge your consider-
ation for Melissa Busch, for Oregon Sen-
ate District 16, and Logan Laity, for Ore-
gon House District 32.
Both of these folks are eminently qual-
ified, and are equally enthusiastic about
these jobs representing all of the people
in our counties, and not beholden to just
those with conservative money interests.
The fall elections are not that far off.
Find out for yourself the impressive abili-
ties, and enthusiasm, both Busch and Laity
hold. Remember, voting is power! Utilize
it! Don’t squander it!
BOB WESTERBERG
Astoria