A4
V IEWPOINT
Hood River News,
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
O ur readers write
JOE PETSHOW
Publisher/President,
Eagle Newspapers, Inc.
CHELSEA MARR
General Manager
JODY THOMPSON
Advertising Manager
DICK NAFSINGER
Publisher, Emeritus (1933-2011)
TOM LANCTOT
Past President,
Eagle Newspapers, Inc.
KIRBY NEUMANN-REA
Editor
TONY METHVIN
Columbia Gorge Press Manager
DAVID MARVIN
Production Manager
Subscription $42 per year in Hood River trade area. $68 outside trade area.
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
ASSOCIATION
Printed on
OREGON NEWSPAPER
PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
recycled paper.
Official Newspaper, City of Hood River and Hood River County
Published Every Wednesday & Saturday by Hood River News,
P.O. Box 390, Hood River, Oregon 97031 • (541) 386-1234 • FAX 386-6796
Member of the Associated Press
Board work
Elected or appointed, public
service opportunities abound
N
o matter where you live in Hood River Coun-
ty, opportunities to serve are right at hand.
As described on page A2, a variety of ap-
pointed and elected service opportunities
are on the horizon with a variety of local
public agencies.
But there will be much more to come.
The filing deadline for local special districts is
March 19 for measures to go on the May 19 county spe-
cial districts election ballot, but by later this week
County Elections will have an updated list of open
board positions, on its website co.hoodriver.or.us/elec-
tions.
County Elections coordinator Kim Kean has been
compiling those positions on water, fire, sanitation
and other special districts.
These will include positions that naturally come
open on a rotating basis, as well as some instances of
seats that are unfilled because of resignations — and
in some cases that have been vacant since the last
election.
Hood River News will continue a running update
on positions that are up for election, as well as the on-
going need for people to serve on budget committees
and other roles. (Budget committees are a particular
need at this time of the year, as agencies including
Hood River County School District are setting their
calendars and gearing up for that vital work that
starts in March and continues in earnest in April and
May prior to adoption of budgets in June. There is, to
be frank, homework involved in serving on a budget
committee.)
Some boards call for an area of expertise or per-
sonal or professional background, and such experi-
ence can certainly be helpful, but in most cases not
having those elements on your resume is not an obsta-
cle to being selected. Serving on a fire or water dis-
trict requires no particular expertise, just a commit-
ment to serve the public.
There is no getting around the fact that there is a
high responsibility placed on special district elected
officials, because these are agencies that derive tax
revenue to provide vital services. But just about any-
one with a concern for the community, and with some
time to spare — or the willingness to make that time
— can find a way to be an effective servant. Consider
doing so now. Your community needs you.
Warmest year
on record
The earth has a fever.
2014 has been ter med the
warmest year of the century and
perhaps even in 2000 years, there
has been no pause. Some say hu-
mans are too insignificant to
change the climate. A virus or bac-
teria would seem just as insignifi-
cant, but they have killed millions
of people throughout history. In-
terestingly, it’s often their wastes
and the body’s reactions to them
that causes the disease.
Our wastes include carbon diox-
ide and a great variety of chemi-
cals.
Carbon dioxide is not just a
greenhouse gas but also creates a
weak acid. These wastes have cre-
ated huge dead zones at the mouths
of rivers and the oceans are show-
ing signs of becoming acidic. The
ocean has been absorbing both the
excess heat and carbon dioxide.
Saltwater life is incredibly sensi-
tive to acidic conditions and dies
quickly as the water becomes acid.
Sea life is also sensitive to temper-
ature changes; if you understand
this, then you’ll understand that
we are very close to creating a
great die off of sea life.
Through global warming and
ocean acidification, we are creat-
ing a situation similar to the im-
pact of an asteroid on the earth.
One asteroid is thought to have re-
sulted in the extinction of the di-
nosaurs. Our civilizations aren’t
any tougher than them.
Gregg Morris
Hood River
Know options
I want to thank Kelvin Calkins
and Karen Ford for their letters re-
garding the Common Core stan-
dardized tests. It’s important for
all parents and members of the
community to become aware of the
increasing test load on children.
A s yo u m i g h t e x p e c t , t h e
strongest advocates for standard-
ized testing are people farthest
from the action: policy-makers, leg-
islators, education officials, and
consultants. In other words, the
folks turning up the heat for more
testing are the ones farthest from
the fire.
In the meantime, children are
being tested for weeks every year
and testing will increase dramati-
cally with the Common Core stan-
dardized tests.
Classroom-based assessments
help inform teachers of the acade-
mic levels of their students and
guide instruction, but standard-
ized tests don’t help guide instruc-
tion in real time.
In public education, what is best
for children must always be our
first concern. I hope that parents
and community in Hood River will
weigh in on assessment practices
in our schools.
Ask questions and consider your
options as a parent.
For more information, e-mail
optouthoodriver@gmail.com, or
visit OptOutOre gon.org, and
fairtest.org.
Mark S. Reynolds
Hood River
‘In this together’
I want to commend you for your
“Greater Gorge” page, featuring
news from all our Gorge communi-
ties. I work in Hood River County,
Wasco County, and Klickitat County
and I read papers from all of them.
From my perspective, we live in one
place, not many.
I see people from all over the
Gorge working together to get
things done. In every community in
the Gorge, kids and families face the
same challenges, and in every com-
munity, people stand up to help.
When our communities cooperate
and collaborate, we all benefit.
When we compete, and when we
don’t trust each other, we all suffer.
We are in this together. Your
Greater Gorge page is evidence.
Heidi Venture
The Next Door
Hood River
Justify raise
Why is Columbia Gorge Commu-
nity College paying for their presi-
dent’s $35,000 per year pay raise on
the backs of their students with a 6
percent rise in tuition?
Because the president is in need
of two of those students’ entire
year-end earnings.
What is the justification for such
a raise?
Michael Hope
Gresham
ABOUT LETTERS
Hood River News reminds letter
to the editor writers that shorter is
better. Concise letters are not only
better-read, they are more likely to
be published because limited
space is available.
Almost any point can be made
in 350 words or fewer, so this is set
as an upper level for length.
Thank-you letters are no longer
accepted, neither are unsigned let-
ters, letters signed with fictitious
signatures and copies of letters
sent to public officials.
We limit letters on a subject
when we feel it has been thorough-
ly aired, to the point of letters be-
coming repetitive.
Also rejected are letters that are
libelous, in bad taste or personal
attacks on individuals or private
businesses. Writers must include
addresses and telephone numbers.
These are for identification pur-
poses only, and will not be pub-
lished.
Ten years after tragedy, fond memories endure
I
By LAURIE JONES
t is hard to believe that 10
years ago a horrible plane
crash claimed the lives of
three young men from the
Hood River community: my
husband Chris Jones, who owned
Son-Rise Development, Paul Linck,
the pilot of our plane, and Brook
Campbell, who owned Rockin’ the
Gorge, a local drywall company.
I remember the night of Jan. 20,
2005. It was my son Matthew’s
birthday and I was
in Portland out to
dinner with Matt,
my daughter Kim
and my son Jeff. I
was driving back to
Hood River and by
Viento Ridge around
8:10. I called Chris at
8:11 and no answer.
He always answered
the phone when he
was flying. I under-
stand now that the
plane went down
around 8:14. Paul
was a very experi-
enced pilot. When we hired him
as our pilot, we sent him to re-
ceive training specifically for the
Cirrus. He was a “by the book
and never take any chances”
pilot. There were times when
Chris really needed to get to one
of our job sites and Paul would
not take off due to weather. There
was never a doubt in my mind
that there was no way that Paul
was at fault for this crash. Even
though the rumors out there were
that Paul was scud running (fly-
ing under the clouds) and the Na-
tional Transportation Safety
Board eventually ruled that the
cause of the crash was pilot
error, I knew in my heart that
this was not true. After many
years of investigation into the
cause, it was discovered that it
was a malfunction of one of the
instruments in the plane that
caused the crash.
■
Jan. 20, 2005, was a long night.
I contacted the
Hood River Police
and we drove out to
the plane hangar to
see if the plane was
there and some-
thing else had pos-
sibly happened. The
hangar was empty. I
went back home
and just sat there. I
called all three of
their phones. No
answers. Finally
Jenny, Kara and I
started to call each
other. Jenny called
the FAA and the search began. I
stayed awake all night not allow-
ing myself to think the
worst. Our plane had a parachute
so that if the pilot was in trouble
all he had to do was deploy the
parachute and they would glide
to safety. In my mind, it was just
a matter of figuring out where
they landed.
I still hadn’t contacted anyone
except the other two wives and
the police. I received my first
phone call around 6:30 that morn-
‘I think about
how my life is
forever changed.
I think about
the amazing
community
of Hood River.’
ing from a friend who was on his
way to Portland. He said he heard
on the news that a plane was
missing that had left Salem en
route to Hood River. I knew at
that moment I had better start
making some phone calls to fami-
ly. This made it too real for me.
So, around 6:45 I started calling
family. I called my daughter. Jan.
21 was her birthday; she turned
30 that day. I called my
sons, Chris’s brother, a few close
friends and then just sat
there. People starting coming to
my home. The phone was ringing
nonstop. Food was being brought
over. It was surreal. I
kept thinking how strange it was
that everyone was coming
over. Didn’t they know that we
are going to find them because
they parachuted to safety? I really
only wanted to talk to Jenny and
Kara. Then Sheriff Joe Wampler
was in constant communication
with me and I would then call the
other two wives. They knew they
were going to be okay too! It is
amazing how your mind works. I
got the phone call around 4:30
that they had located the wreck-
age. Then around 8:30, Sheriff
Wampler was at the door and my
whole world came crashing down.
■
I think about how we have all
made it through. I think about
how my life is forever changed. I
think about the amazing commu-
nity of Hood River. I think about
all the people searching for Chris,
Paul and Brook. The Crag Rats,
The Wind River Searchers, Civil
Photo courtesy of Laurie Jones
THE LATE Chris Jones in the Cirrus, Mt. Hood in the background, in 2004.
Air Patrol, the many people who
used their own planes to search,
the helicopters, the boats on the
Columbia, all our friends and
family and all the volunteers
from the community helping,
searching and supporting.
I moved out of Hood River
three years ago to be closer to my
family. I miss the closeness of
Hood River. I miss my friends, my
church and the feeling of commu-
nity. I will forever be grateful for
my time in Hood River. I have
continued to build since Chris’s
death. We loved building homes
for people. Chris took pride in the
quality and construction of each
and every home he built. What a
blessing to have that passion.
Son-Rise Development built over
150 homes in Hood River and
loved every minute of it. It has
been 10 years of building without
Chris, my partner, and I have
made the decision to retire. It
gave me satisfaction to continue
what Chris had started but also
sadness that he wasn’t working
beside me.
Thank you, Hood River! The
best years of my life were spent
living and working alongside my
husband Chris in such a beautiful
town!
■
Laurie Jones now lives in
Tigard.