A4
V IEWPOINT
Hood River News,
Wednesday, January 28, 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
Editor’s notebook
Two bits on XLIX and 50
W
ho thinks about the football?
Not “football” but “THE football” — as
in the thing that the Super Bowl ought to
be about: the oval pigskin of suspect inte-
rior pressure?
There’s just so much focus this year, not on Sunday’s
Arizona contest, but on the oblong pigskin prize that
burly men carry and pass, and sometimes kick, up and
down a rectangular lawn that sometimes gets muddy.
Super Bowl, year 49, is upon us. (How disappointed
must the San Francisco team have been to miss the play-
offs this year, for the marketing department must have
relished the prospect of “49ers in 49,” though admittedly
“49ers in XLIX” would not have the same ring to it.)
Talk about muddy, this whole run up to Super Bowl
(fill-in-the Roman Numerals). If Super Bowl Fifty is
played on artificial turf in Santa Clara they should im-
port some natural stuff just for the joy of the landmark
edition of America’s Biggest Game getting all down and
dirty — on the field, instead of off.
We know that in 2016 the NFL will dispense with the
Roman numeral fussiness and the confusing “L” in favor
of that good-old-meat-and-potatoes number “50.”
I think they should just brand it Superbowlfifty, kind
of like we run it all together and say Joemontana. (And
meanwhile pay that guy a stipend to save him from
those humiliating pizza commercials.)
While they’re at this sea-change move, the dispensing
of Roman digits, how about some other changes to the
game:
Why call it football at all? Feet are rarely involved.
Punts happen, but they’re afterthoughts, really. Call
them “ovalteams” and think of the product tie-ins.
And can anyone explain to me why the refs throw a
flag and stop the action for two minutes — for delay of
game? Makes no sense; just toss the yellow rag and sort
it out after the play is over, like any other penalty.
Anyway, I might not even watch 49, even with our
backyard friends the Seahawks involved. It all seems
kind of pointless; game, what game?
Meanwhile I’m sure everyone at the NFL is already
looking forward to Superbowlfifty; get 49 behind us and
the whole rhubarb over who mighta-flattened-the-balls
and when.
Enough of that, and all year the arguments and the
off-field issues; how disturbingly fitting that the 2014-15
year ends with yet another slimy veneer, aka “Deflate-
gate.” But a lot can happen between now and Superbowl-
fifty – maybe a controversy over the precise length of
the chain, or whether the uniforms were manufactured
in some east Asian sweat factory.
And the “Hate-riots” may win this year, and they
could be back for Superbowlfifty. Will that mean in a
year are we still going to be asking how Bill Belicheck
became Public Enemy Number I?
— Kirby Neumann-Rea
W HERE TO WRITE
President — Barack Obama, White House, 1600 Pennsylva-
nia Ave., Washington D.C., 20500
E-mail: president@whitehouse.gov
U.S. Senators — Sen. Jeff Merkley, 313 Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, D.C. 20510, phone 202-224-3753
Sen. Ron Wyden, Dirksen Senate Office Building 221, Washington, D.C.,
phone 202-224-5244
2nd Congressional District Representative — Greg
Walden, 14 N. Central Ave., Suite 112, Medford, OR 97504. Phone:
541-776-4646; E-mail: www.walden.house.gov/contactgreg
Governor — John Kitzhaber, 254 State Capitol, Salem, OR
97310. Phone: 503-378-3111;
E-mail: www.governor.state.or.us/email.htm
District 26 State Senator — Chuck Thomsen, 900 Court St.
N.E., S-307, State Capitol, Salem, OR 97301. Phone: 503-986-1726;
E-mail sen.chuckthomsen@state.or.us
District 52 State Representative — Mark Johnson, 900
Court St. N.E., Bldg. H-385, State Capitol, Salem, OR 97301. Phone:
503-986-1452; E-mail: rep.markjohnson@state.or.us
Hood River County Board of Commissioners — Chair Ron
Rivers, Vice Chair Maui Meyer, members Les Perkins, Bob Benton and
Karen Joplin, Hood River County Courthouse, Hood River, OR,
97031. Phone: 541-386-3970.
County Administrator — Dave Meriwether, Hood River Coun-
ty Courthouse, Hood River, OR, 97031. Phone: 541-386-3970.
Hood River City Council — Mayor Arthur Babitz, members Ed
Weathers, Carrie Nelson, Laurent Picard, Mark Zanmiller, Kate
McBride and Brian McNamara, Hood River City Hall, Hood River, OR,
97031. Phone: 541-386-1488. E-mail: cohr@gorge.net
Hood River City Manager — Dan Otterman, interim, Hood
River City Hall, Hood River, OR, 97031. Phone: 541-387-5252.
Cascade Locks City Council — Mayor Tom Cramblett, Glenda
Groves, Jeff Helfrich, Richard Randall, Bobby Walker, Bruce Fitzger-
ald, Cascade Locks City Hall, 140 S.E. WaNaPa, Cascade Locks, OR,
97014. Phone: 541-374-8484.
Cascade Locks City Administrator — Gordon Zimmerman,
Cascade Locks City Hall, 140 S.E. WaNaPa, Cascade Locks, OR,
97014 Phone: 541-374-8484.
Protect water
rights
State Street
concerns
Last week, Cascade Locks’ City
Council approved a water transfer
for Nestlé. As a native Oregonian
and a resident of the Gorge, I’m con-
cerned.
Nestlé is trying to eliminate the
regulatory barriers and bypass the
right of citizens to state their opin-
ion about the water transfer.
Nestlé has an abominable track
record, nationally and abroad, prov-
ing that they don’t care about peo-
ple, only profits.
Curt Melcher, at Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife, needs to
stay true to his original promise and
not forfeit the water right for Oxbow
Springs.
The larger issue is the concept of
privatizing a public resource for cor-
porate profits. Clearly put, the water
Nestlé wants is currently owned by
the State of Oregon.
As clean water becomes one of the
most sought after resources on the
planet, Oregonians should protect
and profit from this natural re-
source, not a multinational corpora-
tion like Nestlé.
Pamela Larsen
Hood River
Say it ain’t so:
Reading the Hood River News re-
cently, we are told that the State
Street work is now complete except
for some small details. Certainly we
are all happy to see the construction
end, traffic, dust, noise, parking
woes. There are varying opinions on
design, something we are not about
to change. Now, one would just have
to think there was a contract with
just about everything spelled out,
sidewalks, lighting, landscaping and
such. Now about that hump on State
Street where the old pavement meets
the new, and the manhole. Please,
don’t tell me that was in the design,
and that this is the finished product.
The cold joint between the two is al-
ready holding moisture, and will be-
come a pothole soon. Over all
smoothness in the surface along the
entire project leaves much to be de-
sired. Has the City signed off on
this, has the contractor been paid?
Reminds me of the big puddle (small
lake) at 28th and May. This was our
money that paid for this work, we de-
serve better.
Editor’s note; Steffen Lunding
had forwarded his letter to city man-
ager Steve Wheeler, who replied:
“It ain’t so. There is a one year
warranty period and the situation de-
scribed is already on our punch list to
be fixed this spring when the asphalt
plants are again producing.”
Steffen Lunding
Hood River
Punchbowl
questions
The idea of the county owning
some more land, especially with the
call to “preserve it,” is not some-
thing I can sign onto. The Punch-
bowl has been just fine so far, eh?
Just what can county ownership do?
A park you say. Been to Tucker Park
lately? Gated and locked off to the
taxpayer. Why?
Try to go up Middle Mountain
lately? Locked. As if it was private
property. And most importantly,
where are they going to get the
money? Maybe a little increase in
property tax. So some rich folks buy
the place and limit access. So what?
There’s easy access at Dee. When the
Darwin award contestants do their
thing at Punchbowl, who is liable?
Who gets sued?
Arthur Chenoweth
Hood River
ON THE AGENDA
Hood River County School board
meets at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the
District Office meeting room.
These are the regular meeting
times of governing bodies for these
agencies:
Cascade Locks
Cascade Locks City Council, 7
p.m., City Hall Council Chambers,
140 W. WaNaPa St., second and
fourth Mondays of the month.
Cascade Locks Planning Com-
mission, 7 p.m., City Hall Council
Chambers, 140 W. WaNaPa St., sec-
ond Thursday of the month.
Cascade Locks Port Commis-
sion, 6 p.m., City Hall Council
Chambers, 140 W. WaNaPa St., first
and third Thursdays of the month.
Hood River
City of Hood River Planning Com-
mission meeting, 5:30 p.m., Hood
River City Hall Council Chambers,
211 Second St., generally the first and
third Mondays of the month. Place
and dates subject to change.
Hood River Port Commission, 5
p.m., 100 E. Port Marina Drive, board
room, first and third Tuesdays of the
month.
Hood River City Council, 6 p.m.,
Hood River City Hall Council Cham-
bers, 211 Second St., second and
fourth Mondays of the month.
Hood River Soil and Water Conser-
vation District Board of Directors
meeting, 4 p.m., OSU Extension Ser-
vice Building, 2990 Experiment Sta-
tion Road, first Thursday of the
month.
Hood River Valley Parks and Recre-
ation District, 6 p.m., Aquatic Center,
1601 May St., third Wednesday of the
month. Place subject to change.
Hood River County
Hood River County Board of Com-
missioners regular session, 6 p.m.,
601 State St., first floor conference
room, third Monday of the month.
Time subject to change.
Library District Board meeting, 7
p.m., 502 State St., conference room,
third Tuesday of the month.
Hood River County Planning
Commission meeting, 7 p.m., 601
State St., first floor, generally second
and fourth Wednesdays of the
month.
It all makes sense to me!
By CRAIG JOSEPH DANNER
First, a note of apology
started driving more and thinking
about buying a new vehicle. I’ve al-
ways wanted a Hummer, and I fig-
ure what better time than now?
I would like to extend an apology
to Rep. Greg Walden and his wife,
It makes sense, right?
Mylene, for a tasteless joke I made
I mean, the only reason I
at their expense in my last
choose to walk to work and
published column. It was
own a gas-sipping economy
printed just before last No-
car is because I’m cheap.
vember’s elections. For those
Why else would someone
with short memories, or who
want to burn less fossil fuel?
never can get to the end of
And besides, buying a
one of my columns, I had
Hummer is an investment
implied that I could predict
in the future. They’re built
the political leanings of via
Craig Danner like tanks! They’ll last for
the family dog. I can see, in
years. Keep the oil changed
retrospect, how this might
have been an unwelcome message. I regular and it could be the last car
did not intend to offend anyone, and I ever buy. And with gas prices
regret that that may have occurred. this low...
Ohhh ... Hang on a second! I’ll
No hard feelings, eh?
bet you thought I was gonna fall
And Now For Something
for this one, didn’t ya? What? Do
Completely Different
you think I’m stupid?
I’m not, actually. I even have
This afternoon, while I was
proof. I have a theory, and it’s even
gassing up Stacey’s Subaru at The
named after me. It’s about why cer-
Heights Pit Stop, I looked over at
tain men buy certain automobiles. I
the pump and noticed the price per
call it Craig Danner’s Theory of Ve-
gallon. I called over the attendant,
exclaiming that there must be some hicular Compensation. You see a
man driving a long, low-riding
mistake, “I think your pump is set
sports car, the hood extending well
wrong. It says it‘s only $2.09.
out in front of the steering wheel,
Shouldn’t that 2 be a 4?”
and you can be pretty confident the
Actually, I didn’t say a thing, be-
cause I figured if I drove away real- driver is compensating for some-
thing. You see a guy in a big truck,
ly fast before he noticed, I’d save
jacked up high on tires the size of
about $40 on that fill.
Just kidding. Do you really think record-breaking pumpkins, and you
can be fairly certain he is compen-
I’d be that dishonest?
sating for something else. And
No, really, actually, I have been
that’s about as much of that theory
aware of the new price of gasoline,
as I can explain in a family newspa-
which is why I’ve joined so many
per.
other Patriotic Americans and
But I can say that I, personally,
drive a VW Golf, which, if you
aren’t familiar with them, are quite
short and have small tires. Enough
said, I think.
So, now, where was I?
Oh, yeah. I was thinking about
buying a Hummer. But not really,
because I have another theory,
which I call The Theory of Why
Oil Prices Are Suddenly Immoral-
ly Low. Before I try to explain it, I
want you to know that it is based
on extensive research that consist-
ed of catching the last part of a 30-
second radio news report on NPR.
My theory about why gasoline is
suddenly so cheap is based on the
fact that the United States has be-
come less dependent on foreign oil,
and the foreign oil producers
aren’t keen about losing their mar-
ket share. Domestically, we’ve been
frackin’ our brains out and
drilling for shale oil like there’s no
tomorrow (and there might not
be!), and the big foreign oil produc-
ers aren’t happy. So they’re main-
taining high production levels
even as the price of crude drops,
anticipating that it will go down
low enough to put the smaller oil
producers out of business. Once
that happens they can drop pro-
duction, create a shortage, and
jack the price back up again. And
you thought I was gonna buy a
Hummer?
What I am going to do is contin-
ue to walk to work, because it’s
good for me, good for the planet,
and it’s free. And I’m not gonna
buy a Hummer, because, frankly, I
don’t have to.