A4
V IEWPOINT
Hood River News,
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
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
Voting rolls
O ur readers write
Give automatic DMV
method a pass, for now
D
riverless cars may be a thing of the future, but
do we need more clueless voters?
Here’s why we ask:
As the Oregon Legislature settles into the
new session, among the slurry of proposed
legislation filling legislators’ trays are plenty of issue-
or program-specific ideas.
One piece of proposed legislation now before the Ore-
gon State Legislature is HB 2177, put forth by Secretary
of State Kate Brown. It would automatically register to
vote all eligible citizens who apply for a driver’s license.
A similar proposal failed in 2013, and this one needs a
long and critical look.
Meanwhile, another electoral question, that of Inde-
pendent Party status, complicates the matter.
First, HB 2177: in a nutshell, it “directs the Depart-
ment of Transportation to provide Secretary of State
with electronic records containing legal name, age, resi-
dence and citizenship information and electronic signa-
ture of each person who may qualify as elector as pre-
scribed by secretary by rule.”
Brown estimates that up to 300,000 more people would
be added to the 2 million voter rolls — a significant in-
crease and, on the surface, a welcome thing.
Opponents exaggerate in saying that it replaces all
means of registering a vote. You would still be able to go
to your County Clerk’s office and fill out the form; after
all, not all drivers are voters, and not all voters are dri-
vers. Some people might prefer the participatory
method, and the law would not change any existing state
or federal law regarding signing up to vote. HB2177
would rely on state records to ensure that only those
with a “C” for citizen next to their names actually be-
come registered, but those who apply for a license would
receive a postcard asking them to opt out of it. State offi-
cials are confident drivers would comply with the law.
(No offense to aficionados of conventional mail, but
in 2015, is a postcard the best way to get people to re-
spond? Secretary of State Spokesman Tony Green says
it is, and notes that if there is no reply to the opt-out
card, it also means the ballot itself will never reach
them, for ballots are never forwarded.)
Another option might be for the Secretary of State
and Department of Motor Vehicles to combine efforts to
encourage people to vote; provide the forms at DMV, for
example, without relying on a new law. Brown’s office
could advocate for getting more people involved, without
relying on state records to do it.
But all this raises a certain counter-intuitiveness
about participation in the voting process. Fewer and
fewer votes are being cast by citizens who ARE eligible,
yet this bill suggests an information-based system of en-
rolling more people to vote — whether they are interest-
ed or not.
Voter confidence is at its lowest point ever, meaning
people have to want to vote, and making it an automatic
process could have the opposite effect of undermining
confidence.
Then there is the matter of Independent voters. Ac-
cording to the Oregonian newspaper, the Independent
Party of Oregon says it now has enough registered vot-
ers — nearly 105,000 — to become the state’s third major
party along with the Democratic and Republican par-
ties.
Green said elections officials are studying the law to
see if the Independent party indeed achieved legal sta-
tus of a major party and how the Secretary of State will
proceed, according to the Oregonian.
Given the likely increase in Independent voters via
the automatic method proposed under 2177, Brown
should get that sorted out first, and give the legislative
route another two years.
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 — Jeff Merkley, SDB-40B, Dirksen Senate Office
Building, Washington D.C., 20510. Phone: 202-224-3753; E-mail:
oregon@merkley.senate.gov; Ron Wyden, 717 Hart Office Build-
ing, Washington D.C., 20510. Phone: 202-224-5244.
Web address: www.senate.gov/member/or/wyden/general/
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
E-fixated
danger
Which matters most: your e-toys
or your child?
People (usually women … sorry,
ladies!) jog or walk by our house,
traveling with traffic on the right
(WRONG!) side of the road, clue-
less of what’s coming behind them
— some wearing iPod earphones,
one hand on the stroller, iPhone in
the other, eyes fixed on the screen,
TEXTING WITH THEIR THUMBS!
It’s beyond ignorant and beats any-
thing I’ve ever witnessed! Equally
sad is seeing police drive by, even
pulling out around them, without
so much a s a ve rbal cauti on
against their behavior.
Do these people believe all dri-
vers pay attention, are never dis-
tracted, that they will always be
clearly seen and, somehow, safe?
Strollers can wander if both hands
aren’t pushing. What about unseen
rocks or holes or out-of-control ve-
hicles because this person is on the
wrong side of the road, texting and
iTuning? Is any thought given to
the child?
Laws are in place regarding
child car seats. Some kind of law
should protect children in
strollers.
Oregon statute pertaining to
pedestrians, section 814.070, states
(paraphrased): A pedestrian com-
mits (an offense) if, on a two-way
residential roadway without side-
walks or shoulders, he/she fails to
travel “only on the left side of it.”
Seems straightforward.
What about police stops, e-toys
removed, citations issued for child
endangerment and a ride home in
a police car — then names and of-
fenses published for all to see? Un-
likely — but maybe people could be
shamed into valuing their precious
cargo more than their electronic
lifestyles.
So to our police: If not already
doing so, please, even if someone’s
not texting and/or iTuning, tell
them where they belong on our
roads, and tell those attached to
their e-toys to leave them at home
and pay attention to their child.
We live on Post Canyon. Some
dimwits think it’s a drag strip! But
Post Canyon isn’t the only place we
see stroller/child endangerment! If
you don’t know the rules or won’t
disconnect long enough for an out-
ing, perhaps you should learn, go
by yourself or stay home.
Betty Osborne
Hood River
Duck pond
While shopping in the supermar-
ket, I noticed a 40-something dad
wearing an Oregon sweatshirt
going through some Quackish
paraphernalia with his children. I
stopped and said to him: “January
is almost over … tell me … have
you recovered from the National
Championship game?” He replied:
“Oh my gosh! Wasn’t that awful?”
But then I reminded him in order
to stay positive … simply recall …
relive … and cherish Oregon’s re-
sounding Rose Bowl victory! Sud-
denly he was grinning from ear to
ear as he replied, “Hey! That’s
easy! We were there and loved
every moment!” It goes to show you
… Ducks love talking to Ducks no
matter what pond they’re in.
Bill Davis
Hood River
Vaccination
Beginning in the late 1400s, epi-
demic infections killed many mil-
lions of Native Americans.
Despite medical science’s elimi-
nation of diseases like polio and
smallpox in the intervening cen-
turies, many advantaged people
have decided their children need
not contribute to your country’s
immunity protection, and when
groups of them visit an amuse-
ment park, we get a measles epi-
demic.
Go figure.
Dr. Chuck Haynie
Hood River
Students take
stand on
Klamath
Hello, my name is Zoe Swisher. I
am 16 years old and a junior at
Hood River Valley High School. For
my EA project I started a letter
writing campaign to raise aware-
ness of the current political and
environmental problems in the
Klamath River Basin. Within two
days of presenting my project to
the students of Hood River Valley
High School, I was able to gather
114 signatures. I have also met with
the Honorable Rep. Greg Walden
and discussed my project with
him, and I plan to meet with many
more state representatives and sen-
ators. My goal is to raise as much
awareness as I possibly can about
this issue.
Through my campaign I am urg-
ing congress to take further ac-
tions into passing an agreement
called the K.B.R.A (aka: the Kla-
math Basin Restoration Agree-
ment); this agreement allows the
removal of the four dams on the
Klamath River that pollute their
environment and are the center of
issues concerning water quality
and quantity, and the social wellbe-
ing of the surrounding communi-
ties. This agreement has been
stalled for over five years, and the
time for action is now.
This project is not only impor-
tant to me, but also to the students
of Hood River Valley High School
as well. As future voters we want to
see positive change in our state.
Zoe Swisher
Hood River
Punch Bowl
answers
To answer Mr. Chenowith’s
“Punchbowl Questions” (Jan 28
edition):
As was explained at a recent
public forum: Western Rivers Con-
servancy is the current owner of
the area around Punch Bowl falls.
They are not interested in long-
term ownership of the land, but
they are interested in keeping it
undeveloped. So they have gener-
ously offered to sell it to the Coun-
ty at approximately 50 percent of
market value. The County will pur-
chase and maintain the property
ONLY if they can secure a grant to
do so (i.e., the purchase will not
come out of the County’s general
fund). If this does not happen, the
land will go to another entity that
may not wish keep it open to the
public.
In regards to the gate at Tucker
Park: Closing county campgrounds
during times of low demand (win-
ter) makes fiscal sense. Camp-
grounds require staff to empty
garbage cans and clean bathrooms.
In regards to the gate on Middle
Mountain: The County Forester got
approval from the Board of Com-
missioners at a public meeting to
close that gate (and several others
on county forest). This request was
made because the roads are prone
to damage from traffic during the
winter months when they are
wet/muddy. Fixing miles of dam-
aged roads is expensive.
I suppose the county could re-
tain their seasonal workers year-
around and keep the campgrounds
open, and rock and re-grade the
roads, but that would require “a lit-
tle increase in property tax.”
Mike Schrankel
Hood River
‘The Hollow
Man’
The things I took away from
Greg Walden’s Hood River town
hall meeting tell the true picture of
the man. First and foremost is he is
a corporatist plutocrat. He tried to
deny he is in the top 5 percent of
the wealthiest Americans. His pub-
lished net worth says otherwise. So
he will never tax himself and his
rich compatriots, only vote to make
the wealthy tax breaks permanent.
He was happy to tell those in atten-
dance how proud he was to help
pass a bill helping small business-
es hire vets. My records show he
voted against this very thing when
it was proposed by Democrats.
Doesn’t that makes him a hyp-
ocrite? Oh, maybe, he is just a
party politician. He spoke of his ef-
fort to insure people needing home
health care where not left without
it. I then asked him what he meant,
in his letter to the editor, about his
pledge “to continue working hard
for policies that will improve ac-
cess to health care.” His answer
was, “I already did that.” Let’s see,
he voted against the ACA and
about 50 more times to repeal, gut,
defund, weaken or destroy the
ACA. He would take this all away
from the millions of Americans
that now have health insurance or
lower premiums. His actions make
his “pledge” pretty darn hollow. I
think the man himself is pretty
darn hollow.
Gary Fields
Hood River
Oppose SB 324
One of the first public hearings
of the Oregon Legislature’s 2015
session was for Senate Bill 324,
which extends the sunset for a low
carbon fuel standards (LCFS) pro-
gram set to expire Dec. 31.
The alleged purpose of LCFS is
to reduce the “carbon intensity” of
fossil fuels. Producers of biofuels
will be given “carbon intensity
credits” for their production of
“renewable” energy products. Sup-
pliers of gasoline and diesel will be
forced to purchase these “carbon
intensity credits” to “mitigate”
their carbon dioxide emissions.
The Department of Environmen-
tal Quality estimates this will in-
crease the price of gasoline by
about 19 cents per gallon. Con-
sumer user groups are estimating
costs to be closer to $1 per gallon.
SB 324 requires no notification
of the covert tax to be provided to
consumers. Most Oregonians won’t
realize that they are paying an
extra $2 to $20 to fill up their gas
tanks.
The LCFS is not really about sav-
ing the planet. Even the complete
elimination of ALL Oregon green-
house gas emissions would not re-
sult in a measurable difference in
global emissions.
It’s not about social justice, ei-
ther. Families living at or near
poverty levels spend the highest
percentage of their income for en-
ergy.
They will suffer the greatest
harm by forcing artificial and un-
affordable increases in energy
prices upon them.
Oregonians concer ned about
this misguided policy should con-
tact their state representatives and
senators and urge them to oppose
SB 324.
Sen. Doug Whitsett
Klamath Falls