A4
V IEWPOINT
Hood River News,
Saturday, May 9, 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.
Thanks for
kindness
KIRBY NEUMANN-REA
Editor
Thank you to the kind man who
gave an eight-year-old boy an extra
dollar at Rosauers last weekend to
buy ice cream for his grandpa’s
birthday cake. It was the second or
third time he’s ventured to the
store on his own, and he hasn’t
learned yet how everything works.
Thank you for being the sort of
person who notices and helps. I
wanted you to know that you also
helped me (his mom) to let him go a
little more, and know that he’ll be
okay out there.
Leah Hedberg
Hood River
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
McCarthy for
Parks and Rec
Member of the Associated Press
Good Parents
Resources rise for local families
T
here’s a scene in the play “Good People,” on
stage at CAST, in which two friends from the
same South Boston neighborhood debate why
one of them succeeded in life and the other did-
n’t — how one got “a leg up.” Hard work is one
thing, but to what extent do circumstances determine
how we fare later on?
“You had a parent checkin’ your homework,” the out-
of-work single mom tells the physician, 30 years since
they last saw each other.
No one factor decides how a person will do in life,
and the play considers the general socio-economic fac-
tors which might have hindered kids growing up in
South Boston, the same things that can hinder a kid in
any town in Oregon: low income, uncertain nutrition
and housing, unsafe neighborhoods, lack of health care,
and absent or uninvolved parents.
But a parent checking homework, or in some similar
way taking the time and showing an interest, is undeni-
ably a positive influence.
And sometimes it is the parent that needs “a leg up.”
Next week is National Parenting Education Week,
and as future editions of the Hood River News will
show, more and more things are happening in Hood
River County in terms of giving parents new and better
tools for nurturing their children. As well, there are
those mentoring programs that serve as an auxiliary to
meeting the challenges of serving kids who could use a
bit of attention that parents might not give or be
equipped to give.
These include the newly-formed Home Visiting Con-
nection, coordinated by Hood River County Health De-
partment and North Central Public Health District, in
association with other seven other sponsoring agencies
in Hood River, Wasco, Sherman and Gilliam counties.
The Connection provides education and outreach for
families, women and babies on subjects ranging from
car seat safety and post-natal questions to safe relation-
ships and toddler behavior concerns.
The Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative re-
ports that brain research shows that the quality of par-
enting affects a child’s physical, social, emotional and
cognitive development. Good parenting is not instinc-
tive, it is learned, and that parenting education honors
the important work that parents do, helping them gain
skills and strategies, as well as realistic expectations for
themselves and their child.
According to the Collaborative:
■ Improved knowledge of positive parenting prac-
tices will promote loving and skilled parents, helping
ensure the well-being of children.
■ Parenting practices are significantly influenced by
one’s own upbringing;
■ Of all the things that influence a child’s growth and
development, the most critical is reliable, responsive,
and sensitive parenting;
■ Children must have early relationships that pro-
vide stability, consistency, affection, and responsiveness
as well as protection from harm and support for growth
of new skills and capabilities.
Access to help is already a proven priority among
local social service agencies, and more help is on the
way. It neither starts nor ends with checking your kids’
homework, but involves establishing a consistent aware-
ness and attitude so that parents see fit to do so, and
kids know they can expect such nurture.
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/
Chelsea Marr
General Manager
CMarr@hoodrivernews.com
Founded in 1905
419 State Street
Hood River, OR 97031
P.O. Box 390
Phone: (541) 386-1234
Operations:
Joe Petshow
Publisher
President, Eagle Newspapers
JPetshow@hoodrivernews.com
Chris Stenberg
Bookkeeper
CStenberg@hoodrivernews.com
Front Office/
Classified Advertising:
Kelly Gallagher
Eagle Classified Director
KGallagher@eaglenewspapers.com
Stacey Methvin
Classifieds/Receptionist
HRNClass@hoodrivernews.com
SMethvin@hoodrivernews.com
I strongly support Michael Mc-
Carthy for the Hood River Valley
Parks and Recreation District
Board. Mike is one of the most ex-
perienced and thoughtful people I
know. He has lived and farmed in
Parkdale for over thirty years and
has served our community for
decades on a wide variety of elect-
ed and volunteer boards, including
Hood River County Fair 4H and
FFA Livestock Auction, Middle
Fork Irrigation District, Crystal
Springs Water District, chairman
of Hood River Grower Shipper As-
sociation Marketing Committee,
and Hood River Valley Residents
Committee.
Along with a wealth of experi-
ence, Mike also has clear goals for
the Parks District. While operation
and maintenance of the pool
should continue to be the primary
function of the Parks District, he
also believes in working coopera-
tively with other public entities in
the county on a long-term plan for
the efficient management of area
parks and the development of new
athletic fields for our youth sports.
Mike has stressed the importance
of transparency and financial re-
sponsibility in all his public work.
If elected, he will bring the same
values of accountability to his role
on the HRVPRD board.
Please join me in voting for
Michael McCarthy for Hood River
Valley Parks and Recreation Dis-
trict.
Ron Cohen
Mt Hood-Parkdale
It’s gorse, of
course
That yellow wanton weed
Extract it I say
But Scottish broom in bloom, in-
vading blight,
Brighter than the moon at night,
Distracts us from our course,
Extract it I say
Keep it at bay
Resist that yellow tide
Let native plants abide
Extract it I say
And with it, all deception nd de-
ceit.
Chris Emerson
Hood River
Return college
to health
My name is Lee Fairchild and I
am running for the CGCC Board of
Education because, like most of
you, I believe that there are very
serious problems at the college
that can be repaired by a more
proactive board. I believe that the
CGCC budget over the last few
years is unsustainable, and also be-
lieve that the current cuts pro-
posed to improve the budget bal-
ance are too heavily weighted to-
ward reducing what the college is
there for — teaching classes and
helping students get a quality edu-
cation.
My experience will give me the
perspective needed to solve the dif-
ficult problems the board faces. My
background includes earning a
PhD in Geology and teaching at the
university level. I understand how
the academic system works. I have
also worked for corporations large
and small during my career and for
Circulation:
Esther K. Smith
Circulation Manager
(541) 386-1234 Ext. 205
ESmith@hoodrivernews.com
News:
Kirby Neumann-Rea
Editor
HRNews@hoodrivernews.com
Ben Mitchell
News/Features
BenMitchell@hoodrivernews.com
the last 15 years have run my own
geologic consulting business. I
know how to approach budgetary
problems from both an academic
view point and a practical business
view point.
Finally, my wife and I have con-
tributed substantially to the CGCC
foundation for many years, so we
have a personal financial incentive
to ensure that the college remains
a viable and thriving institution
for years to come.
I hope that you will elect me to
the board so that I can represent
you in the process of returning the
CGCC to good health.
Lee Fairchild
Mt Hood-Parkdale
College support
With CGCC being in such dire fi-
nancial straits, it is extremely im-
portant that we have an attentive
board of directors.
Sadly, this is not the case now.
Four members from Wasco County
are asleep at the wheel, and two of
three members from Hood River
County may be awake, but they don’t
know which direction to turn. (The
exception is Stu Watson, who actual-
ly does his homework and comes to
meetings prepared. Re-elect Stu Wat-
son.)
In addition to re-electing Mr. Wat-
son, I urge voters to vote for Lee
Fairchild and Guy Fenner, both of
whom are intellectually engaged.
We need board members who are
more than a rubber stamp. Watson,
Fairchild and Fenner will oversee
college business with careful eyes,
and that is what we need.
Tim Schell
Portland
CGCC Board
openings
There are three open Hood River
positions on the May ballot for
community college board members
in the Columbia Gorge Community
College district. After serving for
15 years, I’ll be stepping down to
possibly apply for part-time teach-
ing positions at the college when
they arise.
Obviously I can’t be an employee
if I’m also a board member.
CGCC, like nearly all community
colleges in the country, belongs to
the national Association of Com-
munity College Trustees (ACCT)
organization. ACCT provides state
and local CC organizations help
and resources in college policy for-
mation, board training and gover-
nance, and other programs and
services. At the core of these is the
ACCT Code of Ethics and Best
Practices, which CC boards use as
a foundation at their local institu-
tions.
Central to standards is that the
board represents the community in-
terests and investment in their local
college. The board is responsible for
hiring a college president to imple-
ment college policies approved by
the board. As such, the board is ex-
pected to cooperate with and sup-
port the president, who is their only
staff connection to the college. The
board determines the overall poli-
cies and does not get involved with
internal day-to-day operations. Ob-
viously, through the president, the
board also represents management
in labor negotiations.
The board is expected to focus on
the success of the entire college as a
For Brostoff
We’d like to encourage you to
vote for our friend Rob Brostoff for
District 1 position on our school
board, representing West Side and
Cascade Locks elementary schools.
Rob has represented the people of
Cascade Locks on the school board
for three years. He’s also mentored
our elementary students in chess
and works with the SMART pro-
gram, reading to our students. In
addition, he’s a current member of
our Port budget committee and has
been on the budget committee for
the city, served as councilman and
planning commissioner. He also
served on the emergency services
committee, rebuilding our fire and
ambulance services. When he’s not
working for us here, he’s working
on minimum wage and affordable
housing issues in the greater Port-
land area as a member of Port-
land’s City Club, where he’s on the
research board. Please help main-
tain the quality of Hood River
schools and bring equity and op-
portunity for all Hood River stu-
dents.
Joe and Nancy Renault
Cascade Locks
Need coverage
It would be a great service to the
electorate of H.R. County if this
mass media (H.R. News) would treat
these District elections similar to
the City Council and County Com-
missioner’s elections, affording us
with the candidate’s qualifications
and goals for their desired position
of public service, rather than the
electorate depending on biased let-
ters to this column.
Alan Winans
Hood River
Support Arnold
Charlotte Arnold has proved her
commitment for lifelong learning
by working tirelessly as a board
member at CGCC for the past four
years. Charlotte will help lead the
college in facing the challenges as
the state grapples with funding ed-
ucation in Oregon. Charlotte is
passionate about assuring that the
college remains a viable education-
al intuition in the face of these dif-
ficult times. Please help her con-
tinue her effort. Re-elect her to Po-
sition 4 on the CGCC Board for an-
other four years!
Joanne Pollack
Hood River
Trisha Walker
News/Features
TWalker@hoodrivernews.com
Liana Stegall
Advertising Sales
LStegall@hoodrivernews.com
LisaAnn Kawachi
News/Features
LKawachi@hoodrivernews.com
Kirsten Lane
Advertising Sales
KLane@hoodrivernews.com
Patrick Mulvihill
News/Features
PMulvihill@hoodrivernews.com
Ailene Hibbard
Archivist
Advertising:
Jim Drake
Entertainment
JDrake@hoodrivernews.com
whole and not just a few individuals
or personal interests, just as the
community would expect.
Although a board member might
disagree with other members over
an issue, once a board decision is
made then all members are to sup-
port that decision and speak with
one voice. Public dissent not only
cripples the board, but also devalues
the college to students, employees,
and the community. Open communi-
cations and transparency, within the
law, is paramount.
Of the candidates running for the
open Hood River positions, I person-
ally know that Charlotte Arnold (in-
cumbent), Becky Kopecky, and
Christina Suarez all pledge to abide
by the ACCT Code of Ethics and
Good Practice standards, and I sup-
port their election to the CGCC
board.
Dave Fenwick
Hood River
Jody Thompson
Advertising Manager
JThompson@hoodrivernews.com
Production:
419 State Street
Hood River, OR 97031
P.O. Box 390
Phone: (541) 386-1234
David Marvin
Production Manager
DMarvin@hoodrivernews.com
Tony Methvin
Plant Manager
(541) 386-1234
TMethvin@columbiagorgepress.com
Jim Drake
Production
JDrake@hoodrivernews.com
Sarah Methvin
Sales/Customer Service
SDMethvin@columbiagorgepress.com
Lisa Becharas
Commercial Printing
LBecharas@columbiagorgepress.com