A4
V IEWPOINT
Hood River News,
Saturday, May 23, 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
O ur readers write
Memorial Day
Take a moment Monday,
in honored remembrance
Yes to Nestle
S
aluting our fallen can happen in many forms.
Monday is Memorial Day, when our nation
pays respects to the men and women who have
given the ultimate sacrifice for country.
It is important to separate Memorial Day the
meaningful holiday from Memorial Day Weekend the
annual vacation-picnic-camping trip-unofficial start of
summer aspect of this American tradition.
Enjoy your outing, but think about what is truly in-
volved.
Fying the flag is the simplest way to express respect.
Attending Monday’s 11 a.m. ceremony at Idlewilde
Cemetery is another. This solemn yet colorful occasion
is typically well-attended, but seats are always available.
It happens rain-or-shine, so appropriate gear is in order,
though the forecast is for 74 and cloudy.
If you can’t make the ceremony, take a minute at
some point in the day to consider the valor and dedica-
tion that Memorial Day is truly about. The National Mo-
ment of Remembrance resolution passed by Congress in
2000 recommends that at 3 p.m. local time, Americans
“voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a
Moment of Remembrance and respect, pausing from
whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or lis-
tening to Taps.”
The purpose of Memorial Day might be a little mud-
dled, and so are its origins, according to memorial-
day.org:
“Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day.
Over two dozen cities and towns claim to be the birth-
place of Memorial Day. While Waterloo, N.Y., was offi-
cially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by Presi-
dent Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove
conclusively the origins of the day.
“Regardless of the exact date or location of its ori-
gins, one thing is clear — Memorial Day was borne out
of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead. It was
officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868, by General John
Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the
Republic, in his General Order No. 11. “The 30th of May,
1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with
flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades
who died in defense of their country during the late re-
bellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city,
village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he pro-
claimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was
chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any partic-
ular battle.”
On Monday at the service and at all public buildings,
the flag of the United States will be raised briskly to the
top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to half-staff,
where it remains only until noon. It is then raised to
full-staff for the remainder the day.
The half-staff positon remembers the more than one
million men and women who have given their lives in
service. At noon, their memory is raised by the living,
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 cannot believe that a Cascade
Locks City Council member, Deanna
Busdieker, would oppose Nestle
Water locating a water bottling plant
in Cascade Locks.
The objection seems to be based on
the fact that Nestle is a very large
company that produces many diverse
products. To me, that is a positive. It
means that in economic downturns,
it has the ability to weather the
storm.
Ms. Busdieker ignores the fact that
the city is not offering to sell water
rights to Nestle. The offer is to sell
spring water to Nestle. The city will
then return water to ODFW gallon for
gallon.
If there is one resource we here in
Cascade Locks have, it is abundant
water. Remember, we get up to 80
inches of rain a year, double what
Hood River or Portland receive.
We have more water than we can
use. Why not sell it at a profit so that
we can afford to repair our streets,
have more than 27 hours a week of
law enforcement and repair our
water lines, which leak 48,000,000 gal-
lons of water a year. It’s true!
Jean McLean
Cascade Locks
False promises
Insurance is the sale of promises.
The policyholder pays premiums in
the present and the insurer promis-
es to pay claims in the future should
certain unwanted events occur
(death, auto accidents, sickness,
etc.). Sometimes, the promise will
not be tested for decades. For exam-
ple, I have life insurance with an is-
suance date of September 1, 1975,
which was purchased by my father
when I was a child. At the time of
this letter and forty years later, no
claim has been filed.
Therefore, both the ability and
willingness of the insurer to pay,
even if economic chaos prevails
when claims are filed, is all-impor-
tant. For example, when the housing
bubble burst, financial services firm
Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter
11 bankruptcy in 2008. The filing re-
mains the largest bankruptcy filing
in U.S. history, with Lehman holding
over $600 billion.
My automobile recently was in a
hit and run. I filed a claim. I took the
car to a local shop for an estimate. I
learned in Oregon, the insurance
company does not have to provide
original equipment manufacturer
(OEM) parts. I had to pay the differ-
ence between the aftermarket parts
and the OEM parts to restore my au-
tomobile to pre-accident condition. I
also learned the insurer gets to de-
cide what is replaced or repaired,
even if this is against the wishes of
the policyholder.
The auto body shop will not war-
ranty things they deem to be unsafe
and in need of replacement which
the insurance company says “repair
and not replace.”
This would almost be like me
sending in “partial payment” be-
cause I did not have an accident this
month. We need stronger laws which
force companies to pay full cost of
claims or be forced to refund past
premiums up to the disputed
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
amount.
Consumers are being defrauded
by adjusters looking to reduce expo-
sure while policyholders pay the full
premium to the agent. By the time
the time I have paid everything the
company is not paying, I will have
spent a full year’s premium in de-
ductibles, disallowables and disput-
ed pre-existing damages. Talk about
having it both ways!
Adam Goddin
Hood River
Reporting
needed
Joe O’Neill’s Letter to the Editor
about the school district’s budget is
excellent. But shouldn’t a break-
down of the budget be a story the
Hood River News should be doing?
Shouldn’t a story on the new Fed
regulations on oil trains be a story
the “News” should be doing?
Shouldn’t the lack of Hispanic rep-
resentation in local government be
a story the “News” should be
doing? Why are you guys reporting
on a woman pretending to be the
tooth fairy instead of doing some
real reporting?
Al Brown
Hood River
Memorial Day
Take time to remember those who
lost their lives in the service of our
country:
11 a.m. — Ceremony at Idlewilde
Cemetery, 980 Tucker Road, includes
presentations by American Legion,
the Boy Scouts, dedications, an an-
tique aircraft flyover. Veterans’
plaques, Hood River Valley High
School band.
Jerry Giarraputo
Hood River
Past clear cuts
I grew up in White Salmon and sup-
port small town economies that for
decades have relied on professions
like timber harvesting. I enjoy the
wood house that I live in. And enjoy
the smell of cut wood.
Recently, my girlfriend and I went
to popular hiking spot near Hood
River and noticed a massive clear cut
that is underway at the former trail
head. As we stood at the site of this
place we have recreated regularly ...
the native plants, the sounds of birds,
the trees ... are gone. When I see a
clear cut, I’m reminded at how archa-
ic they feel. My optimistic self wants
humanity to create lumber from plas-
tics and bamboo. Both of which are
plentiful and in the case of bamboo,
fast growing. I’m sorry that we
haven’t moved past clear cutting as a
practice and at the very least hope
that legislation can be passed to re-
quire selective logging at all timber
harvest sites.
Avery W. Hoyt
White Salmon, Wash.
Port thanks
The trail and open space projects
under construction on the Waterfront
today are the result of hard work and
collaborative efforts of many individ-
uals over several years. The Port of
Hood River wishes to acknowledge
the important contributions made by
Representative Greg Walden and Sen-
ators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley to
these projects. Rep. Walden and Sen.
Merkley actively supported an
amendment to the 2013 Water Re-
sources Development Act that al-
lowed trail construction to occur
within a federal flowage easement
along the Nichols Basin. Senator
Wyden ensured that a prior commit-
ment of federal funds for a trans-
portation study was available for trail
work near the Pedestrian Bridge. The
Port is grateful to these elected offi-
cials whose assistance has helped
make highly visible and long sought-
after enhancements to the Hood River
waterfront a reality.
Michael McElwee
Executive Director
Port of Hood River
Drive with care
Summer is coming quickly and
kids will soon be out of school for the
break. While my goal is to always
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
make sure my kids are safe and cour-
teous, they are just kids and they will
inevitably chase a ball into the street
or ride their bike across the street
without looking. Haven’t we all done
that?
I will share you a short story that
has been with me about 20 years. A
friend of mine lived in a nice commu-
nity similar to ours, lots of active fam-
ilies with kids. Their 4-year-old son
was out playing with his dad when a
driver was going too fast and the child
was short enough that the driver did-
n’t see him. Needless to say, my
friend’s son was hit and killed by this
driver. It can happen in split second.
We are all in a hurry from time to
time, but please just take a few extra
seconds or minutes and you could
save a life. Please drive with care and
be aware that there are cars parked
along the streets that can block a bike,
pet or child.
Melissa Martin
Hood River
Jody Thompson
Advertising Manager
JThompson@hoodrivernews.com
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 less, so this is set as an
upper level for length. Letters ex-
ceeding 350 words will either be
edited to 350 or returned to the
writer for editing and resubmis-
sion.
Unsigned letters, letters signed
with fictitious signatures and
copies of letters sent to public offi-
cials are not accepted.
We limit letters on a subject when
we feel it has been thoroughly aired,
to the point of letters becoming
repetitive.
Also rejected are letters that are
libelous, in bad taste or personal at-
tacks on individuals or private
businesses. Writers must include
addresses and telephone numbers.
These are for identification purpos-
es only and will not be published.
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