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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (May 27, 2015)
A4 V IEWPOINT Hood River News, Wednesday, May 27, 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 HRV athletes Track and baseball shine C ongratulations and good luck wishes go to the Hood River Valley High School track and field and baseball teams, and to Horizon Christian School athletes. The Eagle girls and boys teams both took fourth last weekend in the 5A meet at University of Oregon, con- sidered the best-ever combined finish for Eagle track and field teams. Special recognition goes to two athletes: junior Sebast- ian Barajas for his repeat win in the discus, and senior Jestena Mattson, who in addition to placing second in the high jump, won again in the 100- and 200-meter running events. Thus she completed her personal dominance of both events since her freshman year. Meanwhile, the diamond guys continue their 5A cham- pionship quest with a first-round playoff today at home against the Dallas Dragons. It will be great baseball weath- er — in the 80s, so perhaps a bit too warm — at Traner Field at 5 p.m. today, so turn out if you can and support this talented and dedicated team. In addition, Horizon Hawks’ steadily-progressing track team has two 1A champions: triple jumper Hannah Kempf, a senior, and 1,500-meter winner Salvador Ramirez, a ju- nior. When it comes to any sport, kudos go to the entire team and coaches, but it is especially so in track and field. The spirit and drive needed to win in individual efforts takes a unique kind of team approach that often goes under-appre- ciated. There is no denying the contributions of the up and coming athletes, or those who might have scored fewer points or not have placed. The athletes work out as well as compete together. They must run, jump, or throw in what appears to be a solo act, yet it is the camaraderie that car- ries the team-mates to success at the district and state meets that stand as the goal of all competitors. Blood Drive Donors help prevent seasonal shortage A s the days get longer, the need for blood donations grows and donors can be harder to find. The American Red Cross urges donors to choose a day to donate blood or platelets during the “100 days of summer, 100 days of hope” cam- paign, officially sponsored by Suburban Propane. “Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer and vacation season, and the start of a seasonal decline in blood and platelet donations,” said Jared Schultzman, communications manager, Pacific Northwest Blood Ser- vices Region. “By choosing a day to give blood or platelets, volunteer donors can give hope and help maintain a suffi- cient supply for patients in need.” Summer vacations and travel can contribute to less availability for people to give blood or platelets. In a spring survey of Red Cross blood and platelet donors, nearly 90 percent indicated plans to take vacations this summer. However, patients don’t get a summer holiday or vacation from needing lifesaving blood. The Red Cross relies on vol- unteer donors for the 15,000 blood donations needed every day to support patients at about 2,600 hospitals and trans- fusion centers nationwide. The summer campaign began Memorial Day weekend and runs through Labor Day weekend. To donate, visit red- crossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental consent in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school stu- dents and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements. Thank you, friends, agencies Last Friday morning I was walk- ing my dog Lilo and a friend’s dog Libby on the Indian Creek trail, a ritual that my dog and I enjoy on a regular basis. As per usual, I kept the dogs on a leash until we reached the east trailhead. There the dogs were free to sniff and have fun. Both of these dogs are elderly and move slowly, which gives me time to enjoy this great trail and ponder the day’s ac- tivities. We ambled south and when we reached the area of the bench, I en- countered a friend. We chatted for a short time when I heard a scram- bling sound. My friend and I turned to see Lilo sliding down a steep gravely chute towards the Hood River. I was upset knowing Lilo has severe arthritis and is about 95 percent deaf. She stopped at a gravel ledge about 30 feet down, still in one piece but pretty panicked. I called the Hood River non- emergent dispatch line. Bill lis- tened patiently then went into ac- tion to get help. I also called a neighbor/friend, who is an em- ployee at the Hood River City Pub- lic Works. Hood River PD’s Mike Martin ar- rived first. My friend Oz was next to arrive with his truck and climb- ing gear. Soon HRPD’s Juan Pulido (brought public works harness), HRSO’s Mike Anderson, Westside Fire’s Josh Beckner and Hood River Fire Intern Mikayla Young were on scene. In short order I was in a climb- ing harness and went down to res- cue my best friend. Mike Martin used his incredible strength to belay me down to Lilo, then back up the steep incline with an extra 60-pound canine training weight in tow. It seemed like two hours, but within about 45 minutes from the fall, we were back to safety. I want to thank Bill, Hood River Dispatch, Oz, Hood River Public Works, Mike, Juan, HRPD, Mike Anderson, HRSO, Josh, Westside Fire, Mikayla, HR Fire, Wanda, and all the citizens who stopped to offer support and prayers. Thank you Parks and Recreation for maintain- ing this trail and Chief Wells for the photographs. Julie Wilcox Hood River percent or 80 percent or whatever would then still be millions of gal- lons of water trucked away while townspeople might not be able to wash their clothes as often. I think that this is the one area where Gov. Brown and others can modify the contract, if the hugely increased I-84 traffic and other problems are not enough to quell this deal. It is to me, and I would think to the citizens of Cascade Locks, a deal breaker that Nestle jumps ahead of the residents of this county if the formerly unthink- able, but this era’s more possible water deficiency happens. Unless this deal is modified, we might someday soon find ourselves follow along behind trucks car rying water out of state or even out of the country while we suffer in our homes more than we would have to if we were more careful now. I also think that our gain in water security should be balanced, if this whole deal is quashed, by some grants to potential workers to make them whole from the loss of income they were counting on. This principle should also be ap- plied to the Keystone Pipeline and other projects that are unwise but supported by the real need for jobs. We cannot save our environment on the backs of working people; if we are to gain, they cannot be al- lowed to lose. Bob Williams Hood River Whose water right? Nestle deal wrong We have 1893 water rights, and were told when we first bought our place that we should never give them up because if there is ever water rationing, we will be the last to lose ours. It is not the same for Nestle in the Gorge. When I read of the Nestle plan to bottle and sell Cascade Locks water, I called the city manager that morning to ask one question: If water was ever rationed in Cascade Locks, would Nestle be the first to lose their purchase rights or would Nestle merely be cut off by the same percentage as the townspeople? He told me that Nestle would in drought lose only the same percent- age as the longtime, citizen users. 95 Jean McLean’s letter of May 23 does not surprise me, but it sad- dens me. I thought we were past the personal politics in Cascade Locks after the defeat of the casino and because of the hard work we have done towards a broader communi- ty envelopment of all opinions and local economic development. If one writes, “The opinion seems,” then one does not know the opinion, and not has made any at- tempt to ascertain the opinion. We all would like to see our streets re- paired, our water supply secured, yet expecting Nestle to pay for it is not feasible as Nestle is going to build in the free enterprise zone that the Port set up during Mrs. McLean’s time in politics. We will see no money from Nestle for about 5 years. U n f o r t u n a t e l y, n e i t h e r o u r streets nor pipes will wait. Mrs. McLean ignores the fact that it is not Cascade Locks’ water to sell, that the spring water be- longs to the State of Oregon. Again, the false fact of our rain- fall is brought to the table. Most of our rainfall drains directly into the Columbia River. If Nestle wanted our rainwater, they are welcome to it. They don’t want it. They want the spring water so that they can charge premium prices for it and send that profit out of the state, and out of the U.S. They only want our municipal water if they get the spring water from Oxbow Springs, otherwise, no deal. Our Governor has declared 15 counties to have drought condi- tions. Only the uninformed would give water away at this time. Kate Stuart Cascade Locks Please notify How does pesticide spray affect the kids at Westside Elementary? Why aren’t parents notified when the farmers spray? Why have the orchards across the street from the school neglect- ed to inform parents and staff of times when they spray? It seems completely unfair to not inform parents of the drift in spray that their kids are being subjected to. Who will pay for our medical ex- penses? My young children are al- ready suffering early signs of res- piratory problems. Samantha Joan Hood River No rain It is misleading when people state that because Cascade Locks has 80 inches of rain a year, there is plenty of water for Nestle to bot- tle. No one bottles rain. Nestle wants to bottle spring water, which comes from snowmelt from Mt. Hood. We all know that the snow- pack is less than half the normal amount, and Governor Brown has n ow d e c l a r e d 1 5 c o u n t i e s a s drought emergencies in Oregon. There is no extra water to bottle at this time. Pamela Larsen Hood River YOUNG VOICES Let’s lead the way in ending plastic bag use By COOPER CASE I am writing this letter to re- quest your assistance in creat- ing a plastic bag ban or fee in Hood River. I believe it would positively affect our city in a variety of ways. Although most people don’t think much about plastic bags, we go through a staggering number of them in a short period of time. Throughout the past week, our class called various people and stores in the community to collect data. From only the major super- markets, such as Safeway, Rosauers, and Wal-Mart, approxi- mately 10,800 plastic bags are used per day. An employee at the town dump estimates that 10 percent of the town’s garbage is plastic, and the most common plastic garbage is plastic bags. Also, 80 tons of garbage comes in every day, and 10 percent of that is plastic. That means 16,000 pounds of plastic are thrown away each day, which doesn’t even account for the amount recycled (which releases greenhouse gases) or simply tossed on the ground for some hapless bird to pick up, eat, and choke on. Speaking of animals, plastic bags are actively destroying the world around us. I assume you al- ready know that plastics do not biodegrade. We throw them away, and they just sit there for thou- sands of years. They don’t even truly decompose; they just break down into smaller and smaller pieces. This process actually re- leases toxic chemicals into our ocean, which affects the marine life negatively. And even outside of fancy chemicals, it certainly isn’t healthy for any animal to eat float- ing plastic bags, which bear a striking resemblance to jellyfish in the eyes of animals such as gulls, turtles, and salmon. Salmon are some of the most common fish found and caught in Hood River. Of course, there will always be people who think, “Well, what’s that got to do with me?” While it may seem inconceivable, the plas- tic we use so often can cause prob- lems for humans’ health. Think of a plastic bag that gets tossed care- lessly to the street in a city. Let’s say the wind picks it up and blows to a river. This bag goes down- stream, eventually reaching the ocean and the wide expanse of marine life it contains. A hungry fish, assuming it is food, eats the plastic bag, which causes toxic chemicals in the fish we eat. Of course, this isn’t solely limited to fish, but also birds or even mam- mals that mistake it for food. And even if the bag isn’t directly eaten, it breaks down into teeny- tiny little particles that are also harmful to animals, and by exten- sion, us. We all know how delicious salmon is, and it’s easy to catch too. But would you want to east a salmon poisoned by the toxins in plastic? Another popular argument is, “We’re just one town. What could just a plastic bag ban/fee do that would help the world?” However, Hood River is a tourist attraction, especially in summer. If people from other towns come and see how well we’re doing with a plas- tic bag ban/fee, they might be in- spired to suggest a similar ban/fee to their own city council. Hood River may well become a starting point for a large-scale lowering of plastic bag usage. Also, other cities such as Portland have been banning plastic bags too. Remarkably enough, only five complaints have been issued, and the statistics of paper and reusable bags are skyrocketing: the use of reusable checkout bags went up by 304 percent, and recy- cled paper bag use enlarged by 491 percent, according to the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustain- ability’s one year report on check- out bags. In conclusion, a plastic bag ban/fee would lower the incredi- ble amount of trash we use, help the environment, prevent bag-re- lated health issues, and possibly prove to other cities how unneces- sary plastic bags are to modern so- ciety. Thank you for your help. ■ Cooper Case, 14, is an eighth-grader at Wyeast Middle School.