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.