A4
V IEWPOINT
Hood River News,
Wednesday, June 3, 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
Class of 2015
Congratulations, graduates:
the education continues
C
ongratulations, Class of 2015, as you prepare to
step forth and accept your diplomas.
Be it for college, pursuing a trade, travel, the
military, work, or other post-high school en-
deavors, this year’s class deserves best wishes
for whatever happens down the road. Between HRVHS
and Horizon Christian, nearly 350 local youth are about
to take that next big step. And let us not forget the ac-
complishments of college graduates from our area who
have completed their degrees this spring.
The class song at HRVHS is “See You Again,” a bit of
a counterpoint to the winsome finality so often felt as
friends prepare to go their separate ways.
“See You Again” suggests these no-longer-kids pos-
sess a healthy sense of connection to the greater Hood
River community.
It is a reflection, perhaps, of the way the community
is integrated with the breadth of educational experi-
ences at all levels in K-12.
From agriculture to art, many community groups
contribute in some way to programs in and around
schools. Perhaps “See You Again” refers also to the up-
coming students who will greet, and be greeted by, op-
portunities made possible by school district and commu-
nity. Graduation is a testament not to the end of any-
thing but to the cycle of learning and involvement that
helps make growing up in Hood River so valuable.
Evidence of students grasping those opportunities is
what you see in the Class of 2015.
You watch an underclassman organize a community
event, rally for a cause, research and act as spokesman
for a community-based school project, and you see what
the graduates this year and in future are made of.
They’ve grown and learned from these experiences and
many are going to continue their education with the
help and encouragement of the community that nur-
tured them — to wit, local scholarships. As ever, the
community truly stepped up this year, channeling
$155,000 to local scholarships. These don’t happen on
their own. The funds that go to students are made possi-
ble by the community supporting the organizations that
provide them.
So perhaps the best way to honor this year’s gradu-
ates is to remember that future opportunities facing this
year’s juniors, or eighth graders, of kindergarteners,
happen when we get behind ongoing programs that cul-
minate in senior-year scholarships.
This summer and in the next school year, think of
the advancement made possible by support of a
fundraiser, dinner, or special community event. These
are reminders of learning that has happened, and the
community understanding that a diploma and a flower
are not the only things our young people will carry forth
when the cheering stops after graduation.
Positive
leadership
Several local educators have risen
above the turmoil surrounding our
budget woes and the Common Core
debate. I think all of these people de-
serve a great deal of credit for placing
our kids high on their priority lists.
Larry Wyatt is the music teacher
for both Westside and May St. Schools.
He donated his own time and in-
struments every week to teach
ukulele to any kid willing to learn. I
have not seen him without a smile on
his face in three years. Larry has con-
sistently been a positive influence for
our son and many others.
Rebecca Nederhiser is the music
teacher at HR Middle School. In spite
of her busy schedule with her own
drama, choir, and band concerts, she
managed to volunteer her time to play
her oboe at the Westside concert on
Thursday.
Superintendent Dan Goldman also
donated his time and bass-playing
skills despite the rather warm, jungle-
like environment in the Westside
gymnasium.
I spoke with a local teacher recent-
ly who admitted to voting for larger
classes at their own higher grade level
in order to permit more of the budget
to provide additional teachers and
smaller class sizes for the younger
kids in the district.
I am grateful for these individuals
who have been willing to put aside the
personal challenges of their job to be
the best teachers and role models pos-
sible.
Steve Kaplan
Hood River
No Arctic
drilling
Every once in a while I imagine
that the politics of climate change are
beginning to shift. That more of us
will get with a different program!
More of us will get that extravagant
use of fossil fuels is a fundamentally
bad idea for the planet. That rising
levels of carbon pollution in the at-
mosphere really is causing irre-
versible consequences for life all over
the world. That extreme weather and
all the drought in the Western U.S. re-
ally is related to our addictions with
limited market choices.
I imagine that someday soon, be-
fore it is too late, there will be the po-
litical will to do what we already
know how to do — regulate fossil fuel
extraction (keep oil and coal in the
ground) and develop and market al-
ternative forms of sustainable energy.
In May, President Obama granted
provisional approval for Shell Oil to
drill in the Arctic. What is he think-
ing? Arctic oil drilling is the mother of
bad ideas. Shell’s plan is disastrous
for our climate, for Arctic wilderness,
and for our region. How could such a
hopelessly bad and dangerous idea get
this far? How could we move in such a
few short years from burning oil and
melting the Arctic ice to now drilling
in its exposed waters in the hopes of
extracting more oil for burning? This
week President Obama ignored the
risks to our world and gave away an-
other slice of our future.
It is time for us to stop tolerating
the political cowardice that makes it
so hard to say NO to bad ideas. It is
time to say NO to proposals like the
one from Shell Oil that expands its al-
ready proven inept drilling expedi-
tions.
It’s time to demand a stronger polit-
ical will. The Chiukchi Sea, between
Alaska and Siberia, is not a new oil
supply for burning up the atmos-
phere. It’s a place to take a stand and
demand that politicians no longer
grant social licenses that put our self-
ish addictions before our communal
survival.
Rev. John Boonstra
Hood River
Poultry effort
All across this country, there are
many chickenistically inclined hatch-
eries where you’ll find amongst the
“Rooster Roster” direct descendants
of Foghorn Leghorn, who are li-
censed as Therapeutic Barnyard
Counselors. They want to keep the
morale high, as a weathervane’s eye,
and they recommend ways to not let
spirits droop … in the chicken coop.
For instance, say you’re at the annual
Poultry in Motion dance party, con-
verting beak to beak, why not go over
and ask that bashful chick to “trip the
light fantastic.” The Foghor n
Leghorn Counselors are going to al-
ways try … to figure out why … those
hens in the crowd … keep crying out
loud. No matter what season, be it
summer or fall, there must be a rea-
son, we can hear the Fowl Bawl.
Bill Davis
Hood River
Marketing scam
Once water is taken out of a spring
it is heavily processed for bottling and
distribution. Processing starts with a
large dose of chlorine. Then the water
molecules are squeezed backwater
through a micro membrane filter to
remove the residual chlorine. After
that it is hit with ultra violet radiation
and/or ozone before bottling. This is
not spring water anymore. I do not
know the particulars of Nestle’s pro-
cessing procedures but I have seen
what happens.
Spring water is an illusion in a bot-
tle. It needs to come out of a spring so
that the words “spring water” can be
on the label. A marketing tool. Duping
the consumer again. Any effluent
stream can be treated this way to
bring it to drinkable standards. Are
we really going to give up a priceless
natural resource for a marketing
scam?
Ann Lameka, food scientist
Mt. Hood
To new
CAST actors
Admit it. You’ve always been a lit-
tle curious about acting. Yeah, I’m
talking to you. Maybe you were in a
high school or college play. Maybe
not. But you’ve always wondered ...
what if ... maybe I could ...
I’m here to tell you to stop won-
dering! Get off yer bum and give it a
shot! A couple of acting classes was
all it took to convince me to follow
my bliss. I auditioned for CAST’s re-
cent production, ”Good People,”
landed a role, and proceeded to have
one of the most exhilarating, chal-
lenging and fun experiences imagin-
able: bringing the character Dottie
to life on stage.
From the play’s incomparable di-
rector, Judie Hanel, to each and
every one of my fellow cast mem-
bers and backstage crew, and to the
good people of Hood River, I couldn’t
have asked for or received more love
and support. And I couldn’t be more
grateful. Thank you, one and all.
So what are you doing still sitting
there? Get on over to CAST
(www.columbiaarts.org) and audi-
tion for your next (or first) great the-
ater experience!
Rhona Klein
Portland
EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK
Planks for the memories: ‘Park Your Age’ folly fills its last space
By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA
I
News editor
t’s been 57 years since the cre-
ation of Velcro and I know of
a 57-year-old man who defines
sticking to it.
Here is this year’s edition of
the annual “Park Your Age” col-
umn, in which I mark the number
of years I will turn upon June 5,
and hence the parking space I will
move to in the Hood River News
lot. (This year it is 57, except I
won’t – can’t – park there and this
is likely the last such column —
hurrah, right?)
For the uninitiated, I’ve written
about this almost yearly since 2001
when the numbers 1-65 were inex-
plicably painted on Hood River
News parking spaces. I had decid-
ed the reason was that everyone
could Park Your Age (PYA). How-
ever many years are young, that is
your space. The one for my age
then, 43, was well away from the
building and I liked giving myself
the walk several times a day and
leaving spaces nearer the
building to our customers and
those frail Twenty-Somethings I
work with. Most years, PYA
worked out, but some years the
space was either too close (44-45)
or the unavailable. So I would not
actually do PYA but something
close to it. The years 50-56 have
been a kind of exile, as parking
there is either impossible or un-
wise. In fact, 55 and 56 have, for
several years, been occupied by
our company’s massive dumpster.
And parking in the labeled 57 is a
no-go because the forklift drives
there.
Stay out of the way of a forklift
— unless you’re George Hood.
This is a 57-year-old ex-Marine
who just set the Guinness record
for planking (an endurance exer-
cise involving keeping the body
stiff and propped only on toes and
forearms). He held it for 5 hours
and 15 minutes. I doubt I could last
15 seconds.
Any celebration of 57 has to
start with Heinz, the condiment
conglomerate that recently merged
with Kraft, got its Heinz 57 brand
in 1892 when its owner saw a sign
for a footwear company with “22
kinds of shoes” and decided they
needed something similar, so he
chose “Heinz 57” for the sound of
it.
And what can you say about ‘57
Chevy. I am, famously, not a Car
Guy, but I’d have to say that other
than the Ford Model A or T, the ‘57
Chevy is the only classic car type
that everyone knows and can iden-
tify.
Meanwhile, I found the Velcro
invention reference on line and I
also kept running into references
to a “Dude 57,” who is apparently a
regular in on-line forums sur-
rounding Cummins truck manu-
facturer.
If parking space 57 was avail-
able I’d let Dude 57 take it.
To be clear: there are no as-
signed spaces for Hood River News
or the other businesses in our
building. The fun of each elapsing
year is to look at other ways that
number is meaningful, since I
have attached a lifestyle purpose
to a couple of foot-high digits
painted on the asphalt 14 years
ago. Getting older had the appeal
of being linked to places of honor,
the spaces at the top of the lot, far-
thest from the building.
But PYA, I am here now to ac-
cede, is defunct. I know of one
other person who in all these years
has adopted PYA, but they no
longer work here. At this windmill
I will no longer tilt. Since space 57
is unavailable, and 58-60 are spaces
we rent out, PYA is retired.as
of June 5, 2015. There is no further
point in it, especially since we
have reached that number which,
years ago, I knew would carry the
biggest cache. Sure, it was fun to
write about 45 with its vinyl-
record reference, 49 with all its
historical impacts, 50 for its half-
century appeal, and 55 for its repe-
tition and highway significance.
Spaces 58 and 59? They are the
JV team, but 57 ... I am biased but I
think it is the Coolest Number, and
a good one to stop on.
The other great cultural “57”
emblem is, of course,
Bruce Springsteen’s
song “57 Channels
(And Nothin’ On)”
from his 1992 Human
Touch album. (“I can
see by your eyes,
friend, you’re just
about gone/57 chan-
nels and nothin’
on”...)
It’s funny to lis-
ten to it and even
funnier in 2015,
when 57 channels
would be consid-
ered a meager
cable package in-
deed. Heck, I got
an E Street chan-
nel and 56 others
on Sirius alone.
The number was
probably outdat-
ed before the
album was re-
leased, but that
TOO CLOSE to pa
Photo credit
just under-
rk: next to space
57
,
th
N
ew
e
Hood River
s dumpster.
score’s the
Boss’s point
about the slip-
pery ease of excess.
Talk
As I stand at 57, it tells me that
to me in 2022.
it can be cool to be obsolete.
Will it still need me? Will it still
And who knows, I might return
feed me?
to PYA some day, when I can own
For now, PYA is done and, to my
one of the furthest spaces (and one
that is usually open), and one with mind, George “Plank man” Hood
is the Real Dude 57.
the second-coolest number: 64.