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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2015)
A4 V IEWPOINT Hood River News, Wednesday, July 1, 2015 JOE PETSHOW Publisher/President, Eagle Newspapers, Inc. TOM LANCTOT Past President, Eagle Newspapers, Inc. CHELSEA MARR General Manager KIRBY NEUMANN-REA Editor JODY THOMPSON Advertising Manager TONY METHVIN Columbia Gorge Press Manager DICK NAFSINGER Publisher, Emeritus (1933-2011) DAVID MARVIN Production Manager Subscription $42 per year in Hood River trade area. $68 outside trade area. NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION Printed on 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 Extreme Need No ban on fireworks — just be careful D o you think Sunday’s thunder storm was loud? It’s probably just a precursor to Saturday’s man-made noise event: the extensive enjoy- ment of personally-discharged fireworks will be the standard by this weekend, if it has not started already. Best way to enjoy pyrotechnics is to attend the dusk fireworks shows in Hood River and Cascade Locks, but of course we know that people will pur- chase their own devices and fire them off for amuse- ment of friends. And to the irritation of others, not the least is our pets. Keeping dogs and cats indoors is a good idea. What’s important to remember with this personal- ized celebration of Independence Day is the impact on others: pets, next-door-neighbors, five-blocks-over neighbors … plenty of people. Despite reports, no ban on fireworks has been or- dained by the State Fire Marshal, who lacks the au- thority to do so, but the force of experience of fire suppression agencies and their employees, combined with current conditions, suggest that a ban might not be such a bad idea. ■ It is dry out there. That rain that followed the thun- der and lightning on Sunday was a minor component of some terribly dramatic conditions that one state Forestry spokeswoman called “fire weather.” Jim Trammell put it another way: “About all that rain did was knock the dust off the fuels.” Trammel, the West Side Fire District marshal, joins other fire professionals in urging extreme cau- tion at July 4. Fireworks, in addition to camp-related cooking fires, will be the norm, but the problem is that it is in a tinder-dry environment that people are increasingly likely to do these things. If you are in the forest, avoid setting off fireworks. It is not worth the risk to human lives and property. If you are in town and want to set off fireworks, 3 a.m. might be a bit late, and more to the point, keep a hose and water bucket handy. Douse those devices in the bucket after you have used them; for personal safe- ty do not attempt to relight. Keep kids at a safe dis- tance and dogs in the house. Enjoy the show, then police your driveway or yard to make sure anything incendiary is gathered up and doused. If you use a public street to set off your fireworks, collect your debris, for the sake of safety and aesthetics. We all want to celebrate safely, and to keep matters safe for those around us. It is ironic that days after the July 1 total ban on burning takes effect, people are inclined to pull out matches and torch dangerous, al- beit festive, packets of paper and explosives. With these annual expressions of patriotism comes civic duty: please keep it clean and keep it safe — to the Extreme. O ur readers write Reality The Supreme Court ruled that the EPA “unreasonably interpreted the Clean Air Act when it decided to set limits on the emissions of toxic pollu- tants from power plants without first considering the costs of the industry to do so.” “.. Considering the costs of the in- dustry ...” That’s the reality. Jerry Giarraputo Hood River encourage everyone to think about their actions. Water should be used only for necessary purposes. Let’s work together and make a new trend in Hood River. Let’s support brown lawns. Let’s start conversations with our neighbors when we see them wa- tering grass. As a community, I en- courage us to make it unacceptable to have a green lawn. At the end of the day, we are all in this together. And it is going to take bold actions to make a difference. So let’s start making changes now. Charley Boonstra Hood River Yes to Nestlé TPP questioned Last night, I attended a town hall meeting at Cascade Locks City Hall. Part of the meeting was to hear an up- date on the proposed Nestlé Bottling plant, to be situated in our industrial park. It was well attended. It seemed that more than half of the audience was from out of town. They were disruptive and extremely rude and made it impossible for townsfolk to ask pertinent questions. I suspect that most of them were affili- ated with Water Watch and, in my opinion, did a disservice to their cause. I, too, have a concern for water as a resource, not only here where we have an overabundance, but worldwide. Water is necessary for human health, so it seems to me that bottled water is preferable for people to have at hand than soda or alcoholic beverages. If these people have such a burning desire to conserve water, they should work to limit population growth and the misuse of water as a feature in frivolous amusement parks and large housing developments. We want to see Nestlé locate here because we need the adequate paying jobs they will provide and the in- creased tax base our city needs to meet our municipal needs. Jean McLean Cascade Locks Bob Williams asks, June 27, that those attending Ron Wyden’s Town Hall question the senator’s approval of the new version of NAFTA, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Here is my report to Bob and others who did not attend the meeting. The senator deserves recognition for his successful effort to have the trade “agreement”’ out in public for the next 60 days before Congress votes on it. Wyden emphasized that, while transparency is a core value for him, trade deals, like union contracts, are negotiated behind closed doors until the details can be hammered out. This brought to my mind the bills Con- gress passes that have all manner of “resolutions” added to them that often have nothing to do with the original bill, or even negate the intent of the bill. So I gave the Senator a pass on this round. Among the many issues raised, Bob’s question about the corporate trade tribunals or ISDS (Investor State Dispute Settlement) of the TPP was the most asked question. At least four people gave it a go. Why so many tries you ask? Wyden came on strong with the reply that the corporate tribunals have never gone against our country, nor have we paid a single cent over any ruling. I think everyone was taken aback by his point blank re- fusal, of ISDS rulings relevance, to the issues we face. Since none of us had brought a list of the various dis- pute settlements that are causing havoc in the world such as the one Bob mentioned (Philip Morris vs. Aus- tralia), we were not able to effectively counter his argument. We still need to make the case with Wyden that the ISDS provision in trade bills is being used to threaten and sue, causing governments to set aside environmental, worker, and common sense protections in favor of Make a change Water. It is one of the most precious things on our planet. Because of climate change, Hood River Country recently declared drought. I don’t know about you, but it scares me to know that something so sacred is in scarcity. I am writing this letter to encourage everyone to make a change in the way we choose to live our lives. I still see people watering their lawns and sidewalks! I want to corporate profits. We failed round one. May we not fail round two, in the next 60 days. If everyone would call or write Senator Wyden with just one egregious example of an ISDS ruling, we could compile an impressive list for the one who prides himself on transparency. Karen Harding Mt. Hood Expedite trade I want to thank Senator Ron Wyden for taking time out on a very hot Sat- urday afternoon to share his views and address citizen concerns at the June 27 Hood River Town Hall meet- ing. One of the many important top- ics discussed was the 2009 Wilderness Bill, which directed the US Forest Ser- vice to engage in a land trade with Mt. Hood Meadows. The exchange in- volves MHM obtaining 120 acres of good development land in Govern- ment Camp and the USFS acquiring land in the Cooper Spur area that is owned by MHM, with the goal of pro- tecting the north side of Mt. Hood from development and creating more wilderness area. I am incredulous, as I believe that many others are, that it is now six years since the law has passed and yet the exchange has not taken place. Granted, it can be an involved process, but six years is a long time. Last month, in a community infor- mation meeting, Mt. Hood Meadows representatives shared MHM’s plans to start logging some of their ex- change land that borders Cooper Spur Rd, starting this summer. I appreciate that they notified the community in advance. They also seemed frustrated that the land exchange has not yet oc- curred. It is my hope that the US Forest Ser- vice will expedite the process and complete this land exchange. Soon. Sue Hartford Hood River Nestlé for CL On June 25 we had a town meeting. Again, people who don’t live here or pay taxes here were telling us what to do. They try to interfere with our city pet project. We don’t need your advice. Nestlé will provide jobs and tax money. We need this to happen for our city. You have a lot to do for your city. Our citizens want our city to progress and help the project to hap- pen. Yes for Nestlé. Nancy Renault Cascade Locks EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK Red and gray matters: True confessions of an erstwhile Rebel By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA I News editor am a Rebel. And a Saint, for a while. But mostly a Wildcat. I think of my own tribal- ism as we witness this new, and much-needed, national con- versation on the Confederate flag image. In Salem, a debate is rising on what to do with the Mississippi flag flying on a 50-states plaza on the capitol grounds. It is the only state flag still incorporating the Confederate design. Do we leave it flying because, as one official said, “No one has complained”? Do we just remove the Mississip- pi banner? Or do we replace it with an alternate one bearing the Magnolia State image? I suggest another course: the state could remove all 50 flags until the day that all southern states have permanently removed the Stars and Bars from all pub- lic property. Taking down all flags would be an act of solidarity at a time when our country could use such an example. ■ That said, I confess to my own youthful brushes with the “stars and bars.” My high school was South Al- bany, Home of the Rebels, “fight on Red and Gray,” I think we sang. From there I attended Mt. Hood CC, where I served a year as a Saint before heading to Lin- field College, where I became (and most identify as) a Wildcat. (My mascots in junior high were the Royals and the Vikings, so be- tween those two and the Rebels in my teens I was trending tyrants and autocrats.) Something led me, at age 8 on our family visit to Disneyland, to choose what now feels like a strange set of souvenirs. It was not a pair of mouse ears but a felt Confederate general’s hat — gray with red piping, go team! — and plastic sword. (Timeline context: this was 1966, and even Uncle Walt’s minions were unenlight- ened back then. I thought about calling the Anaheim gift shop to ask, but decided it is safe to say that today no such merchandise can be found in the Magic King- dom.) If my parents tried to dissuade me from spending my allowance on cheap representations of America’s brutal slave era, I do not recall it. I think it probably pained them, but they let me work my own way through these things. About that time we had an LP with classic American songs, among them “I Wish I Was In Dixie” (you know, “In Dixeland, I’ll take my stand, to live and die in Dixie ...”). I listened to that album a lot and I got that song in my head for a long time. Not that I fully understood it; “Loogie- Way, Loogie Way, Loogie Way, Dix- ieland” is how I thought it went. (Two surprising facts about the song, courtesy of Wikipedia: it was written in 1859 by a North- erner, Daniel Emmett of Mt. Ver- non, Ohio, and the Union band played it at the request of Abra- ham Lincoln when the president learned of the Confederate sur- render at Appomattox.) ■ I have also lived in Dixie. I spent my 18th summer working at a YMCA conference center in North Carolina, where my co- workers were mainly from Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Florida; I was one of two staffers from west of the Mis- sissippi. I know that summer I got into my share of stupid youthful arguments, being a stu- pid youth, but I recall not one in- stance of anyone mentioning or displaying, let alone defending, the Confederate flag. It might have happened, but what I recall was talking with a pastor who was there on the bridge in Selma in 1963, and waking up every morning to another anthem of the region, “Carolina in the Morning.” Back to South Albany: one of my assignments as a high school reporter, c. 1974, was to take a photo of the new mural on the SAHS gym, that of a Confederate soldier waving — you guessed it — the Stars and Bars. I am sure no one bothered to ask the three or four African-American stu- dents how they felt about it. I know I did not. It was just accept- ed. And my Stonewall Jackson Confederate hat? Not sure what happened to it, but the sword got snapped in two a week later by my older brother Brent. He was 12. I thought he was just being an ornery big brother. Now I know he was taking a stand.
