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.