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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (July 15, 2015)
A4 V IEWPOINT Hood River News, Wednesday, July 15, 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 Heritage Council Recent disruptions raise the need for this vital organization to actively listen T he main thing the Hood River Heritage Council needs to think of this summer and fall is not his- tory but what is happening now, and indeed the future. Regarding the recent firing of Megan Shue- mate, the director it hired four months ago, it should be stressed that there is a distinct separation over that per- sonnel change and the resignation by the previous direc- tor, Connie Nice, in 2014. While this organization has endured plenty of tur- moil in 2013-14 over record-keeping, it moved into 2015 with new energy — thanks both to volunteers as well as Shuemate. That energy is visible in the current exhibit on the history of wind sports in the Gorge — definitely worth seeing — and the ongoing list of events and activ- ities happening this summer. However, this is a time for clarity and communica- tion by the Heritage Council, what with two director de- partures, for different reasons, in subsequent years, and the operational concerns hovering in the recent past. Who are we? What do we do? How are we organized? What is our mission? How can we improve our service to the community? These are questions that could be covered in a listen- ing session or two; perhaps one at the museum paired with tours of the facility, and another in the upper val- ley. In turn, the community can learn how to get in- volved in this vital organization. Setting aside any question of blame for past prob- lems and recent staff changes, with all the positives going on the museum this is the perfect time for the Heritage Council to tell its own story, and be willing to listen to ideas and even criticism. The museum moved to a regular pattern of outreach in the past few years, between events such as game days at the museum and the highly successful Cemetery Tales program heading in September to its sixth year. A couple of listening sessions, designed to inform as well as accept feedback, will not only continue that mission but provide a needed avenue to both healing and im- provement. Protect meadow Great local at High Prairie arts There is a proposed extension to the Cooks Meadow Trail 639 that has the last few hundred feet running through a meadow just below where a spring feeds it. This has just be- come known due to the project hav- ing the wrong categorization and the lack of any detailed information about it. Where the trail will be is soft ground and will easily be damaged by mountain bikes, especially in wet times. Even now in this drought, the spring was still wet. This proposal is about to get passed and there’s only a few days left (Sunday, July 19) to comment on it. Due to the lack of information, I am asking others to contact the For- est Service to have the comment pe- riod extended for at least a couple of weeks. Contact information can be found in the scoping letter for this project found at http://tinyurl.com/CMT639Scoping . Brian Schultz Mt. Hood Once again, such inspiring cul- tural events lately ... among them, the “Independence Eve” live radio broadcast last weekend, the most bicultural entertainment I’ve seen staged in my 30-plus years in Hood River. Thanks to Radio Tierra, the Bingen Theatre, all the organizers, performers and sponsors for such a great evening. Then last night I went to “Next to Normal,” along with seeing the “Best of the Gorge” exhibit, both at the Columbia Center for the Arts — beautiful art work to enjoy dur- ing the intermission of a really fantastic show. “Next to Normal,” an adult mu- sical about a family living with a mental illness and its many im- pacts, plays for two more week- ends. It’s intense, heartbreaking, serious and funny all at once. Hats off to director Mark Steighner and cast, crew and band for carrying off this ambitious work with such talent. Tina Castañares Hood River Highline safety ‘More normal kudos than not’ We are aware that the Hood River County budget has been ex- tremely tight in recent years which makes any improvement all the sweeter. Mikel Diwan, director, and the staff of the Hood River County Public Works Department and Bill Wheat, road crew fore- man, were very responsive to re- quests to repaint the rusting metal guard rails on a curve beside a dangerous drop-off on Highline Road. This road is frequented daily by school buses, cyclists, motorcycles and trucks as well as ordinary traf- fic and the newly painted rails pro- vide a necessary safety alert, espe- cially at dawn, dusk and at night. The road crew of Hood River County who carried out this work deserves kudos for their efforts on this project. Rebecca and John Kirkland Hood River In 2013, the American Psychi- atric Association published the DSM-5, a classification of psy- chopathology with over 500 diag- noses. Allen Frances, a prominent modern psychiatrist, criticized the DSM-5 in his book “Saving Nor- mal.” Frances argued that the DSM-5 over-pathologizes the nor- mal behavior of modern Ameri- cans. This year, CAST started its sea- son with “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?” and ended with “Next to Nor mal” (now in production). Both plays are about similar themes – dysfunctional relation- ships held together by the ghosts of the sons of the relationships. “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe” was a serious, unrelenting play with four actors. “Next to Normal” is a musical ensemble with six ac- tors, containing comedy and satire, but with the same unrelenting seri- ous theme. In watching “Next to Normal,” I was fascinated with the audience reaction. The members of the audi- ence stayed focused, often with se- r i o u s e x p r e s s i o n s. B u t t h e y laughed at the jokes, clapped after the songs, and gave the actors a standing ovation at the end. The mother, played by Emily Vawter, and the Freudian ghost, played by Duncan Krummel, were superb. In both of these plays, as much as we try to avoid doing so, we all see ourselves, our families, and our relationships. Superficially, “Next to Normal” appears to be a satire on modern psychiatry laced with a psychodynamic view of the causes of bipolar affective disorder. But like Ken Kesey’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” the play “Next to Normal” is more about us than about the limitations of psychiatry. To slightly alter a quotation by Harry Stack Sullivan, the first major American-born psychoana- lyst, “We are all more normal than not.” Roger Blashfield Hood River ABOUT LETTERS Hood River News reminds letter to the editor writers that shorter is better. Concise letters are not only better-read, they are more likely to be published because limited space is available. Almost any point can be made in 350 words or less, so this is set as an upper level for length. Letters ex- ceeding 350 words will either be edited to 350 or returned to the writer for editing and resubmis- sion. Unsigned letters, letters signed with fictitious signatures and copies of letters sent to public offi- cials are not accepted. We limit letters on a subject when we feel it has been thoroughly aired, to the point of letters becoming repetitive. Also rejected are letters that are libelous, in bad taste or personal at- tacks on individuals or private businesses. Writers must include addresses and telephone numbers. These are for identification purpos- es only and will not be published. W HERE TO WRITE President — Barack Obama, White House, 1600 Pennsylva- nia Ave., Washington D.C., 20500 E-mail: president@whitehouse.gov U.S. Senators — Jeff Merkley, SDB-40B, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington D.C., 20510. Phone: 202-224-3753; E-mail: oregon@merkley.senate.gov; Ron Wyden, 717 Hart Office Build- ing, Washington D.C., 20510. Phone: 202-224-5244. Web address: www.senate.gov/member/or/wyden/general/ 2nd Congressional District Representative — Greg Walden, 14 N. Central Ave., Suite 112, Medford, OR 97504. Phone: 541-776-4646; E-mail: www.walden.house.gov/contactgreg Governor — Kate Brown, 254 State Capitol, Salem, OR 97310. Phone: 503-378-3111; E-mail: www.governor.state.or.us/email.htm District 26 State Senator — Chuck Thomsen, 900 Court St. N.E., S-307, State Capitol, Salem, OR 97301. Phone: 503-986- 1726; E-mail sen.chuckthomsen@state.or.us District 52 State Representative — Mark Johnson, 900 Court St. N.E., Bldg. H-385, State Capitol, Salem, OR 97301. Phone: 503-986-1452; E-mail: rep.markjohnson@state.or.us Hood River County Board of Commissioners — Chair Ron Rivers, Vice Chair Maui Meyer, members Les Perkins, Bob Ben- ton and Karen Joplin, Hood River County Courthouse, Hood River, OR, 97031. Phone: 541-386-3970. Education: Oregon Promise bill holds just that tain a 2.5 GPA and stay continu- ously enrolled in courses to re- t 6:05 p.m. on July 7 the ceive an associate’s degree or ca- 2015 Oregon Legislative reer technical certificate you can Session came to an end. The final days and hours access up to 90 credits. Tennessee passed similar legislation last of a session are filled year and has seen millions of dol- with the consideration of a huge lars of new federal Pell amount of policy and bud- Grants flow into their get bills that must be state to support students. passed before the final Their community colleges gavel falls. This year I had have seen enrollments in- particular interest in one crease dramatically for bill that passed out late — next fall. SB 81. The Oregon Promise is Also known as the Ore- designed to address a cou- gon Promise, SB 81 is a ple of key concerns in bill I sponsored along Mark Johnson Oregon. One is the cost of with Sen. Mark Hass and college and the debt that Rep. Tobias Read that is students accumulate. The Oregon designed to make community col- Promise will say to those high lege affordable for all Oregon stu- school students who might not dents. The bill works like this: If have considered college as a possi- you attend an Oregon high school bility due to the costs, if you study and graduate with at least a 2.5 GPA, enroll in an Oregon Commu- hard and play by the rules, the state will make it possible for you nity College within six months of to attend and obtain a degree or graduating, and apply for and ac- career certificate. cept all federal and state grants The second is workforce devel- that you are eligible for, the state opment. Gone are the days when a will pick up the tab for the bal- student could graduate from high ance owed for the cost of tuition. school and find a good paying job In other words, the state pays the at a lumber mill or manufacturing last dollar. As long as you main- By REP. MARK JOHNSON A plant. More than two-thirds of all jobs now require some level of post-secondary education. The Oregon Promise will help more of our youth obtain the important ca- reer training needed in order to be financially self-sufficient and not have to rely on costly public assis- tance. It will also help provide the skilled workforce our private sec- tor needs in order to grow. SB 81 allocates $10 million to provide tuition support for stu- dents beginning in fall 2016. A companion bill I worked on con- tains an additional $7 million to build the support services neces- sary for students to successfully transition from high school to col- lege and to ensure they are mak- ing progress towards completion. Recent figures estimate that there are 70,000 people between the ages of 18-24 in Oregon who don’t have a job or any post-sec- ondary education. I believe the Oregon Promise can begin to change this troubling statistic by investing in education leading to a more prosperous society. ■ State Rep. Mark Johnson, Dist. 52, lives in Hood River.