A4
V IEWPOINT
Hood River News,
Saturday, July 18, 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
Saving the Slough
S
ometimes the lowest points need our highest vi-
sion.
Credit to Arthur Babitz for putting his re-
search skills and his passion into calling our at-
tention to an important opportunity to protect
our environment while enhancing our sense of history.
Babitz blended his knowledge of two things that
only seem disparate — local history and storm water
management — to present his “Saving the Slough” pro-
posal Monday to City Council. Babitz rightly sees ways
the city and other entities can work together to im-
prove the habitat as well as human connection to what
he called “a piece of local history” — the wetlands at
the northeast edge of downtown.
Babitz gave what he called a “preliminary analysis”
for saving the slough, which is jointly owned by Port of
Hood River, ODOT, and Union Pacific. Babitz, who was
mayor from 2008-14, said the small lake and surround-
ing marshland, totaling about 4 acres, is the
last vestige of riverfront property from the 19th centu-
ry, when it was a high traffic zone — as in the landing
area for cross-Columbia ferries and riverboats that car-
ried passengers and cargo up and down the
river. Babitz laid out the basics of a plan, which will
undergo further consideration by the landowners, to
remove invasive vegetation such as Himalayan black-
berry, canary grass and black locust, and bring in na-
tive species such as rose, Oregon grape, flowering cur-
rent and buckwheat.
Babitz’s vision is worth getting behind. Union Pacif-
ic needs to get on board, but the Port and ODOT pieces
are the largest portions of the property, and since these
are public agencies it should take little time or effort to
get the city, port and state agency to take a walking
tour together and formulate the start of a plan for
what Babitz said is the most immediate concern: get-
ting rid of the cattails, canary grass, blackberries and
other species, and bringing in ones that belong there
and will be beneficial to this long-stressed micro-ecolo-
gy. Babitz also believes in the pathway’s potential as a
natural habitat showcase and improved pedestrian con-
duit between downtown and the waterfront.
■
The slough seems like an unassuming, if not ne-
glected, place. A canary-grass choked pond has its own
beauty, especially when heron and red-winged black-
birds hang out there, as they often do. The slough is lo-
cated just north and east of Mount Hood Railroad, next
to downtown. A city pedestrian path runs between the
pond and Interstate 84, accessible from the Second
Street overpass. The path takes in the wetlands and
then loops under the freeway to the waterfront.
■
One way to accomplish that connection is to turn to
Art of Community, aka “Big Art,” the outdoor gallery
of large sculptures arrayed around downtown Hood
River and the waterfront.
More Big Art sites are to be added in August for the
2015-16 gallery, including some sponsored by the City of
Hood River. For next year, or for the 2016-17 iteration,
why not place “Big Art” along the path? It could go at
the head of the trail – at the Second Street overpass –
or to the east, perhaps where it meets the Hood River
and curves underneath the overpass. The
urban/natural setting such as this is always an in-
triquing setting for artistic expression. This would es-
pecially be the case if combined with benches, inter-
pretive signs, and a viewing platform, as Babitz envi-
sions.
Such a location would be interesting on its own but
it would also tie in, literally, to the way Art of Commu-
nity is gaining a better connection, as a tour, between
downtown and the river.
By the way, printed copies of the map can be ob-
tained at the Columbia Center for the Arts at Third
and Cascade and at the Chamber of Commerce Visi-
tors’ Center next to the marina, and the current gallery
of Art of Community sculptures will remain in place
through late August. The deadline to vote in the Peo-
ple’s Choice is Aug. 15.
To cast your ballot, go to art-of-community.com; look
for “voting” tab at top right.
Chelsea Marr
General Manager
CMarr@hoodrivernews.com
Founded in 1905
419 State Street
Hood River, OR 97031
P.O. Box 390
Phone: (541) 386-1234
Fax: (541) 386-6796
Operations:
Joe Petshow
Publisher
President, Eagle Newspapers
(541) 386-1234
JPetshow@hoodrivernews.com
Chris Stenberg
Bookkeeper
CStenberg@hoodrivernews.com
O ur readers write
Draw your point
by Monday
Are you ever frustrated with the
350-word limit for Hood River News
letters to the editor? Have you ever
had a strong opinion about some-
thing going on in our community
or the world, and wished you had a
strong way to express it? Here is
your chance! The Hood River Coun-
ty Fair is coming right up.
The Hood River News sponsors
an editorial cartoon contest for
adults and teens at the fair. Take
that strong thought, that idea, and
say it with an image. It is both
harder and easier to draw than you
might think.
Give yourself a challenge this
weekend! Entries are due at the fair-
grounds on Monday, July 20, from 1-
7 p.m. or by Tuesday, July 21, 8:30 to
10:30 a.m. The Hood River News
might just publish your entry.
I dare you… Give it a go!
Karen Harding,
Art Dept. Chair
Hood River County Fair
Editor’s Note: Karen is right: We
will publish the winning creation.
Red and gray
areas
Stacey Methvin
Classifieds/Receptionist
HRNClass@hoodrivernews.com
SMethvin@hoodrivernews.com
A news conference I would like to
see:
“Mr. President, when you were in
extensive negotiations with the lead-
ers of this dangerous foreign coun-
try, I understand they were extreme-
ly apprehensive sensing you would
be as hard-boiled and hard-nosed as
President Reagan was with Russia.
What exactly did you do to genially
force them to see things your way?”
“I Ran.”
Bill Davis
Hood River
Beach Bash
kudos
The last weekend of June ushered
in a new activity for the Columbia
Gorge Windsurfing Association —
Beach Bash 2015. We started with
Keep talking
about pot
Tax dollars are hard to come by in
a rural county with limited opportu-
nities for job growth.
Marijuana legalization brings the
potential, when done responsibly, of
economic boom with a financial ceil-
ing that we don’t fully comprehend.
With official state oversight, busi-
nesses selling legal marijuana have
been slowly adding dollars into our
local economy. I support a slow
change from where we have been, to
where we are going. But let’s keep
moving forward through the chal-
lenging points.
I’ve heard real concerns about
how best to incorporate marijuana
into existing society. Issues like pro-
tecting our children and helping
drug abusers will have to be a part of
our continued conversation here in
White Salmon, Klickitat County and
elsewhere as the legalization of
marijuana takes hold. I support an
ongoing dialogue by all sides rather
News:
Kirby Neumann-Rea
Editor
HRNews@hoodrivernews.com
Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea
MICHAEL SCHOCK and Greg Stiegel at the Pray for Wind Party.
LisaAnn Kawachi
News/Features
LKawachi@hoodrivernews.com
Kirsten Lane
Advertising Sales
KLane@hoodrivernews.com
Patrick Mulvihill
News/Features
PMulvihill@hoodrivernews.com
News/Features
Production:
David Marvin
Ailene Hibbard
Archivist
Production Manager
Jim Drake
Advertising:
Jim Drake
Entertainment
Jody Thompson
Advertising Manager
JThompson@hoodrivernews.com
Production
BenMitchell@hoodrivernews.com
JDrake@hoodrivernews.com
Circulation:
Esther K. Smith
Circulation Manager
(541) 386-1234 Ext. 205
ESmith@hoodrivernews.com
‘He Ran’
our Pray for Wind party Thursday
night, followed with a wonderful
outdoor concert Friday at the new
waterfront amphitheater. Saturday
offered non-stop action at the Event
Site, flat water in the morning for
stand-up paddle boarding, strong
winds in the afternoon for windsurf-
ing and even body boarding on some
good swell. A huge success, Beach
Bash was a celebration of beach life
here in Hood River.
I’d like to note a special thanks to
our executive director, Greg Stiegel;
Greg worked tirelessly to plan, man-
age and supervise the event. When
Greg wasn’t working the event, he
and his band were on stage enter-
taining the crowds. Up early to set
up, staying late to take down and
clean-up – truly a heroic effort.
Thanks too for all our sponsors, a
list of names can be found on our
website:
GorgeWindsurfing.org.
Lastly, if you enjoyed the free con-
cert or any part of Beach Bash and
would like to make a tax deductible
contribution to the CGWA, our ad-
dress is P.O. BOX 182, Hood River, OR
97031.
The board of the CGWA looks for-
ward to welcoming back Beach Bash
in 2016.
Michael Schock,
CGWA Board President
Hood River
Probably wiser to take the longer
and broader view: We should not
necessarily be judged or judge by
our party’s affiliation.
After all, it was a Democratic
governor who presided over the
raising of the Confederate flag
over South Carolina and a Republi-
can governor who has presided
over the lowering of the Confeder-
ate flag in South Carolina.
Steve Nybroten
White Salmon, Wash.
Ben Mitchell
Front Office/
Classified Advertising:
than more prohibition, moratori-
ums and bans. (Web search marijua-
na moratorium in Klickitat County
for more information.) This is just
the beginning of legalization. Let’s
keep working together towards our
uncertain future.
Avery Hoyt
White Salmon, Wash.
Trisha Walker
News/Features
TWalker@hoodrivernews.com
Liana Stegall
Advertising Sales
LStegall@hoodrivernews.com
DMarvin@hoodrivernews.com
JDrake@hoodrivernews.com
Allen Diers
Commercial Printing
ADiers@hoodrivernews.com
419 State Street
Hood River, OR 97031
P.O. Box 390
Phone: (541) 386-1234
Fax: (541) 386-6796
Tony Methvin
Plant Manager
(541) 386-1234
TMethvin@columbiagorgepress.com
Lisa Becharas
Commercial Printing
LBecharas@columbiagorgepress.com