A4 Wednesday, January 29, 2020
HOOD RIVER NEWS | Hood River, Ore.
hoodrivernews.com
OPINION
Our Readers Write
‘Not all bad’
I doubt I’m the only one who
anticipated the impeachment
trial to be a real emotional
downer for any political cen-
trists. Sure, those with views
clearly aligned with one side or
the other would have repeated
adrenaline rushes, but nothing
much for those of us in the
middle.
But I was wrong. The process,
including coverage by a free
press, has provided a refresher
regarding the United States
form of government. I’m being
reminded that nobody is above
the law. At the same time, I’m
being reminded that impeach-
ment is a political process — an
important one, but one that can
be abused. And I’m challenged
to weigh reasonable and op-
posing points of view, even if
some of the emotional content
is a bit over the top, every time
I tune into any form of news
media.
That’s not all bad.
Doug Roof
Hood River
Community
restaurants
Sometimes it takes a crisis to
realize what a great community
you live in. I don’t need a crisis
myself to know this. But we did
have a small crisis at the Hood
River Warming Shelter when
the water was not drinkable
and the restaurants in town
had to close down for two days
this week. We very gratefully
rely on the generosity of many
of our local restaurants to feed
the hungry at our shelter. It
was suggested that we contact
a restaurant in White Salmon
for help and without hesitation,
everybody came through with
an ample and delicious meal
enjoyed by all. I wanted to
express my personal gratitude
for that quick response to our
needs but then realized that I
also want to acknowledge all
of the restaurants who supply
us through the shelter season
and hope that the community
will show their appreciation by
eating in these establishments
and letting them know why
they are choosing to spend
their time there. It is no small
thing to produce a healthy and
tasty meal for 25-30 people and
our guests, volunteers and staff
love the food we eat there every
night we operate.
The list of restaurants in-
cludes Riverside, Farmstand,
Full Sail, Basik, Hood River
Taqueria, Bodas, Ferment,
Kickstand, Mesquitery, Celilo,
Double Mountain, 6th Street
Bistro, Pelinitis, Pfriem, Solstice
and Andrew’s Pizza. Thank you,
thank you, thank you! And a
special thanks to Mark Deresta
at Riverside who has coordinat-
ed our food for years now.
Sarah Bellinson
Hood River
Transactional
what happened with this whole
situation with Ukraine, they
say Crowdstrike...” and “there’s
a lot of talk about Biden’s son,
that Biden stopped the prose-
cution ...” (1). “Crowdstrike” is
code for a Russian propagated
conspiracy that Ukraine hacked
the 2016 election, not Russia. I
bet Trump got this propaganda
from Putin in Helsinki. And of
course, Biden is Trump’s chief
rival in the 2020 election.
So, Zelensky asks about
weapons and Trump responds,
asking for investigations of
“Crowdstike” and the Bidens.
Both of these self-dealing “fa-
vors” were to benefit Trump’s
re-election, not the U.S. inter-
est. And by withholding the
$396M to coerce Ukraine into
doing these investigations, it
should be considered extortion.
There is a volcano of evidence
to support these facts. And
come judgment day there will
be a special corner of hell for
those who obfuscate, dissem-
ble and lie to justify Trump
“asking for favors though.”
Now, it’s common when giv-
ing aid to ask a foreign govern-
ment to do things that benefit
the U.S. national interest but
it is a high crime for Trump to
extort a foreign leader to inves-
tigate his chief political rival to
cheat in a U.S. election based
on Russian propaganda. Trump
should be removed from office
and then Mike Pence would
be president. Evangelicals shall
rejoice!
www.whitehouse.gov/
wp-content/uploads/2019/09/
Unclassified09.2019.pdf
Guy Tauscher
Hood River
gotiating proposed legislation
for things like funding for police
and wildfire protection. I abso-
lutely expect every one of our
senators, including my senator
Chuck Thomsen, to spend that
entire month in Salem, working
with their colleagues and mak-
ing their best efforts to do the
job for which they were elected.
Last year, several senators
left the state during the legis-
lative session to prevent a vote
on a climate change proposal, a
subject near and dear to many
Oregon residents. This subject
is once again on the table to be
discussed, and it is being insin-
uated that another walkout is
possible, though a newly elect-
ed House Republican Leader
Christine Drazan stated (ac-
cording to an OPB article pub-
lished on Jan. 17) that a walkout
would be a “breakdown of the
process”... though she didn’t
rule it out.
That ... just won’t do.
Nikkita Paulson
Hood River
Think tank
solution
stopped car, stop and look, wait
and walk … to the sidewalk.
These are my thoughts for
starters. Now it’s your turn to
think!
Alan Winans
12-year-old Hood River writ-
Hood River
er Anderson Brunner’s letter,
“Crosswalk worries,” may re-
quire a “Think Tank” solution.
Since the offending object (a
car) functions on four wheels,
with a fifth wheel that may
I’ve been saddened by the
have a nut behind it, demands news of Kobe Bryant’s death
personal responsibility. Our this week and just wanted to
best means of public awareness state how grateful I am that he
information with the greatest was able to inspire so many
impact, the “next door” Hood people world wide for as many
River News, is missing. Gee years as he did.
whiz, I’m assuming that there
It is a helpful reminder to
was an ambulance, police cars do things that we love with
and cell phone cameras in our short time on Earth and to
abundance, and no photo im- share with those we care about
how much they mean to us
ages? WOW!
Now back to “brainstorm- while we are alive.
Avery Hoyt
ing” for “Think Tank” solutions:
White Salmon
remembering that you can only
control you, but not that nut!
Place education warning
signs at the curb:
■ No running
■ When walking in front of a
Saddened
Why did Mike Pence agree to
be vice president? Trump is an
unlikely person for an Evangel-
ical to support. Trump mocks,
he insults, bullies, he’s vindic-
tive, vengeful and his lifestyle is
antithetical to Christianity. He
trumpets so-called ‘religious
freedom’. Perhaps Evangelical
support for Trump is merely
transactional?
Donald Trump has been
impeached! For a perfect call?
Read the transcript. Here’s the
impeachable from the tran-
script, President Zelensky of
Ukraine says, “We are almost
ready to buy more Javelins
from the United States for de-
fense purposes,”: Trump cuts
in, saying, “I would like you
The upcoming session is only
to do us a favor though...” and for a month, and there’s a great
“I would like you to find out deal to be done, including ne-
‘Expecting
best efforts’
EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK
Brimstone’s revival respectfully blends humor and sense of history
By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA
News editor
Successful businesses typi-
cally possess either a sense of
history or a sense of humor.
Both those are found in one
of Hood River’s newest busi-
nesses.
Brimstone Boulders is
unique to Hood River: A climb-
ing gym created inside what
used to be a church.
Turn to page B1 for the full
story.
Space in Kaleidoscope re-
stricted my ability to write
about the sense of humor own-
ers Conor Byrne and Jen Alt-
schul, and their staff, clearly
convey.
And it needs to be pointed
out that the new owners of
the venerable former Asbury
United Methodist Church have
created an entirely new use of
the former worship space while
giving it the respect it deserves.
“Behave like a decent
human,” is the first item in the
Code of Responsibility sign
prominently displayed at Brim-
stone.
“2. Don’t take yourself too
seriously. Really.” And here is
where you can see the owners’
adherence to the McMenamin’s
model of playful reverence for
transformed spaces:
“We’re in an 1897/1912 re-
purposed church, pulling very
hard on plastic holds bolted to
plywood. This activity is inher-
ently ridiculous.”
No running, keep the pads
clean, keep your shirt on and
“Keep yelling at a minimum:
there’s an echo” are some of the
other rules.
The church was formally
decommissioned in 2013, and
I was there for what was a
solemn ceremony, a sad one
for long-time members of the
church, which blended with a
local Lutheran congregation
and is now Spirit of Grace on
Tucker Road. Members and
friends of Asbury still hold a
connection to the beautiful
building, and I like to think
their feelings would be upheld
in seeing the vibrant place it is
today. Yes, the pews are gone,
save one that provides comfort-
able seating, and almost all of
the organ is in storage (Conor
Byrne said they are considering
future uses). Some of the pipes
line the facing of the reception
counter, and the organ key-
board is the first thing you see
when you walk in, honorably
repurposed as a counter to sign
in before using the walls.
The organ played songs of
reverence and adherence to
healthy, uplifting rules of life,
and now the keyboard serves as
a platform for people to say they
agree to the same kind of thing.
And the Brimstone owners
faithfully displayed their re-
spect for the quirky history of
the building in several ways:
Look beneath the keyboard
plexiglass and see the typed
3-by-5 card signed by an organ-
Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea
ROCK OF AGES: The lady on the rock is inspired by the Book of
Psalms, and Brimstone owners were inspired to use her hands as
symbols of strength.
ist with a special love for the
instrument, one Jason L. Grable
on 3/18/89. The card reads: “A
few points to ponder about this
organ: 1. When turning off the
organ, please leave the express
shoe in the ‘open’ or depressed
position. This helps keep the
swell in tune with the Great.
2. Use the crescendo pedal at
your own risk. Some stops will
stick on after it is closed, due
to the age of the mechanism
(it’s not repairable without
console dismantling). 3. Note
that the Dulciana on the Great
is tuned a little out of tune. This
is deliberate, since the voice is
not useful on the Great, being
overshadowed by the rest of the
voices. It is intended to be used
with the swell Salicional cou-
pled to the Great, and provides
a very useful Celeste string
combination for quiet music. I
felt this would be much more
useful.”
I have no idea what a Dulci-
ana, Express Shoe are, but you
don’t have to know; you just
read Mr. Grable’s notes to get
a sense of the evident beloved
personality of the old organ.
A placard, undated but likely
from the 1950s, memorializes
Pastor J.J. Patton with his fam-
ily’s gift of “the public address
system and hearing aids.”
The stained glass windows
remain the star of the space,
and they will always remain,
complete with the names of
people to whom they were ded-
icated: Oscar Stranahan, Abby
Mills, “Wm. Boorman and wife.”
The very branding image
of Brimstone honors the key
stained glass motif, the gripping
hands of a woman climbing a
rock shaped like the cross. Pas-
tor David King of Spirit of Grace
described it as “visualizing the
idea that God is the solid rock
that we can cling to in turbulent
times,” specifically Psalm 46:
“God is our refuge and strength,
a help always near in times of
great trouble.”
The Brimstone name is a
reflection of the history of the
building, though the facility has
no religious affiliation other
than a reverence for what the
adopted space can still mean. If
you visit, make note of the way
climbing wall designers Verti-
cal Solutions used arcs of dark
wood that mimic the rich earth
tones of the bead board that
graces the ceilings, woodwork
that was mostly covered by
drop ceilings in the 1950s and
1960s, and discovered in mint
condition when the von Flo-
tows started renovations. The
new design flatteringly imitates
it is one of the sweeter features
of the revival of the old church
interior, albeit with a totally new
purpose.
The von Flotows purchased
the church from the Methodists
and with contractor SMP Con-
struction did a solid stage one
job of getting it ready for future
generations. Byrne and Altschul
have in turn invested heavily in
the facility, and the careful work
of Orange Construction shows.
Brightly lit during use hours
that are increasingly busy, the
building glows, and that will
only increase: plans are, Byrne
said, to replace the aged plexi-
glass exterior coverings that
dull the impact of the windows
when lit from within.
That change will only en-
hance the bright future of this
transformed building,