Pass stimulus

As the debate in Washington over the “stimulus” package to help us regular Americans out, I am becoming extremely puzzled.

After 9-11, it took them ONE day to pass the “Patriot Act” which stripped Americans of our civil rights as spelled out in the constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Republican-dominated Congress rubber-stamped spending that led to the LARGEST deficit in American history. They gave the businesses tax break after tax break; what did they do with it? They continued outsourcing jobs, closing plants here and investing in China.

It only took the current Congress two days to pass a bill bailing out the financial “wizards” of Wall Street and the banks. They couldn’t even be bothered to insist on ANY accountability from those receiving bailouts. These same institutions now stonewall Congress when they are asked what they did with the money. Has anyone seen an increase in availability of credit or the decrease in the interest rates we pay on credit cards? No! Talk about arrogance and a sense of “entitlement.“

They bailed out car manufacturer after car manufacturer with just a little more accountability. But now that the Democrats would pass bills actually creating jobs in this country and bailing out working Americans, the Republicans wail about the cost and refuse to work with the Democrats to create something that actually works.

Unemployment is skyrocketing and our local economy is taking some serious hits. It is time for our representatives to actually work for the American people, not just the rich and powerful.

Gregg Morris
Hood River

We the people

I was deeply saddened to hear of the closure of the Columbia Gorge Hotel. Not only is it a part of our history but the jobs lost cannot be replaced easily if at all.

I read an article in the Hood River News with Greg Walden talking about his opposition to the stimulus. I don’t know why I was surprised — I sincerely doubt that Greg has experienced the terror or sense of desperation of choosing whether to pay the mortgage/rent, buy food or necessary medicine. He was fortunate enough to be born into a family who owned things. That is not virtue — that is luck.

Personally, I just crawled out from under my sink. There is a leak and as a 65-year-old widow raising a grandson on Social Security, a plumber is out of the question. I cannot tell you how offended I am by legislators who voted down the line for the Bush policies that got us into this telling us that they know better what has to be done to fix the mess(es) we are in.

I simply cannot understand their arrogance and lack of compassion. Where are the billions of dollars given to Wall Street and the bankers?

Where are the billions of dollars wasted in Iraq? Where are the millions of reconstruction dollars that just “vanished” there? How much contractor fraud has gone on? What about the lives of our sons and daughters who died or came home with broken bodies and minds? The hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilian lives — people who just wanted to live and raise their families just like us? There is no money for them. No money for our returning soldiers needing care.

No money for children who need medical care. No money for the average working man or woman who lost jobs or homes as a result of the greed and avarice of the elite. And education is now called “pork”. Face it, if you haven’t already got yours, you won’t be getting it any time soon.

It’s time for us to wake up! We need to read, investigate, inform ourselves of what those people WE elected are doing with our trust. God help us because our legislators sure aren’t.

Chris Burgess
Odell

Learn about parenting

If there is one thing I regret raising my children is that I didn’t take a parenting class when they were 2-8 years old. I didn’t realize that there are so many ways to better discipline my kids than I knew.

I didn’t know child development well enough (I did take a class in college) and I didn’t realize how many positive discipline approaches existed that help avoid the building of anger and frustration that would have lessened the yelling that I did raising my kids. Now I have come to realize that our job as parents is not to CONTROL our children but rather to guide, motivate, and teach them about responsibility for their actions.

Parents today are very fortunate to have parenting classes, books, and videos available to give them the newest information on child development and how to use positive discipline.

A key part of raising a child is building a good relationship with one’s child. The best way to do this is to be firm, fair, consistent, and communicate well with listening to a child and playing with your child being key components.

Another key component is being a good example. Kids learn a lot by what their parents say and do. When parents come to parenting classes they are very “special” because they are coming because they want to be the best parents they can be. At the classes we all learn from each other which parents say is one of the best parts of the classes.

It never feels good to have regrets about how you parented your kids. When they are with you is the time to take parenting classes, read the child development books, and to learn about the personality of your child and how you can best parent your unique child.

Once kids become teenagers their peer group is a key influence in their lives. When they are young, is the time to build a positive relationship with them.

Parenting classes are starting Feb. 19. Learn ways to make parenting easier, more productive, more realistic, and healthier for the family. Now is the time to build the healthy relationship with your children that will last a lifetime.

Nancy Johanson Paul
Hood River

Irresponsible owners

This past weekend, our neighbors’ sheep, who were in a fenced area in the back yard, were brutally attacked.

One died and the other was euthanized at the vets. Needless to say, they suffered horribly. They were attacked by someone’s dogs, running loose in the neighborhood. This is not the first time their animals have been killed by dogs belonging to irresponsible people.

You would think if you owned a dog big enough to kill sheep or chickens that you would at the very least take measures to keep it home. I realize dogs do get out, this is a mistake.

But for owners who have dogs always getting out and running around loose all the time, this is complete (stupidity) irresponsibility. Unfortunately, we all suffer for that!

Melanie Finstad
Hood River

ANOTHER VOICE

By Bob Carnahan

Not long after I purchased the historic Waucoma Hotel in 2000, I was interviewed by the Hood River News and commented on my vision of the community.

I’d owned property in Underwood since 1988 but had only more recently become a permanent Washington resident. Having relocated from Park City, Utah, where I’d established a business in 1978 and observed the dramatic transformation of that picturesque mountain mining town, I was struck by Hood River’s similarities in 2000 to those of Park City 12 years earlier.

I believed then that the physical attractions and lifestyles of the Columbia Gorge and its proximity to Portland made it a natural as a residential center and location for technology startups and growth-based companies. It was already established as a seasonal destination location.

So now, nine years after taking on partial renovation of a building to the disbelief of all who toured it in that first year, how clear was my vision for the future?

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The transformation of Hood River and the immediate Columbia Gorge, albeit fragmented, is underway. We’ve seen an explosive growth in real estate values; a post-2001 recession; a current depression gaining momentum daily; numerous new high-end restaurants; the growth of a four-man flight experiment in Bingen into a Boeing subsidiary with more than 300 employees; Google in The Dalles; expansions of the hospitals and medical facilities in Hood River, White Salmon, and The Dalles; numerous small technology-based companies; opening of the Columbia Gorge Community College in Hood River; and a $7 million resurfacing of the toll bridge (inaccessible to pedestrians and bicyclists).

Hood River has several new art galleries and a rapidly growing wine vineyard, bottling, and tasting industry — that has overtaken and, I believe, will surpass wind-driven recreation as the number-one visitor drawing card. The positives all contribute to the vitality and energy of our greater Gorge community.

With the recent elections behind us and the entire country addressing “economic stimulation” what can be done to help lift this community? I believe with the new mayor, Arthur Babitz, and a revitalized city council Hood River can become a beacon for the entire Columbia River Gorge. All of the business and property owners in Hood River have a stake in what this city will look like and how it will perform not just over the next few months but for the years to come.

Will we preserve the historic nature of the downtown district by incentivizing remodeling and restoration, or encourage abandonment and demolition?

Will we work together to solve parking issues by carpooling, ride sharing, bicycling, and walking, or will we complain when we have to choose between walking a few blocks or 75 cent-per-hour parking because we and our employees want to park in front of their workplace.

Is it too late to adopt architectural guidelines for residential and commercial buildings that can preserve an attractive and inviting place to live, work, and visit, or do we continue to permit structures whose only requirements are to satisfy the Uniform Building Codes?

Can we have a 10-year plan that integrates the visions first of the community and then the city of Hood River, Hood River County, the downtown and uptown business associations, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Hood River Port Authority?

Without public input and cohesion of these sometimes disparate interests the answer is No. The result then would be continued fragmentation with a look of uncontrolled and hurried accidental development.

Sadly, Park City, Utah, is no longer the quaint old mining ski town, but has transformed into a community of giant hotels, more than 150 restaurants, and literally hundreds of multi-million-dollar trophy homes. The old town district, while attractive, is no longer a place of affordable retirement homes, with middle- and lower-income citizens being forced to sell their homes, unable to afford the real estate taxes.

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I appeal to all stakeholders to seriously ask yourself what you want this wonderful community to be like in 10 years; what changes or needs do you foresee in the next two to five years, and then 10 years out and beyond? Will your family grow; will you invite friends to move here from other parts of the country; is your business going to grow or maintain its status quo?

I’ve talked to our new mayor and he seriously wants and needs our input. Talk about these questions; don’t just think about it and put it aside — write out your ideas.

You can be part of planning and building the future or asking what went wrong if you choose to be silent.

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Bob Carnahan owns the Waucoma Hotel/River City Saloon building at Second and Cascade streets.