‘Dream’ kudos

Hood River High School’s drama department has done an incredible job on their production of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Those students, and their remarkable teacher, Rachel Harry, have so much talent. The play is engaging, entertaining, extremely well-done, and absolutely hilarious. The play continues to run March 6, 7, 13, 14 at 7 p.m., and also March 8 at 2 pm. Admission is $8, $5 for seniors.

This production is amazing and definitely worth seeing! Thank you.

Kristin Litz
Hood River

Thanks, Gene

I would like to thank Gene McClure for his many years of service on the Idlewilde Cemetery Board. It is largely due to Gene the cemetery is solvent and well-run.

Also, thank you to the Hood River Masonic Lodge; I hope you replace Gene with someone who can match his dedication.

Brian K. Steeves
Hood River

Job well done

Wow! Thanks to Ben McCarty for an outstanding job covering the state wrestling tournament.

We thoroughly enjoyed it and made sure all our friends and relatives tuned in to the Web site for coverage. We were at the tournament the entire time but still followed along on our laptop.

The photographs were top quality. Wrestling photos are so difficult to capture. The interviews before, during and after were informative and added greatly to the story.

Thank you so much.

Craig and Marie Mallon
Hood River

Tax fat

We as Americans pay some of the lowest taxes in the developed world and in return receive some of the lowest government services for that tax burden.

I am not against a small raise in taxes for improved service but — the alcohol tax is silly. Supposedly this will go for alcohol rehab since alcoholics don’t have money to pay for it. Cigarette taxes, gas taxes, Oregon park permits/taxes, parking meter taxes on OUR own city streets, bridge toll/tax to cross OUR bridge, car license taxes.

I would suggest a FAT tax. Tax fat/fast food to pay for diets and medical problems from people who eat too much and can’t afford to diet. Tax drugs, tax heroin/meth for drug rehab programs given drug addicts can’t afford them. Oh, sorry — can’t do that because drugs are illegal so the government can’t tax them.

Tax Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital since it is nonprofit and seems to have plenty of money to build a huge multi-million dollar expansion given it pays less tax.

Tax sex because people have it, therefore babies and they are expensive and they can’t afford them.

The first thing legislators should say is that they want to raise taxes. Be honest with the public. Then it should be voted on by the public. Stop nickel and diming people to death. If taxes need to be raised then say so, why and what for. After that, suggest the tax, how much and what will happen if it is not raised. Then have the people vote on it and let them decide. Maybe we would rather be treated like adults and be told the truth.

I am fascinated that we are willing to have the legislators just raise alcohol taxes but schools/education are just cut and school years shortened, with the education of our children taking a back seat. What is important here? Are non-alcoholics responsible for alcoholism just because they drink a beer?

This is a just silly idea. I’ll drink to that.

Nigel Longland
Mosier

 ‘Arrivals’ awe

Permit me to tell you about the wonderful spirit of this community.

I was privileged to be selected for an installation piece in the new hospital addition. Working with the May Street fourth grade class, the students created three fiber art panels for the new birthing center.

The student work done, I needed baby pictures; the earlier generations born to our community, a requirement for the top layer of “Arrivals.” A call for baby pictures to the community brought a flood of responses.

I was overwhelmed with the generosity, trust, and pride from those who shared their photos. I received e-mails, calls, precious pictures mailed to me from trusting folks who did not know me. Typically, I received a call, picked up pictures from a proud relative, and scanned the photo, returned it the same day.

Upon my return visit, the rest of the photo albums were displayed — and the stories followed. The stories were heartwarming accounts of folks who make our community a very special place. Folks who give life to the place we call home.

My sincere thanks to all who shared pictures and stories. Collectively your photos make “Arrivals” unique to our community. Thank you.

Marbe Cook
Hood River

Great play

It’s Sunday morning and we are still laughing! The CAST production of “The Foreigner” was absolutely wonderful, could not have been better!

The only regret we feel is that we saw the last performance — no chance to catch it again. Thank you everyone who was involved for this wonderful gift!

Maria Kollas
Hood River

Medicare threat

During this meltdown of the economy I have felt like one of the lucky few. My husband and I own our home and we receive a steady income from Social Security, and we have health care, partially financed through a Medicare-based health plan.

But now I understand that Medicare and Social Security are under a renewed attack by so-called fiscal conservatives, including “Blue Dog (anti-deficit) Democrats.” The attack is funded by the private-equity investor Peter G. Peterson, who launched a billion-dollar foundation last year to warn that America faces $56.4 trillion in “unfunded liabilities.”

Supposedly, these costs will depress economic growth and crowd out other needed outlays, such as investments in the young. The remedy: big cuts in programs for the elderly.

The deficit hawks are promoting a “grand bargain” in which a bipartisan commission enacts spending caps on social insurance as the offset for current deficits. This deficit, though, was not caused by Social Security (which has always paid its way) but by the excesses of Wall Street and two expensive wars.

Thankfully, according to the writer Robert Kuttner in an article in the Washington Post, President Obama and leading Democrats have other plans for reducing the deficit without throwing the elderly to the dogs. He says Medicare is in trouble and needs to be reformed.

He believes, and so do I, that a universal health plan would fix that and benefit all segments of the general public.

But watch out, this attack on Social Security and Medicare will continue, and the strategy of pitting youth against the elderly will be renewed with great vigor. So all of us, young and old, must fight to save Social Security and reform Medicare.

It benefits the elderly now, but will be necessary for the young also when they retire. We must write or phone our leaders in Washington.

Let our voices be heard!

Anne Vance
Hood River

ANOTHER VOICE

By ROSE SHAW

I lost my cat in the Hood River Marina area at Thanksgiving. I was distracted by the gas attendant and before I noticed, my cat freed herself and bolted out of the car. I looked for her until it became too dark to see. So I continued on to Portland.

My family and I returned to the marina every day the following week to look for her. We talked to the security and police that were patrolling the marina area. They said they would keep an eye out for her.

We went to City Hall and talked to the dispatch officer and he stated that animal control was out of the office until sometime in January.

He also told us that the people in Hood River aren’t too concerned about cats. They are mostly interested in dogs. I left a poster with him, although I didn’t know what good it would do if that were the attitude in Hood River. We also posted posters around the marina.

Muffin’s poster said she was about 7-plus years, spayed, small frame, and tortoiseshell in color, with white fur on her belly. “She loves to be petted and is a lap cat. She knows her name is ‘Muffins.’ She is part of the family and greatly missed.”

We stopped at an animal hospital only to learn again that they were a veterinarian clinic and not an animal shelter. They, too, stated that, “Hood River does not have any shelters for cats; only for dogs, as most of Hood River was interested only in dogs.”

I don’t understand why the county doesn’t help cats. As a cat lover and my experience in losing my cat, I definitely see an equal need for a shelter for cats as well as for dogs. After all, I believe both pet lovers pay taxes.

I returned home very disheartened because I could not find any county shelter or animal control avenue in which to get help to find my cat.

By Dec. 20, severe cold weather was setting in with more to come. I became depressed to think that Muffins was all alone in the cold with no food.

I am so thankful I found Columbia Gorge Cat Rescue, a helpful, wonderful organization in the Hood River area. They are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization so people can make tax-deductible donations or bequeaths.

Thanks to all those people who helped find Muffins. They all went to bat for me and I am so grateful it paid off. Muffins had been gone since Thanksgiving, and on Feb. 6 she was rescued!

What an amazing rescue! What a miracle! Thanks to this organization my cat was returned to me. At home, she knows she is safe and loved.

n

Rose Shaw lives in Walla Walla, Wash. At her request, Sally Donovan, of Columbia Gorge Cat Rescue, passed along her letter.