Kudos from CL

I want to extend a big thank-you to the publisher, Joe Petshow, Editor Kirby Neumann-Rea and (I think) star reporter RaeLynn Ricarte.

Cascade Locks has a habit of being reclusive, and often feels separate from the rest of Hood River County. The recent front-page articles have helped expand a much-needed dialogue in our town. These articles, although not always about our best side, brought information to those who would not otherwise be involved in our government.

Please keep up the good work and excellent writing.

Katelin Stuart
Cascade Locks

Where’s the band?

After a year or two hiatus, I am driven to ask the question once again: Where’s the band?

July 4 is just around the corner. July 4 reminds me of fireworks, picnics, and parades. Parades remind me of marching bands, sooooo, I am once again asking you to brush off those instruments and help to create the biggest and best-ever “Old Glory Marching Band.”

With the help of Mark Steighner supplying us with percussion and Don Nunamaker Realtors supplying us with uniforms (T-shirts), it will surely be a success, and a ton of fun.

You can e-mail me at ceo@gorge.net if interested and let me know what instrument you play. Thanks.

Eric Ohlson
Hood River

Go single-payer

As a human being, I take issue with Rick Davis’ letter (May 13) suggesting health care reform be based on recognizing “We have created more medicine than we can afford.” Indeed, several proposals for such reform, including one floated by Obama’s budget people, claim that tightening Medicare/Medicaid expenditures for “unnecessary” “wasteful” tests, etc., should be one means to pay for expanding coverage to uninsured people.

All these proposals ignore critical truths; the first being that such tests, etc., are not so “unnecessary” when it’s your loved ones who need them; and that health care is, in most civilized countries, a priority over, e.g., warfare.

These “trim spending” proposals also ignore the excruciating costs of insurance companies’ CEO salaries, advertising and dividends, and of medical providers’ huge costs of insurance-required paperwork.

Further, such proposals (except Mr. Davis’) claim that “trimming” tests, etc., to an average-intensity level won’t harm patients; but the Dartmouth Health Atlas on which this claim is primarily based does not show this, as it is not an outcome study.

No, Mr. Davis, if we value our fellow man, we will support one another’s health care — by a single-payer system and by prioritizing human and environmental health and sharing over “security”/defense expenditures.

Paula Friedman
Parkdale

Party’s over

In his recent letter Paul Nevin pointed out that Obama is paying the bills for what Bush bought or broke while in the store shopping with the nation’s credit card.

While it is too bad we had such poor spending on such lousy policy and “products” for so long, at least we are not defaulting on the payments. It’s like cleaning up after a drunken frat party. Someone has to do it, and it would only have been worse if we had put it off longer.

John M. Wood
Hood River

Rally reply

Thank you for your note about the rally this past weekend.

We strive to organize safe events. We are disappointed to hear of the unsafe behavior that you describe.

Please understand that the drivers you saw were not participants in our rally. They were fans and spectators making their way to and from the spectator area for the event. They were driving on open public roads and we, like you, expect them to follow the rules of the road. We absolutely do not condone or encourage this unsafe activity.

Our event attracted more spectators than we expected this year. We called the sheriff to help with the situation on Saturday, and hired deputies in the Fir Mountain area on Sunday. These deputies were assigned to the spectator area and were not asked to police the road as we had not yet heard of issues there.

We have already begun discussing ways to reduce the negative impact of our spectators while enhancing their positive impacts to the local economy.

Please accept our apologies for any concern that our event has caused you. We will work hard to improve. We are very motivated to continue running events in the Hood River area due to the beautiful scenery, excellent roads, and friendly people.

Matt Tabor, co-chairman
Ben Bradley, co-chairman
Editor’s note: The committee submitted this letter in response to Jeff Cooper’s letter that appeared in the May 23 edition.

Thank you

To the mayor, city manager, city council, police, fire department, public works, and anyone else who daily work to give us their very best, and make our city so.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Donald Benton
Hood River

Windmaster blunder

The Windmaster Sewer project has had a lot of good work by Hood River County citizens in the past few years. The citizen’s committee was trying to solve a health hazard area along Tucker Road south of Windmaster corner.

Then the State of Oregon stepped in and forced (threatened) them to do things the committee did not want to do, which they knew were not in the best interests of the community.

Also the information the state based its decision on was not accurate and was misleading.

It is still not too late to change this. If the present direction of things happening currently is not changed immediately, this sewer district will go down in history books as one of Hood River County’s major blunders, as forced upon us by state officials who thought they knew more than local citizens.

These citizens were diligently working to resolve our own problem. The present design forced by the state is a temporary band aid that is not looking forward 50 years with the growth in mind that we all know, not if, but will happen.

Bob Tallman
Hood River

Bird kill myth

On May 13, the Hood River News contained an ad from “Concerned citizens of Hood River, White Salmon and Underwood” expressing considerable concern over a proposed SDS Lumber wind turbine project to be located “along a highly visible ridgeline behind Underwood Mountain” but outside the Gorge Scenic Area itself.

After arguing against “the visual impacts” of the wind farm, the ad went on to claim that “The Whistling Ridge Project has the potential to harm wildlife habitat, kill large numbers of birds and bats, destroy forests and impact the quality of life and health of surrounding property owners.”

No documentation, not even a Web site link, was provided to back up this “the sky is falling!” claim.

The ad did provide three Web sites where one could “Get more info …” I checked all three. There was nothing at any of them that even mentioned this hysterical doom-and-gloom warning, let alone documentation of studies done on the topics.

So, I Googled “wind turbine bird kill” and found quite a number of well-referenced scientific studies that conclusively spike the bird-kill mythos.

Other sources of massive annual bird kill in the U.S. were cited. For example: In 2003, the U.S. had 77,000 telecommunication towers “and this number could easily double by 2010 … mainly by our use of cell … current  mortality estimates due to telecommunication towers are 40 to 50 million birds per year.”

Now you may scream because the article from which I am quoting — “Putting  Wind Power’s Effect on Birds in Perspective” by Nick Sagrillo, (2003) — comes via the American Wind Energy Association, but the fact remains that the cited references includes data from studies by the University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the American Bird Conservancy, to mention but three.

I have not had time to seek information on alleged threats to human health but hereby challenge the ad’s “Concerned Citizens” to identify their sources and cite scientific studies that will back up their claims. As the old saying goes: “Make a claim, cite the proof.”

George W. Earley
Mount Hood

Budget safety

Can someone please explain to me, like I’m a 2-year-old, how the City of Hood River has managed to realize so late in the game that there is a cash flow issue?

We are on the brink of losing five police officer positions, three public works, and two fire. How long have we been losing money?

Does anyone know? City council, Bob Francis, anyone?

I realize and am not ignorant to the fact there are similar situations going on throughout our state and that hard decisions have to be made, but should such decisions have to be made I would hope that there are those who believe as I do, that everything rolls downhill.

Accountability is of the utmost importance, especially when it comes to letting so many valuable employees go. There is a reason we are where we are and I for one want to hear why that is.

If you personally want to hear those reasons and perhaps ask some questions of your own, join me at the next council meeting May 26, because this not only affects the employees who are about to be laid off but also the “safety” of our city and those same people who are at risk and provide that service.

Jose Rivera
Hood River

Torture’s effects

I read Mike Farmer’s letter claiming torture is both necessary and harmless and realize that I might have written the same letter had I not forced myself to pay attention to the actual reports on the subject.

For example, Amy Goodman does a radio news hour available at www.democracynow.org and on May 19 had an interview with someone (Jeremy Scahill, author of the book “Blackwater”) very well-informed on the subject.

This interview part of the show is about 15 minutes, toward the end, and available for listening or downloading as a podcast on the site, archived by date.

I would offer this program generally as a terrific means for anyone who wants more complete stories about almost everything in the news, from the health care debate to what the latest from Sri Lanka to the Indian elections. OPB is terrific and we are lucky to have it, but Democracy Now takes attention to detail up a notch and is scrupulous in its demand for verifiable facts.

Most of the program on May 20 is also about torture. I won’t duplicate that interview on torture here except to say that a number of people have been killed while being questioned. Imagine the lasting psychic harm, especially for those who turned out to be shown innocent of all crimes.

The U.S. is still releasing people from Gitmo who are now known to be innocent after six or more years of horrible treatment. Yes, some have gained weight, but if that is any measure then those with shopping carts full of soda and fattening snacks must be the healthiest people in our town.

I am interested to know what Mr. Farmer would say if U.S. soldiers were subjected to the same treatment by foreign forces. And I’d like to know if anyone who agrees with Mr. Farmer is willing to undergo similar interrogation, water boarding and the like, for charity.

Many of us would donate just in order to see if they feel the same afterwards as he did before. Thanks.

Bob Williams
Hood River

Gas tax OK

The City of Hood River’s proposed gas tax makes sense. At 3 cents a gallon it is very modest. To fill up my tank would only cost an additional 60 cents, or one-fifth of a latte, less than a pack of gum, much cheaper than a broken axle from hitting a pothole.

It replaces lost income. The county no longer passes on a share of the federal county timber payments for city roads as it has regularly done in the past. It captures revenue from tourists. It would sunset automatically if Hood River County adopts a gas tax, which I hope they do.

Multnomah County has a gas tax. The city of The Dalles has a 3-cent gas tax. And there are more than 15 other cities in the state of Oregon with gas taxes to support roads.

Jennifer Ouzounian
Hood River

Dickens again?

I see that Cliff Mansfield is still in attack mode in his latest letter to the editor (May 20).

 His analogy of the proposed 3 cent gas tax as “robbery” is amusing but way over the top. And his statement that President Obama’s approach to problem solving is to tax everything simply isn’t true. Maybe he is upset that Obama is determined to close the loop holes that have allowed some of the biggest corporations to end up paying only about 10 percent tax on their profits because of offshore operations and other tax shelters.

The proposed 3 cent tax is a local issue, so bringing Mr. Obama into it doesn’t make sense except to allow Mr. Mansfield to vent his ire. And it is probably the fairest way to pay for maintenance of roads and highways, as it taxes the people the most that use the facilities the most. I admit that it can be burdensome to those who have to use their cars in the course of business, but they can write off a lot of it. Most of us can drive less by carpooling when possible, walking and riding our bikes more, and by planning better. And we all could slow down and save a lot of gas. The 55 mph speed limit was a great idea and should be brought back.

Mr. Mansfield makes a good argument for encouraging big businesses like Wal-Mart and Lowes. But it would change the very thing that makes Hood River unique and a tourist attraction. As would turning off the lights downtown and doing away with the beautification budget. Who would want to come to (or live in) a drab and dark Hood River? We could change the name back to Dog River, I guess.

And he states that building a casino is none of Hood River’s business. I think a casino is the wrong kind of business here or anywhere. And it is the city’s business to oppose it because the increase in traffic and crime would impact the entire county. In my opinion a casino produces nothing worthwhile, except for the few minimum-wage jobs that it would bring. And it would be making money mostly off the people who can afford it the least. I have known more than a few gambling addicts who have ruined their lives with the promise of big money winnings.

Mr. Mansfield ends his diatribe with a quote about other people’s money. All of us who are lucky enough to have jobs, Social Security earnings, savings or inherited wealth pay taxes. Why shouldn’t all the people have a say-so in how that tax money is spent?

 It is not “other people’s money” — it is our money.

And most of us want to spend some of our money for social programs that benefit all the people and provide a safety net for those not so fortunate. Does Mr. Mansfield favor going back to the system of poorhouses and debtor’s prisons of Dickens’ time?

Anne Vance
Hood River