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Wildlife stewards
Dear Parents and their children:
My name is Leah Gilliom and I want to tell you about a great
experience I’ve had over the summer for the last three years.
Every summer for five days I go to a camp called 4-H Wildlife Stewards
Camp. It’s a great experience for everyone. We go fishing, ride in
canoes, do archery, go swimming, ride the adventure swings, do arts
and crafts, and much, much more. It’s a great way for children to not
be “bored” and make new friends while trying new things.
I personally recommend this camp 100 percent. I will be a junior
counselor this year. I’m writing to tell you about this camp because
unfortunately, we aren’t getting enough younger kids, and therefore
have too many older counselors. We need children entering third
through sixth grade. The dates are August 1-5. If expense is an issue,
they have scholarships. You can visit the Web site at
wildlifestewards.4h.oregonstate. Thanks!
Leah Gilliom
Hood River
Casino too far
This is in reply to the letter by Paul Smith, printed July 5:
The Grand Ronde is willing to help Warm Springs locate a casino on
reservation lands for only one reason: Competition. They do not
want a casino located next to a large population center unless it
is their own. In other words, they think that this casino would be
a huge money-maker and they want it for themselves.
Why is there a statement that the Warm Springs tribe will show
greed if they do not agree to the proposal made by the Grand Ronde,
but no suggestion that the Grand Rhonde is also guilty of greed?
When you consider “reasonable alternatives” first you have to
decide what is “reasonable.” Is it “reasonable” to locate far from
a population center?
Next, who decided that the reservation was Indian land? Did the
Indians select this property because of its isolation or were they
put there in order to isolate them? The fact that there is Indian
land close to Hood River was ignored.
Anyone who has visited Kah-Nee-Ta realizes that it is VERY
isolated. All of the proposed alternate economic possibilities
demand transportation facilities that are not readily available on
site. The climb into and out of Kah-Nee-Ta would prohibit most of
these activities.
Hood River County presently has a law on the books that prohibits
super-sized buildings. That has cost the county a super-Wal-Mart,
a larger Safeway, and unknown other business opportunities.
Why not utilize this against the proposed casino?
Leonard Hickman
Hood River
Market thanks
I would like to thank everyone who has come to the new Gorge Grown
Farmers’ Market — we had 500 people come through the Market on
opening day!
Many of you have commented on how pleased you are to be able to
support local farmers and eat more locally grown food. The farmers
are so appreciative of you coming and buying their vegetables,
fruits, flowers, meat, and bread. Farmers’ markets are a big
reason why small farms are able to succeed and they’re a vital
part of a community’s economic success.
Thanks also to Community Ed, Hood River Middle School and Mike
Becker for their help in providing the site and assistance
necessary to launch as well as our sponsors: Hood River Organic,
Gorge Kids, Boulder Path Designs and the members of Dancing Moon
Farm.
We owe many thanks to our great market manager, Tam Seasholtz, who
previously helped organize and run the Oregon City Farmers’
Market. Another big thank-you goes out to the local musicians,
those running the Kids’ Activity and Becker’s Kids Educational
Activity (fun activities for children) each week — they are all
volunteering their time to make the Farmers’ Market a successful
weekly event, each Thursday, 4-7 at the Hood River Middle School.
Ann G. Kramer
Hood River
‘Inconvenient Truth’
“An Inconvenient Truth” is playing at the Starlight Theatre. We
are all aware of the increasing intensity and frequency of major
weather events: hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, record rainfalls and
droughts, etc.
Regardless of your current opinion or understanding of global
warming, everyone should see this film. The presentation of the
basic principles of climate and the scientific data using modern
computer generated graphics, etc. is exceptionally well done. Have
you ever seen a picture of what the Eliot Glacier looked like 50
years ago? The pictures of the receding glaciers worldwide are
dramatic. One of the most poignant graphics is the entire
650,000-year climate record obtained from ice cores from the
artic.
Global warming is not a “theory,” nor an emotionally uplifting
topic because it draws our attention to something we all know, at
some level, is happening but prefer to ignore because we feel
powerless.
However, there are things we can do and until we citizens and our
elected officials move from denial to taking definitive action
locally, nationally and cooperating with the international
community, the ultimate outcome for all of humanity will be …
See the movie. You owe it to yourself, your children and
grandchildren. The real “war on terror” should be to counter
global warming.
Hugh McMahan
Linda McMahan
Mount Hood
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