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Dog Wash kudos
There are a good number of dogs in the Hood River area that are
walking around looking and smelling pretty good thanks to the
pampering they received at the annual PROD fund-raiser.
Thanks so much to Lisa Willis, owner of Gorge Dog, who has been the
one behind making this dog wash a reality for several years now. Rumor
has it that the dog bone cookies she provided as a treat for each dog
were a big hit.
Thanks also to Pat Combs of Dinah’s Dog House for the good job she did
on trimming quite a few nails. Thanks to Jenni Lott of Cascade Pet
Camp, along with her two assistants, who put in a good day’s work
washing all those dogs and also for providing all the equipment that
helped keep things running smoothly.
To all of you who brought your dogs and supported our efforts, to the
vendors who had to deal with an abundance of dogs and water, to the
PROD volunteers who also ended up getting a bath, to the Saturday
Market and of course to the dogs whose patience and ability to keep
their tails wagging was commendable, we give all of you a hearty
“Thank You!” This great community support assists PROD in providing
low cost spay/neutering and educational programs for children and
adults in our local area.
Marylynne Derich
PROD volunteer
Hood River
Barbecue thanks
A big thanks from us community members and Chamber members to the
Women in Agriculture group, Farm Bureau and the Grower Shippers
and Jean Godfrey for the great barbecue enjoyed by all who stopped
by at the Red Barn on Highway 35 (Business After Hours, Aug. 3).
It is a great time to talk to fellow business people and neighbors
and enjoy a bit of great food, fruit and drink. Thanks to the
Oates, Sara and Bob Fox for the location — work and clean-up, too!
John and Kathie Alley
Hood River
Slap in the face
In a period of time in which the minimum wage has not been raised
at all, and some thousands of richer families have enjoyed tax
protection, our Congressmen have given themselves nine raises:
Don’t you feel that your face has been slapped?
Sam Pobanz
Hood River
Local unions alive
Who wins? We all do!
I’d like to say, “Hi!” to my new friend, Carol A. Taylor.
I’m a union carpenter — in your letter (“Who wins?” July 8), you
mentioned that you didn’t know any union people here in the Gorge.
I have been here a long time. Raised four children in the Hood
River school system — and hope to retire in five years or so.
So now you do know some union people. You see, union jobs have
made our house a union family.
We live all around you; up and down the Gorge — union carpenters,
laborers, electricians, plumbers and masons (not to mention the
teachers, government workers, service employees, railroad,
teamsters and many more).
We bring in lots of money to the Gorge from our union wages and
benefits. But here’s where the inequity lies: There are so few
union jobs here in the Gorge — especially in construction. We all
have to drive to larger cities to work.
I personally know enough union trades-people in the Gorge to staff
any union job, casino or not. So, please don’t worry about these
jobs going somewhere else; the majority will stay right here in
the Gorge.
Where will we stay when and if this job gets built, you asked.
Well, right in our homes, here in the Gorge. Perhaps even my two
union carpenter sons can work close to home for a change!
You see, we all win.
You don’t need to worry about us union workers; it’s the Big Box
non-union jobs you and I need to be concerned about. You see, our
union wages, health care and pensions support and build up this
community, here in the Gorge.
The workers without these things usually are missing out on the
American dream.
So, no worries; we all win.
So nice to meet you, Carol.
Terry Murray
Union carpenter
Hood River
Aim for fewer cars
A handful of city leaders has decided that what Hood River
downtown needs is a stoplight at Second and Oak. No longer would
pedestrians have priority at every intersection; they would now
need to wait their turn to accommodate 2,000-per-day vehicle trips
from a new (affordable?) condo and motel complex.
This is how a village which fosters human scale interaction
becomes a city designed around economic efficiency — unconsciously
and incrementally.
In a world where the use of diminishing fossil fuels causes
economic hardship to the non-wealthy, encourages wars in the
Middle East, and is leading to global warming which threatens our
children’s welfare, an enlightened and progressive city leadership
would be actively designing to make the driving of cars in
downtown Hood River less attractive.
Does anyone else think that life here is about more than money and
cars?
David Rath
Hood River
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