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Shirt raises questions
While I am a believer in free speech, I am not a prude and no, not a
racist, I was taken aback by what I saw last Friday night when my
family and I attended a movie at Hood River Cinemas. A boy, probably
age 11-13, was sporting a black shirt the read “F—- Me, I’m Mexican;”
however, on his shirt the blanks were filled in. Some questions came
to mind:
“Hey, kid, do your parents know you’re wearing that shirt?” “Is this a
solicitation?” and “Are you really trying to make a deep political
statement about how Mexicans feel they are treated in our great
country?”
In today’s “Politically Correct Gone Wild” world, many of us do not
immediately confront these fairly blatant attacks on our pursuit of
happiness — something as simple as enjoying a movie with our family —
for fear of being branded racist, sexist or “whateverphobic.” Because
political correctness pressures most of us to “not offend anyone at
any cost” — to basically keep our mouths shut — I feel like our free
speech rights are in jeopardy. Is anyone else feeling the same?
James Konopasek
Mosier
An unsafe crossing
You can add my wife’s name to the growing list of persons who have
seen their life flash before their eyes at the Mt. Hood Railroad
crossing on Woodworth Road in Parkdale.
The owners, operators and regulators of the Mt. Hood Railroad need
to wake up. As is, the crossing is unsafe. Where are the lights
and gates? Why does the train not slow down and let a man off to
stop traffic as the train crosses the road? What’s the rush? The
cash?
The site may be on ODOT’s list of things to do; however I don’t
think that will be of any comfort to the families of those whose
destiny lies at the intersection of bureaucracy and sloth once the
inevitable happens.
There’s a slow train coming … too bad it’s not the one on the
tracks.
Tom Wooten
Dee
More `Yesteryears’
We enjoy reading the Yesteryears column, but sometimes we want to
know more. Two recent items in the Yesteryears section practically
demand further attention.
First: Last week there was an item that indicated there was a
lookout on the summit of Mt. Hood in 1916. A lookout on the
summit? Was it a fire lookout? When was it constructed? How long
did it last? Who occupied the lookout? What time of year was it
occupied? How were the materials brought to the lookout? Inquiring
minds want to know. Perhaps a reader can remember or you can find
more information.
Second: a permit for grazing a band of 1,200 goats in the Crater
National Forest was mentioned in this week’s column, also in 1916.
How did this experiment work out? I presume these were domestic
goats. With the current concern about reducing fuel load in the
event of fire, perhaps it is time to rethink this option. Goats
must surely work for less than minimum wage.
Could you please put your entire investigative reporting staff
onto these assignments? A Pulitzer potential?
Gennaro Avolio
Hood River
‘Rip-off City’
I am not a native of Hood River. I’ve only lived here going on 50
years. But in that time I’ve seen this city evolve into a
government whose primary concern seems to be how many ways it can
get money out of its customers.
If Portland is Rip City, then we’re Rip-off City. A place that is
now the brown lawn capitol of Oregon due to the shafting we got
last year that kept some of us from affording to water our lawns
this year.
And now the city’s latest way to get money from her customers:
It’s a $2.50 storm water monthly tax. Now some may call it a fee,
but that’s a term officials use knowing full well what voters
think of the word tax. But no matter what it’s called it means
money out of your pocket. Of course after one of the hottest
summers on record we have to have someplace for all the rain we
didn’t get to go. The reason it takes effect Sept. 1 is that’s the
start of the hurricane season in Hood River. Evidently there are
those who think Katrina is coming back and we’d better be ready.
Can you imagine the sidewalks and streets under water and Hospital
Hill becoming Hospital Hill Falls? But fear not, salvation is at
hand. For just $2.50 a month including those rain-free summer
months, that imaginary water will have someplace to go.
And what are the reasons for such a tax? Why, so the windsurfers
will have clean water. Imagine that after all these years we find
out the water wasn’t clean enough, but if we all pay $2.50 a month
they will finally have clean water, even during the winter months
when there’s no one on the water.
I for one am tired of the city using me as an ATM machine where I
put the money in and they take it out. Now if you don’t mind me
being a little bit selfish, here’s what I’d like to see. Those who
come here with grandiose ideas like a “world class” waterfront
park bring with them the money to pay for it. Let’s stop tearing
out orchards and replacing them with things we neither want or
need. Stop having welcome wagons for only the wealthy and treating
retired senior citizens on a fixed income like they’re expendable.
We deserve better. We’ve earned it.
John Codino
Hood River
Discuss, don’t attack
I tried to generate a healthy community discussion of the pros and
cons of federal grants in my Aug. 23 letter regarding the use of
Homeland Security funds for firefighting clothing in rural fire
departments. In his Aug. 26 reply, Devon Wells turns it into a
personal attack, questioning his assumption of my unwillingness to
support a tax increase for local fire departments.
He needs to reread the first sentence of my letter regarding my
very support of those efforts.
We should have learned long ago that Joe McCarthy-type attacks on
people do nothing to add to a community’s understanding of
important political issues.
Dave Dockham
Hood River
Powerful service
It was an exaltingly powerful experience. Saturday’s memorial
service for Navy SEAL Marc Lee attended by over 600 people at the
Expo Center was unique — only in Hood River where this spiritual
assembly spelled cohesive community. It was an all-encompassing
event. The profoundness was overwhelming.
It was all there under one roof, and we felt honored to be part of
the community’s outpouring of patriotism, love, and respect.
Mary Jane Heppe
Hood River
‘Rats’ backstory
Wonderful article on the Crag Rats. The “unidentified” Rats in the
photo are my father, Rob Hukari, and his good climbing buddy, Glen
Marsh. It was taken on Elliot Glacier in 1967 by Jun Honma, a
Japanese agricultural exchange trainee who lived with us for a
year.
Jun became a part of our family. My dad took him mountain
climbing. We picked huckleberries and swam in Lost Lake. Jun
taught us how to fold origami cranes. When he left, we inherited
his adopted cat, Kimiko (Sweetheart), and discovered she wouldn’t
touch food without a little soy sauce on it.
Jun was (and is) a warm and enthusuastic person. He is still in
contact with many friends in the valley, and has returned to visit
twice.
He has a special relationship to my dad, who went to Japan to
visit Jun and his wife, Toshiko, after my mother passed away in
1989. Jun still calls him Papa Rob.
I plan to clip the article and photo to send to Jun. I think he
will be tickled to see he made the local news all these years
later — especially in a story involving the Crag Rats and his
beloved Mount Hood.
Althea Hukari
Parkdale
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