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U.S. hypocrisy
According to the Brookings Institute, the U.S. has conducted 1,030
nuclear tests, not including the bombs dropped on Nagasaki and
Hiroshima. According to the “Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists” 61:1
(January/February 2005), the U.S. has 9,960 nuclear warheads.
Perhaps it is time for the US to show by example, and reduce our
arsenal of nukes. And while we are at it, let’s join the civilized
nations, and ban cluster bombs and land mines. These types of weapons
are terrorist tools for irresponsible killing (and maiming) of
civilians.
Brian Carlstrom
Hood River
A negative poll
It is time to be aware, once again, of those old, unfair election
practices. I just finished a telephone poll with “Oregon Opinion
Survey,” who hired a company in Alabama for the Metzger/York
campaign.
The caller asked me all sorts of negative questions about Mr.
Metzger in the vein of “How do you feel about Mr. Metzger beating
his dog?” (Not a real question but close to the tone of the
survey.) Asked if there would also be a series of negative
questions about Ms. York in this “impartial” poll, “Of course!”
the pollster told me. Then, to her surprise, the survey on her
computer zipped right to the end and we were done.
Result: Lots of negative Metzger concepts supposedly planted in my
brain by someone in Alabama, paid for by an unknown group. Fair?
Absolutely not! Ethical? Nope! Please don’t let this kind of
political trash sneak into your brain. It is clear that there is a
lot of money, probably coming from outside our community, in
support of Ms. York’s campaign.
Darlene Daggett
Hood River
‘Our Town’ thanks
There were many people involved in making CAST’s recent production
of “Our Town” such a success. We especially appreciate the
financial support of our show’s sponsor, Hospice of the Gorge, the
35 business owners who placed ads in our program, the ongoing
publicity provided by The Hood River News and KIHR staffs, and the
delicious donations from Polly’s Cakes and Mike’s Ice Cream for
our First Friday Event.
A special thanks goes to members of the behind-the-scenes crew:
Jeff Cook, Lee Caryl, John Metta, and Peter Dallman who ran
lights, sound and video for the play; to Alice Pierson for her
wizardry with wigs and hairstyling for the actresses; to Deborah
Jones for her backstage prompting; and to Mark Worth for lighting
design.
Lastly, we thank each of the 21 cast members and their families
who gave so generously of their time over the last eight weeks —
from rehearsing to performing, to scooping ice cream for First
Friday to adding a performance to benefit Helping Hands — they did
everything that was asked of them!
And to the people of the Gorge communities who saw the show, we
enjoyed spending the evening with you and discovering together,
once again, the timeless wisdom of Thornton Wilder’s beloved play.
Lynda Dallman, director, Our Town
Jan Axford, assistant director
Joanie Thomson, executive director of the Columbia Center for the
Arts
Home tour thanks
During Delta Kappa’s home tour, several people expressed how much
they appreciated the homeowners sharing their homes, which
provided such an enjoyable afternoon for over 200 people. They
wanted to thank them. So we wish to thank James and Alice Kimball,
Tony and Marj Baker, Jack and Susan Kaady, Mike and Anne Marie
Ellsworth, Martin and Kathleen Sanders and Builder Lyle
McQueen-Smith for opening their homes to us. Also thank you to all
the florists for their lovely flower arrangements and to all the
volunteer hostesses.
The great article printed by the Hood River News helped us have a
successful tour and we are happy to donate the profit of $1,500 to
the Westside School Playground.
Betty Draper, Home Tour chair
Hood River
Learn, then vote
With Election Day drawing near, I would like to urge all voters to
carefully reward the qualifications and past records of their
choice of candidates.
What is their platform; are they making promises they can’t keep,
have they voted to pass a measure or bill you disagreed with, such
as approving $20 million for success in winning the Iraq war in
2006 celebration the nation’s capital? Will the boys who lost
their lives or were wounded be there to wine, dine and dance?
Do they have the concerns and needs of the middle- and low-income
class people or are they for the rich and big corporations? Have
they received tips, trips and other forms of bonus for favoring
big corporations?
Also read each measure to be voted on carefully. Sometimes because
of the wording a no means you want the bill to pass.
Voting is a privilege and we can make a difference if enough
people vote and let the government know where we stand. It’s not
Republican vs. Democrats vs. Independents. It’s voting trying to
get good honest people to run our country the best they can safefy
and what’s best for the people.
Irene Duniphin
Hood River
A modest man
This man’s life is so neat I just have to share the book by Archid
Binns, “Ogden Peter Skene: fur trader,” Portland, Binfords & Mort,
1967:
This is the life of a Canadian from a fine family, but a man who
chose hard trapping, even in delirium and starvation (“One horse
froze ... The trappers came in ... with ice … nearly froze”— p.
207) and who did not take out citizenship papers. See his Snake
country work, shot through with disloyal men in the Hudson’s Bay
Company. And, see 200 Modoc warriors face him and his 14 men, to
kill them, but end up to sit down, share facts with him. Yet,
you’ll read of jokes, grace, and charm his life had, and he became
faithful to his admired Flathead Indian wife: “The future, Julia
thought, was an invention of the English, who were afraid to enjoy
the present,” and she and the kids went on the long, hard trek
with him” — p. 120. When he was an old man Ogden spoke for and
with Canada and the United States, and he had the huge charge of
property settlement of the Hudson’s Bay Company in Washington,
D.C. He had trapped over a vast space that would be tough just to
go over by plane; led the first trek noted in 1825 in Oregon
inland; found and named Mount Shasta; had Ogden, Utah, named for
him; saved the survivors of the Whitman massacre (but tells of it
in just a few lines in one of his letters while he goes on three
pages about business) ~ Modest.
Donna Gray-Davis
Hood River
Walden helped
I just want to say that this year Greg Walden dropped everything
to help me when I was in an awful jam with the government.
I’ve never voted for Greg, never felt it necessary. I don’t know
who I’d vote for if it was a close call. I do not agree with
Greg’s party, and a lot of people feel that Greg is voting the
party line (what a concept). I think Greg tries to accommodate all
ideas. At least he is willing to listen. I will not ask you to
vote for Greg Walden, but I do ask you to vote.
Edward Gunderson
Hood River
‘So much for oaths’
If you happen to see Congressman Greg Walden you might ask him why
he (along with Sen. Gordon Smith) voted for the Military
Commissions Act (S.3930).
This act negates the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth amendments
to the United States Constitution, threatens the First amendment,
allows a U.S. citizen to be deemed an “enemy combatant” at the
whim of the president and makes torture a part of our national
policy.
Under Article VI of the Constitution, congressmen take an oath to
support the Constitution. So much for oaths.
Arlene Burton-Jones
The Dalles
Support 46, 47
I personally gathered several hundred signatures to help qualify
the two campaign finance reform measures, Ballot Measures 46 and
47, for the ballot. The response from the people was
overwhelmingly positive.
Oregonians want to get Big Money out of politics. Many people said
to me, until we get the big money out, nothing will get fixed.
Ballot Measures 46 and 47 will prohibit all corporate and union
treasury contributions to candidates for all elected offices in
Oregon. The measures have recently been found to be constitutional
by the Oregon Supreme Court. For the details, see
www.fairelections.net.
When these measures pass on Nov. 7, Oregon will join the Federal
government and 45 other states in prohibiting certain types of
campaign contributions and in limiting others. Oregonians will
then be ready to begin trusting our elected representatives.
Please vote yes on 46 and 47.
Harry Lonsdale
Sisters
Board opposes 41, 48
The Hood River County School Board has adopted resolutions
opposing ballot measures 41 and 48.
These ballot measures, if passed, would make a significant
reduction in school funding for the Hood River County School
District.
If Ballot Measure 41 passes, it would represent an estimated
$534,000 reduction to Hood River County School District for the
current biennium and an estimated $2.8 million reduction in the
2007-09 biennium. A $1.4 million reduction per year is the
equivalent of 20 teaching positions.
If Ballot Measure 48 passes it would represent a $3.5 million cut
for the current biennium and an estimated $3.1 million to $7.1
million cut in the 2007-09 biennium. This is the approximate cost
of 25 to 39 teaching positions per year.
There are no provisions in the ballot measures to replace any of
this funding loss if the measures pass.
We strive in the Hood River County School District to keep our
classroom sizes manageable. Ballot Measures 41 and 48 would be
catastrophic for our school district.
Mike Oates, chairman
Hood River County School Board
Realtor clarified
After reading the Oct. 7 article about affordable housing, I hope
to clarify that a Realtor is not just any practitioner in the real
estate field. A Realtor is a member of the National Association of
Realtors and its local counterpart. Current members are part of an
active trade association, and go beyond licensing to subscribe to
a national code of ethics.
Not all licensed agents are Realtors. And, since Realtor is a
federally registered trademark, it should be capitalized when used
in print.
Jennifer Ouzounian, executive officer
Mid Columbia Association of Realtors
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