Hood River is the only place to see the 80 paintings of the Watercolor Society of Oregon at the Columbia Center for the Arts.

Only 20 paintings show round the state after the 27th. It is a gorgeous show so do yourself a favor and go see this beautiful work.

‘Snewed’ again

When we moved to Parkdale in 1981, the springtime was so snowy and windy; in other words: unpredictable.

Jack Mills gave me a little poem to explain life in this valley!

First it rained

and then it blew

and then it frizzed

and then it snewed

and then it thawed

and then it thewed.

And very shortly after then

it blew and frizzed and snewed again.

Vote Wampler

I want to thank Joe Wampler for always being there. In good times and bad he is always there.

The nation focused on Hood River during December 2006 when three climbers were killed on Mount Hood. Sheriff Wampler brought credit to us all and this small county’s ability to rise to the challenge.

Joe seems to always be there in times of crisis, whether it’s boots on the trail finding a lost soul or using the sheriff’s office aircraft to locate a fleeing felon. If trouble falls upon my family or friends, I know Joe will be there. I appreciate the sacrifice and am voting to keep Joe as Hood River County’s Sheriff.

Davidson for Sheriff

I don’t personally know the current sheriff, but I’ve known Bob Davidson for many years.

After hearing Bob’s ideas and proposals to improve services provided to Hood River County residents, I’ll be voting for Mr. Davidson. The slogan “vote for change” doesn’t really mean anything unless you have what it takes to back that statement up. Mr. Davidson has the experience, leadership, and drive to provide much-needed improvements that will benefit all county residents, whether they are lost or not.

The sheriff’s office has received much positive media coverage regarding search and rescue issues. I’m all for search and rescue. I think it’s vital to our community and is a duty mandated by the state.

However, it isn’t the most pressing issue on my mind. I want to see improved crime prevention, drug prevention, and better “team work” with our schools and other resources countywide. We should never have parents feeling the need to home-school their children due to drugs and or lack of feeling safe in our public schools.

If you’ve looked at the Oregon Uniform Crime Report (http://www.oregon.gov/OSP/CJIS/annual_reports.shtml) for Hood River County you have seen the proof. It’s evident that the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office needs change. If you go to Mr. Davidson’s Web site (http://bob-davidson.net) and look at the list of donators to his campaign, you will find that many of those supporters are members of the local law enforcement community; I think that tells us a lot.

I hope you all will join me in voting for Bob Davidson as our next Hood River County Sheriff.

The real threat

As the fight over the casino continues I see even more clearly the motives for those opposed to the casino.

Their power-elite racism has never been more obvious. Their concern about the safety of the Gorge and its population is so NOT sincere! We can all assume that if there were any actual documentable social problems specifically related to casinos it would be all over the news and in every letter to the editor, but alas, there are few, if any.

You see already in this area the rich white people own bars with gambling facilities where excessive consumption of alcohol can occur daily as well as potentially paycheck-losing gambling; there is already petty crime, like robbery, and there are already hundreds of thousands of people driving up and down the Gorge — so why do they NOT want a casino?

The power elite can build hundreds of homes in Hood River city and county but that doesn’t seem to have negative social problems like sewer, water, electricity, gas, hundreds of new cars, more roads, pollution, stop signs, traffic accidents, more police, fire, and social support services (reference to Mark Flaming’s letter dated April 19).

They can dig thousands of tons of soil and rocks out of the earth and move it to their liking so that they can build housing developments but that is OK somehow; probably because all of the homes will be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars (maybe millions) and they will make tons of money and rich white people will live in them and create a rich white culture.

If the American Indians had had a chance to develop autonomously they would have built a casino in the best location, like developers putting million-dollar homes in double-mountain-view lots. But since we took their land and continue to exercise our God-given right to dominate them we say a casino is bad.

Personally I would rather have sights like casinos and Wal-Marts and fewer homes; less land being developed. Have any of you been to Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard or Gresham lately? Do you want this area to be solid housing tracts? Why all the hoopla about casinos and NOTHING about the massive land grab/housing development going on?

The only consistent voice against development is from windsurfers whose main gripe is that they do not want wind shadows created so that their God-given right to use highly expensive petroleum based toys will continue unabated.

It seems obvious to me: The power elite are opposed to anything that will interfere with their mission, any other projects are bad and any project that makes them money is good. If they really cared about the Gorge (and people) they would be putting out the fire in their own back yard.

Wampler for Sheriff

I have watched the sheriff’s race with interest. I have read the newspaper articles and listened to rumors uncharacteristic of the sheriff I know.

I have watched Joe Wampler over the years and have always felt he and his staff work very hard to keep Hood River County a safe place for us all to live. The news channels are always reporting gang incidents, murders, shootings and robberies. They provide us with the glimpses of how our metropolitan neighbors live their daily lives. They are afraid in their own homes, on public transportation and in their schools.

We in Hood River County are fortunate to have a sheriff who makes us feel safe in our own community. I am voting for Joe Wampler and ask you to join me.