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Letters
April 28, 2010
Young learners need the library
Citizens of Hood River the library is
closing unless we do something. I ask you to please, for me and my
fellow learners, vote Yes for the library district on May 18.
As a homeschooler, the library is my
school. I used the books for all my subjects like history, science
and reading. Although I might use the library more than my fellow
learners, I’m sure they feel the same way. In the last year, the
economy has failed us and I know that some of us re going through
hard financial times and don’t want to pay extra taxes. I ask
these people to pause for a minute and listen. As the famous
astronomer Carl Sagan once said, “I think the health of our
civilization . and the concern for the future can all be tested by
how well we support our libraries.”
I am sure some of you have children or
were children once yourself. Children have dreams. Some might want
to be an inventor or maybe a pilot or maybe even a scientist and
some want to go to college. As parents, you want to you’re your
children reach these dreams. While your children are young it’s
important to give them a rich education and a library is part of
that education.
Because of the bade economy, some of you
don’t want to pay extra taxes but I believe that if you vote yes
for the library district. You can help children reach their
dreams, and these children will grow up to contribute to a strong
and healthy economy. If children have a well-funded library when
they are growing up that helps them get a rich education, they can
follow their dreams.
So for the present and future learners of
Hood River, I ask you to vote yes for the library district
Olivia Newcomb, 11
Hood River
Road crew kudos
A big thank you to the county road
department and their crew! They repaired a drain that was plugged,
causing water from a spring to run down and across Country Club
Road.
The winter weather made it very dangerous
for we who traveled County Club Road, and their fast work and
response was much appreciated.
With the lack of funds (tax dollars) to do
all that is needed in the county, we can appreciate their
dedicated effort to keep us all happy.
Doug and Gail Arnell
Hood River
Holmstrom for Justice
Please join me in voting for Randy
Holmstrom for Cascade Locks’ Justice of the Peace. Randy Holmstrom
has been a motor carrier enforcement officer for nearly four years
and a resident of Cascade Locks for 30 years.
As an officer Randy has represented the
State of Oregon in Wasco, Clackamas and Hood River county courts.
Cascade Locks’ Justice Court is funded by the county government,
which receives revenue from citations that are processed through
our court. The majority of these citations (80 percent) are
written by motor carrier enforcement officers (also known as weigh
masters).
The revenues our court receives from
citations will dramatically decrease due to the recent elimination
of some motor carrier enforcement officers. Will the county keep
our court open with drastic revenue decreases? Randy has a plan
for increasing efficiencies at our Justice Court that will help
keep local court positions intact and the court profitable.
Randy and his wife, Anne, chose Cascade
Locks as their hometown. Their three children received a K-12
education here. Randy has demonstrated his commitment to this
community by volunteering his time and efforts to serve Cascade
Locks and its residents. His management background was noted by
the Hood River County Board of Commissioners when they recommended
him as replacement for retiring Judge Lee. I think they made the
right choice!
Sarah J. Knight
Cascade Locks
Peachey stands out
Tom Peachey is a stand-up guy. He knows
what is right. He represents what is good in the legal system. I
know this from personal experience; he was our attorney when the
Union Pacific Railroad started a fire that affected land we
farmed. He did not back down from the pressure and he won the
case.
We need someone who is willing to stand
and serve us — we the people! Today, more than ever, it is
important our judges can see both sides and do the right thing.
Tom Peachey will be that kind of judge.
Forest Peters
Wasco
Do library math
In a letter published in the March 27 Hood
River News, it appears that Al Gosiak might have gotten fiscal
years mixed up and he ends up implying that a $740,000 budget
supports this fiscal year’s reduced library operations.
Mr. Gosiak next “magically” runs that up
by $110,000 (for “additional county support”) to $850,000 and
then, somehow, uses the higher figure to justify the proposed 70
cents per thousand levy which would provide $1,155,000 for the
coming budget year, 2010-11. A 56 percent increase in just one
year? Sounds more like federal government budgeting rather than
our kind of thrifty local government.
Actually, the $740,000 type budget was for
the more normal operating hours of 2008-09 and that year’s actual
budget expenditure of $716,456 is the base number that I used in
my letter of March 20 to build what I still regard as a justified
“regular operating” budget of $788,000 for 2010-11. It includes
the $50,000 (already agreed upon) for county financial and payroll
services and the continuance of previous years’ payments to County
Public Works for grounds and building maintenance.
I still think that it is possible to love
our library while, at the same time, be responsible enough to ask:
Why is another $367,000, or 47 percent, needed to buy more
services and things that we got along without in 2008-09? At least
to some of us, $60,000 ($50,000 instead of $110,000) and $367,000)
are lots of money!
Dave Dockham
Hood River
Support Walden
Joyce Segers will need to educate herself
a little more on the issues of health care, green jobs and
education fixes.
Our Democrat leadership passed the health
care bill while refusing to accept any input from the Republicans
on any ideas, such as tort reforms, increasing competitiveness
among insurance companies by allowing them to sell nationwide
instead of separately inside of each state, and many other great
cost-saving plans. They passed the bill over the objection of the
majority of the country. They misrepresented the costs, and
provided billions in pork deals to buy their votes, and they will
require that all Americans purchase something when they have no
constitutional ground to do so.
Health reform is needed, but a bad program
is not. Green jobs make us feel good and are good for the
environment, but they are in industries that are unprofitable for
the most part. Windmills only work when the wind blows, and you
are blighting the world and killing birds and disrupting wildlife
(not to mention humans).
Transmission lines and/or storage
facilities are a problem. Nuclear power, while clean, has its own
risks and then there is the problem of what to do with the waste.
President Obama’s education czar has declared her desire for a
nationwide curriculum for our school systems. No more independent
thinking will be allowed, like Texas having input on textbook
content. Everything our children will learn will be dictated from
the current Dept. of Education in Washington, D.C. Kind of sounds
like mind control doesn’t it?
We need to ensure more local control over
funding and content. Greg Walden has done an excellent job of
representing the state of Oregon and I believe that he has the
best interests of those he serves in mind. If you follow his posts
on Facebook, you will see how much time he spends speaking and
meeting with his constituents.
As a HRVHS graduate and local business
owner, Greg knows the local issues well. Support Greg for a better
future.
Daniel T. Lage
Johnstown, Colo.
Thanks, life savers
In praise of our emergency responders we
would like to give praise and thanks to the Parkdale and Hood
River fire department EMTs and paramedics for their quick and
professional response to our emergency call on the morning of
March 28.
Through the pain and unknown outcome of
Dave’s heart attack, everyone was very caring and definitely on
top of the situation. It is truly amazing how people you have
never met, friends and neighbors can, with a frantic 9-1-1 call,
be at your door and become true life savers.
We have always had great respect for all
emergency responders, but it really hits home when you are the one
needing their help. These men and women definitely have our
respect and gratitude. Thanks to all of you for being so
professional and taking great care of both of us.
Sue and Dave Wiebalk
Parkdale
Yes to library
Knowledge isn’t free. Support the library.
John M. Wood
Hood River
Care for our land
I feel very fortunate to live in this area
because the natural resources including mountains, waterfalls,
rivers, fruit, wines, and recreation activities including fishing,
hiking, etc. This makes this area one of the best places to live
in the United States.
However, sometimes I feel sad because
there are people who do not care about our natural environment and
the conservation of these natural attractions. For instance, I
live in Odell and this last weekend when I walked along my regular
route by three of those streets, I observed lots of garbage in and
around the ditches, I saw empty soda cans, plastic bags, empty
McDonald’s boxes, bottles of beer, packages of cigarettes.
My co-worker, Emily Olson, shared with me
that she had same experience; when walking her morning route she
saw, for instance, empty popcorn bags, a soccer ball, empty soda
bottles, a rusty cage for hamsters and more.
If we are not caring our natural
environment, very soon this area won’t be a natural tourist
attraction any more and the damage of the environment will be
irreversible.
I just couldn’t resist to share with the
public how sad I feel that we are not doing enough to take care of
our natural resources.
Joel Pelayo
Odell
Endorsing Peachey
Tom Peachey is my lawyer, my friend, my
fishing partner, ex-neighbor and fellow basketball referee.
If I had written a letter of endorsement
for Tom earlier, I would have said about the same things all the
previous endorsements have said.
However; when a friend asked me why I
would vote for Tom, I gave her the following explanation: “Tom is
a very good basketball referee. To be a good referee, he has to
know the rules, how to enforce them fairly and without favoritism,
be able to make the “tough calls” and earn the respect of the
players, coaches and fans.”
To me that’s very close to what a Circuit
Court Judge does and that’s why I’m voting for him come May.
Jim Torland
The Dalles
No on Library
Hood River County is taking the easy way
out of the library issue when it says we must float a new tax
district or face closing, to the tune of $2 million more than we
paid in taxes last year? Whoa! How about cutting back, first. Do
we really need libraries in Parkdale AND Cascade Locks too, when
times are tough? Can’t the library reduce days/hours it is open to
the public? Why can’t users pay fees like everyone else does for
other services and recreational activities?
It seems awfully expensive to be paying
$70 per hundred thousand dollars of assessed property value on top
of what we already are paying. Will we be getting more for our
money than we are today?
What about senior citizens who are on
fixed incomes and just had their monthly Social Security payments
frozen for the next two years? Why should they be expected to pay
an additional $100 to $300 or more per year for something they
probably rarely, if ever, use?
Why should Hood River County residents be
expected to foot the bill for all users, including out-of-state
persons? Let’s back up and think about this whole thing a little
longer before making such an expensive blunder.
Roger Neufeldt
Parkdale
‘Yes’ too expensive
I will be voting no on the tax to keep the
library open. Unfortunately I can not afford to help keep the
library open. I am a working wife and mother. I can barely afford
school lunches for my two children.
Going to the movie theater is almost as
rare as a haircut for my children. Sometimes I do have pennies
that I save, but that is for gas or groceries. I do not have
pennies to spare to help keep the library open.
Janet Schultz
Hood River
Muir and Weiler
Needless to say, confrontations with
environmental challenges is nothing new in our world! I am
reminded of all the difficulties, scorn and wrath John Muir, the
founding father of the Sierra Club, had to endure! He, too, was
misunderstood!
John was most interested in wilderness
preservation and the interconnectedness of the rights of all
creation, and asked, “What creature is not essential to the
completeness of that unit?”
As John Muir was most interested in
nature’s peace and human interaction with the natural world, Bill
Weiler, too, is “nature’s white knight” following in John’s
footsteps, maintaining this sense of love, hope and peace for
Mother Earth. I feel his great appreciation of nature is to
preserve it with balance and harmony and, as always, in purely
positive terms.
As I continue to read the alleged ethical
violation articles that have been written, only to whitewash the
truth, it is difficult to comprehend the distress and burden these
allegations have caused for him and his family! He is truly one of
the kindest, thoughtful and most caring persons I have had the
pleasure to meet!
Thank you, Bill! You have done us and
Mother Earth a great service!
There is a saying, “The truth will prevail
and the truth will set us free!”
J. Shuman
Hood River
Vote Stauffer
This letter is written in support of my
wife, Janet Stauffer, in her bid for election to fill the Circuit
Court Judge position which will soon be vacated due to the
retirement of Judge John Kelly.
Judge Kelly has ably served in that
capacity for over 20 years, and he will be missed. In my biased
opinion, Janet will be a wonderful replacement, and will continue
the good work and reputation of the bench.
Judge Kelly leaves big shoes to fill, but
I know Janet is up to the task. Janet has practiced law for over
23 years, during which period she has had a full-time litigation
practice. She has practiced in virtually all of the state and
federal courts in both Oregon and Washington, and has experienced
the procedures and styles of hundreds of different judges.
For 17 years we have worked together as
law partners, and have worked as a team on numerous significant
cases, some of which have been rather high-profile. Despite her
busy law practice, she has been a terrific mother to our three
children, and has found time to perform substantial volunteer work
in our local area. I will be the first to concede that my opinion
is biased.
However, I should note that I have
practiced law for over 31 years, and have tried cases before
numerous judges in courts in Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and
Idaho. A good deal of my trial work has been done side-by-side
with Janet, who is one of the hardest workers and most
detail-oriented people I know.
I know what it takes to be a good judge.
Janet is a strong yet compassionate person. She is intelligent and
has a knack for making well-reasoned, correct decisions. She will
have no problem being decisive; yet will continue to be thoughtful
and caring.
In addition, Janet is fluent in Spanish.
This is of great significance, considering the diversity of our
local population. A judge who speaks and understands Spanish will
help inspire confidence in the judicial system for our Hispanic
residents.
I urge you vote in this very important
election, and to cast your vote for Janet Stauffer for Circuit
Court Judge. She will be a tremendous asset to our community and
will serve with distinction.
Jim Woods
Dufur
Before you vote no
Have you been to the library? You’ve been
paying for it all these years! Would you vote away an investment?
Before you determined its value? What about replacement value?
Before you vote no, come to the library and see for yourself.
I have made a financial investment in the
library. We all have. Our community has made an investment. Are we
ready to see our investment dissolve? Our investment is for our
community, for our history, our children, and ourselves. Our
investment is for our work force, our financial community
development and our quality of life. (Just try and write a
real-life Horatio Alger Jr. novel without access to a library.)
Horatio Alger Jr. was a prolific
19th-century American author, most famous for his novels following
the adventures of impoverished children in their rise from humble
backgrounds to lives of respectable, middle-class security and
comfort.
We need this investment for our financial
health. “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” —
Attributed to both Andy McIntyre and Derek Bok.
Before you vote no, come to the library
and see for yourself. You may find it is the best investment you
have ever made.
Kate Dougherty
Hood River
‘Bugged’ by meters
Last Saturday my wife and I traveled from
the Salem area to your town to do some antique shopping. (We
travel all over Oregon and Washington looking for certain antiques
to put into our 1910 vintage home we are restoring.)
We parked our car in your town only to
find out you have parking fees! We were so “bugged” by this that
we decided to travel further to The Dalles where we parked for
free, spent several hundred dollars, stayed at a motel and ate
meals in their nice town.
If we are only ONE couple who have felt
this way and written you about it, think of how many people didn’t
take the time to tell you! How much money are you losing by having
your fees? It’s not the cost, but the idea that you want to
actually charge tourists to spend money in your town — thus
forcing us to shop at another town!
We would consider coming back to Hood
River again if there is some way to eliminate those fees. (We
can’t think of many small towns who have parking fees anymore
because they discourage tourists from stopping there.)
Curt and Annette Brennan
Albany
Library, for kids
Some of my best memories are from the
visits to my grandparents, who live in Mount Hood. We always stop
at the Hood River County Library on the way from the airport to
get books, magazines, DVDs and puzzles. Then, we curl up on the
couch to read next to family and friends.
In my town, I live three doors from our
library and I think it is the best thing to go there and be
surrounded by books. Even though I am young, I am afraid that
someday a future generation will not have books; only e-readers
where you don’t get the full experience.
My favorite thing is when you open an old
book and that musty smell comes out and you can imagine the last
person who read it, maybe 100 years ago.
Without books, no one can escape to
another world, open a book and go anywhere but also stay in one
place at the same time.
Unfortunately, many kids my age are on
Facebook or Twitter or on the phone, while the lucky ones read
books and, happily enough, I am in the latter category.
I do not know what I would do without the
Hood River Library. I hope that, by May 18, the people of Hood
River will realize how much better the town would be if the
library was still there. If you don’t believe me, just read a
book!
Lauren Downes, 11
Shelburne Falls, Mass.
Peachey for judge
I urge my fellow citizens to elect Tom
Peachey as our new Circuit Court judge in the 7th Judicial
District. It’s been my privilege to get to know Mr. Peachey
through his generous and conscientious volunteer involvement with
hospice and other civic and service organizations. Beyond his
community-mindedness, he brings experience in both prosecution and
defense in criminal cases — very important background in assuming
the responsibilities of the bench.
I support Tom Peachey for judge, and hope
that all readers of this letter will join me in casting their
votes for him.
Tina Castañares
Odell
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