I am writing this letter to apologize for my actions on June 13, 2007.

I am sincerely ashamed of my actions and recognize that my behavior was offensive and unprofessional. I apologize for the comments I made and for the embarrassment I have caused the Police Department and the City of Hood River. I regret any harm I have caused.

I will adjust my attitude and conduct from this incident. I will work to re-earn the trust and respect of the City of Hood River and the citizens we serve. Please accept my apology.

I feel that I have much to contribute to our community by serving the citizens as a member of the Hood River Police Department.

Well played

We just wanted to express our congratulations to the All-Star Girls Majors Softball team. What a great group of girls! You all did a fantastic job in the District and State tournaments! Congrats to Megan Winans, Katie White, Laura Waller, Annie Veatch, Amanda McCafferty, Hailey Kelly, Katie Kloster, Erica Enriquez, Shelby Edwards, Haley Curtis, Logan Bailey and Natalia Ames.

A city’s thanks

To our emergency responders and volunteers:

On behalf of the community of Hood River, we would like to take this time to congratulate you and express our most sincere thanks for a job well done in your performance of duty during the Frankton Road fire. The quick reaction and the seamless integration of all the firefighting units into one cohesive and professional team are a true reflection of the excellent training and spirit of cooperation that is displayed every time the alarm is sounded.

We wish to commend Chief Jim Trammell of the West Side Fire District and Captain Clay McCrea of the Hood River Fire Department for their leadership and professionalism. Under their guidance and directions, what could have been a potentially chaotic and disastrous situation was rapidly brought under control.

We would also like to thank the City of Hood River Police Department and Hood River County Sheriff Department, as well as the City of Hood River Public Works personnel for their professionalism and sensitivity in dealing with the evacuations and crowd control, which kept many of our community safe and allowed the many firefighters to focus on the fire.

We thank the many fire units and districts from the Gorge and beyond who rushed to the side of our own firefighters to join in the fight or provide relief to continue throughout the night and the following day to completely contain and extinguish the fire.

Lastly, we would like to thank all the many volunteers and those in our community who assisted in whatever way possible from assisting those forced to evacuate to those who brought food and drink to the firefighters.

We are very proud of our community for all their actions this past weekend. We are extremely fortunate to live in such a community as Hood River.

Q: Trouble A: USA

I am writing in response to Cliff Mansfield’s letter of Aug. 4. You are right, Mr. Mansfield, about why we are in Iraq and Afghanistan and you are right when you say there are folks who would surrender. We need to ask ourselves three questions: Is America good and wonderful? Is America unique in the world? Is America the solution to the major problems of the world? I answer yes to all three.

Radio waves

I wish to apologize to Columbia Gorge Broadcasters for making a statement in my letter (Aug. 8) that wasn’t true. I should not have said that “Gorge stations” were short on information about the fire last Saturday. While I was running back and forth carrying things to my car, I had tuned to the former Q-104, not knowing that it was a canned broadcast from Goldendale. For a short period I listened to KIHR and missed the fire reports.

It was not my intention to criticize local radio stations for not carrying out public service responsibilities. I wanted to bring attention to the fact that the City of Hood River apparently did not have an effective emergency information system that would supplement radio news broadcasts. Hopefully the 9-1-1 response system that the city manager, Bob Francis, told me about will be put into place soon.

Wish and thanks

A special thanks to The Make A Wish Foundation for making my grandson’s dreams come true. Thank you.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

I post this Amendment to the Constitution so those of you that read this will go talk to your senators and congressmen and women about the newest power we have given George W. Bush and the executive branch.

Our House of Representatives has started to write a law that will expand the president’s powers to listen in to phone conversations without a warrant.

They are using the guise of terrorism to get us to believe this is necessary. The FISA courts have worked fine in the past. FISA courts are courts that the government can use to get warrant without going public.

These courts have judges that are there to make sure there is due cause to issue a warrant.

The current bill that our congress is going to try and pass will not have use for these courts. The Attorney General and the Director of National Security will have the power to listen in to phone conversations whenever they want — without proof of any wrongdoing. This is a violation of the rights of the citizens of the United States. This is not a matter of terrorism; it is a matter of one branch of the government having too much power.

Read your Constitution: You can find it for free on the Internet and at the library. Maybe our Congressmen and -women should, too.

Pheasant returns

We wish to express our appreciation to all agencies, volunteers, and good neighbors who helped control the Frankton Road Fire on Saturday. It came to within 100 feet of our home; a scary sight to see approaching. A point of clarification:

We no longer own the 12 acres just north of us as it was sold to Heritage Homes of Bend a couple of years ago. We have not heard the coyotes again, nor have we seen our resident deer who lived in that field. One pheasant rooster has reappeared.

Climate change

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed an energy package that, among other things, includes a Renewable Electricity Standard. This standard requires electric companies to provide 15 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by the year 2020.

This is a huge step forward and I applaud the House for acting on the need for an increase in the use of renewable electricity.

Unfortunately, while the Renewable Electricity Standard is an excellent starting point, it is not enough. Congress needs to pass comprehensive legislation to reduce global warming pollution.

Warmer average temperatures are changing the landscape of our world, and scientists say this will only continue if left unchecked. A recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that about 20-30 percent of plant and animal species are likely to be at increased risk of extinction due to global warming. I am haunted by the image of polar bears drowning because they can’t find ice to climb up on. Next comes all that fresh water melting into the sea, the change in the currents due to decreased salinity, the rise in the ocean levels — we must wake up!

Congress must now follow through on their commitment to address global warming. When the House returns to session in September, they should step up to the plate and begin working immediately to pass the two bills that take the best approach: the Safe Climate Act or the Climate Stewardship Act.

Smoke and mirrors

The Warm Springs tribe continually states that their need for a casino in the Gorge is economic and they need more funds for their tribal members.

Yet in trying to build a casino in Cascade Locks they have spent over $20 million on lawyers, lobbying, campaign contributions, scoping reports and now a recent survey for a proposed interchange off of I-84.

Those millions could have been spent to better the plight of the tribe. As has been reported previously the tribe received federal awards in the amount of $27,766,433 in 2004. (The more recent reports are not out yet.)

All of which is for around 4,000 people. That is more money than allocated for the poor, elderly, housing, health care, etc., for non-tribal members.

The Warm Springs Council was sent back to the drawing board to complete a new scoping report that includes an on-reservation site and considers the impact on the surrounding communities both in Washington and Oregon. But really, how serious is the tribe if they have already named their proposed casino in Cascade Locks and surveyed and engineered plans for a new interchange off of I-84?

They also propose to purchase the industrial site across Forest Lane from Bear Mountain Forest Products so that a five-lane approach can be constructed to the proposed casino. Is it just bait and switch?

Are you aware that the BIA is under the Department of Interior and that the Indian Gaming Commission is under the BIA? They are all in bed together. So who is protecting our rights? The tribes now have the money to buy what they want from Washington, D.C., and elsewhere, including the state.

We are supposed to be one nation with liberty and justice for all, not just for those with the money to buy and influence whom and for what they want. This is not just a Cascade Locks issue, as the proposed casino would negatively impact the entire Gorge.

Contrary to the spin created by the City and Port of Cascade Locks, not everyone here is for a casino. Those opposed have done their homework and realize that it would ruin our community. It is past time to look at alternatives instead of putting all their hopes in one basket.

Perhaps an indoor “fun center” with mini-golf, bumper cars, skate park, etc., could be looked into as there is not one in the northwest of Oregon.