Soda must go
What do kids drink? Rarely is it plain water. It is usually soda, or sweet “sports drinks” (sweetened with high fructose corn syrup or some synthetic sweetener). Our own Hood River County School Board encourages addiction to these unhealthy drinks by allowing soft drink companies into our schools at the expense of the health of the kids. At the entrance to the HRVHS, for example, there is THIRTY feet of junk food and pop machines, and an espresso cart!
This leads kids toward a lifetime addiction to these products at the detriment to their physical and dental health. What kid is going to choose lowly plain water over the sweet taste of soft drinks, backed up by their high-powered advertising campaigns? Once addicted, these teenagers become lifelong customers to these corporations. It is time for the school board to step up to the plate and kick these corporations and their addictive products out of our schools. Please encourage the school board to do so. This would do a lot more for our kids than fluoridating our gardens.
Brian Carlstrom
Hood River
What about poor?
A nation’s budget says a lot about its priorities and values. The federal budget is as much a moral document as a fiscal document. Consider the following:
This year’s budget includes over $100 in military spending for every dollar spent on international aid programs to fight hunger, HIV/AIDS and malaria or to provide relief to disaster survivors. The budget cuts spending for programs that support the poorest and most vulnerable Americans — low-income housing assistance, early childhood education, food stamps and Medicaid. The budget calls for additional tax cuts from which benefits would flow overwhelmingly to the wealthiest Americans. The budget continues to run huge deficits, borrowing from our children and grandchildren to pay for our tax cuts and wars.
It has been said that “Nobody gets to heaven without a letter of reference from the poor!” America is the richest nation in history. Do we really want this budget to become our letter from the poor?
Rick Davis
Mosier
In a tremble
When I first got wind of the term “Nuclear Option” I became very frightened and joined the “participatory panic parade” to the downtown area. But later I learned that “Nuclear Option” actually, realistically means “Majority Rules.” Now that’s REALLY scary. Excuse me as I look both ways and tremble in fear.
William H. Davis, Jr.
Hood River
‘Endorsement’ error
Our committee sincerely apologizes if miscommunication has led to errors in our incorrectly listing anyone as believing fluoridation a desirable public health intervention. That our personal errors might endanger the underlying goal of bringing this critical public health measure to our community grieves us deeply.
To set the record straight, we want to make it perfectly clear that we have sought no opinion with regards Measure 14-23 from any of the organizations we have listed as supporting fluoridation. Our use of the word “endorsement” was and will continue to be used simply to indicate those listed have decided to lend their generic support for and approval of public water fluoridation. Our list is drawn from public documents or private communications with organization officials, employees or members.
Charles C. Haynie, M.D.
For the Hood River
Healthy Water Political Committee
Hood River
Water tastes good
In response to the Salem resident’s letter (April 13 paper), who stated her city water tastes awful with fluoride and chlorine added: May I suggest that it is not the fluoride that tastes, but the chlorine? I have lived in The Dalles for the last 19 years and drink the fluoridated water every day. It doesn’t have a taste at all. In fact, the water tastes really good.
Valerie Herriges
The Dalles
Writer can visit
I would like to say I agree very much so with Allen Moore in that the writer of “The Mexican Dream” (Christian Knight) should get out into the valley more. In the writer’s latest editorial he states that he talked to many workers and farm owners in researching this story. If this is true then he would know from picking pears that you pick into a wooden or plastic bin that when full weighs 950 to 1,100 pounds when filled. I would also like to invite the writer to come up my dirt road to my trailer where I live that sits in the middle of an orchard where my children have grown up.
Steve Moore
Parkdale
Learn English
Most jobs say must be bilingual for Spanish to be hired for employment. Sounds racist to me. I say make them learn English. Or at least make them prove that they are taking English classes. Is that too much to ask?
Ron Morgan
Parkdale
Prove it
Why compromise national security over small town political hackery?
When a true American patriot like Craig Marquardo steps up to the plate to revitalize the port what does he get? A raking over the coals. One of my concerns with this issue is how much energy people are putting into corroborational activities. Oh, to live a life of anonymity. But hey, someone has to be in government.
With it comes the scrutinizing lens of the media. All this bickering over his Purple Heart, the relationship with Spock, his Sting singing, the ball team, the movie deals, you name it. Do we really want to question someone’s integrity who risked their life on a mission to protect our oil supply?
Come on people, Craig could have chosen to live anywhere in the world and he picked our town’s bootstraps to pull us up with him. Together we will rise uber alles. Who knows; they will probably wind up making a movie out of it or us. Won’t that be fab. Think of the publicity, the influx, the traffic.
It’s ironic that every town he tries to turn around, turns on him. His campaign slogan should be “no good deed goes unpunished — vote for me” or “the dog ate my homework — trust me.”
So speaking on behalf of myself and others who are wasting their time to find that one elusive shred of evidence, here’s two words of advice for him from an avid 10-year reader of the Hood River News regarding any one of his claims — Prove it!!
Nathan Salter
Hood River
Credit Lee Schick
I and the members and friends of Asbury United Methodist Church want to thank the editor and staff of the Hood River News for the great article and beautiful pictures of the stained glass windows in our sanctuary.
But I have to correct a misunderstanding in the article.
I didn’t research nor write the material. This was taken from an information leaflet in our church files that was written about 15 years ago by a member, now deceased, Lee Schick. He was an amateur historian and writer and deserves the credit.
Again, though, we certainly appreciate the article on our glorious windows and the original members of the 1912 congregation to whom they are dedicated.
For an inside look call the church office at 386-2587, or me at 386-1587.
Marvin Turner
Hood River
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