When faced with a big decision, wouldn’t you consider all sensible options? Of course you would, but proponents of the Cascade Locks casino don’t want to. They are now trying to eliminate consideration of all reasonable alternatives to building an enormous casino in the Columbia River Gorge. They want to exclude consideration of new on-reservation casino on Highway 26, expansion of the Tribe’s existing casino at Kah-Nee-Ta, a casino on existing Tribal trust lands in Madras and casinos in either Portland or Bend.
By law the Environmental Impact Statement that the casino proposal is now going through mandates a rigorous and objective evaluation of all reasonable alternatives. Instead, casino boosters have reopened the public comment period for 30 days so they can reduce the number of alternative sites. In doing so they are mocking the public participation process and the intent of the National Environmental Policy Act. We must not let them hijack the law. Visit www.gorgefriends.org to make a comment by the Dec. 31 deadline.
Peter Cornelison
Hood River
Balance by casino
In response to “Casino menace” (Dec. 17) Steve says the casino would make an unbalanced Gorge. I personally believe since the windsurfers moved in and took over the town of Hood River, our lovely valley and town has become unbalanced. Please tell me where in this lovely little town can I buy clothes for a person in their 60s?
How many bars and eating places serving alcohol have been added to this lovely little town in the last 15 years? How many beer bottles and cans do you see on the streets? How much garbage and dog do-do is seen on the streets and river front anytime during the summer months? I have walked this beach and it is disgusting.
Finally, how about those CUTE eyesore little sheds that line the beach advertising sailing lessons, and you think a casino is a bad thing in Hood River County? Take a look around let us clean up the mess we have already. If the casino is allowed to go in Hood River County it would be welcome in my world; at least there would be something to do in this town except to go surfing and drinking.
I believe the entertainment and the food the casino would bring would help balance what is unbalanced.
Doti Miles
Yuma, Ariz.
Why so much pay?
How come so many CEO’s and presidents of “not-for-profits” are paid so much?
Sam Pobanz
Hood River
Local accountability
Last week your paper published a letter from me which was critical of the foreign and domestic policies of the Bush administration.
I blamed the situation on “Bush and his Congressional loyalists (including our hometown Congressman).”
Your newspaper chose, without consent or notice to me, to remove the parenthetical phrase “including our hometown Congressman” Apparently that phrase was an “inappropriate personal reference.”
My point was that many in this area have frustrations about the war and domestic controls, and our only avenue for influencing the future is through our congressional vote.
Many, including myself, have given Representative Walden the benefit of the doubt in the past, because it is nice to have a local voice on the national stage, and he is a heck of a nice guy.
As the national situation grows more tragic and threatening, it is absolutely reasonable to mention that the administration is assisted by our local Congressional representative and we should evaluate if we want the current policies to continue.
David Rath
Hood River
God is shunned
In the wake of the recent ruling by U.S. District Judge John E. Johns III banning “Intelligent Design” from science classes of U.S. public schools: It is possible and almost a fact that the Christian religion has become the pariah of the teaching of religion in public schools. Teaching of Islam, Buddhism, Judaism or any other religion is fine, but Christianity has become unconstitutional.
While our founding fathers proposed the teaching of the Bible to further morality, discipline, respect for their elders and loyalty, our judicial hot-shots know better how to interpret the constitution than those who composed and wrote it. It is a sad sign of our time that the word GOD and its uttering in public places has become a criminal offense. This country is the only one on this planet where GOD is shunned but the lack of ideal for our young generation is praised as an exemplary model. I can only ask the God Almighty to forgive this country because it does not know what it is doing.
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