I enthusiastically support the proposed West Side Community Park. Hood River desperately needs more fields for youth soccer and other sports that require turf. This available property is centrally located within walking distance of hundreds of homes, alleviating future traffic pressure, along with potential headaches for parents, who already shuttle their kids in cars enough. As a parent and occasional coach, I’ve witnessed the frustration of scheduling games and practices on over-scheduled fields around town. There’s also a need for more open space. National guidelines suggest 10 acres of localized park space per thousand residents. West Hood River currently falls far short of this. A compelling vision for the park was developed by a team of grad students in Portland State’s Urban and Regional Planning department, and appears to have widespread community support, if turnout at two meetings this spring is any indication. With these positive developments in mind, it has been bewildering and frustrating to observe the rather visionless inaction of Parks and Rec Director Lori Stirn and a majority of Parks board members on this proposal. Mulling over incorporating “some elements” of the West Side proposal into the lost cause of Barrett Park (gazebo in the weeds to watch the toy airplanes take off and land, anyone?) simply won’t get the job done. This town needs West Side Park.
It also needs leadership within the Parks and Rec Department to make that happen. I urge anyone supporting more logical choices for the future of open space in Hood River to make their wishes known.
Steven Hawley
Hood River
Keeping a good name alive
I just recently learned from a friend that a very special person of the Columbia River Gorge and beyond died back in April. I found his obituary in The Dalles Chronicle. I am saddened by his too early death. Chuck Williams was one of the early champions for protection of the Columbia River Gorge and wilderness areas, a great photographer of Indigenous peoples and author of “Bridge of the Gods, Mountains of Fire, A Return to the Columbia Gorge,” with an introduction by the John Muir of the 20th century, David Brower. Chuck was a close personal friend of Brower. This is a book everyone would do well to read, to gain deeper knowledge of where we live. I loved to sit with Chuck and listen to his stories of past campaigns. We grieved and commiserated over the sad state of human affairs. Chuck leaves an enduring legacy that I suspect too few people appreciate.
There’s an old saying that goes: We die, capital D, twice in life. The first when we take our last breath, the second when our name is spoken for the last time. My two kids, adults now, were fortunate to hear Chuck speak. They will remember his stories and keep his good name alive. Hats off to Chuck Williams.
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