What’s that smell?
It’s not the tie plant, cherry plant or aluminum plant, so what is it?
To me, it smells like burnt plastic, and other people notice it also. I live out of town and it can be really strong here also. West wind seems to make it worse in The Dalles.
Next time you can smell this odor, please call the Department of Environmental Quality (541-298-7255).
Les Gardipee
The Dalles
Assault on democracy
Our democracy is under assault! As renowned analyst Fareed Zakaria’s CNN documentary recently affirmed, the Trumpian lies, racism and debunked conspiracy theories promoting dictatorship have largely taken over the rank and file of the Republican Party. Lonely Republican U.S. Representative Adam Kinzinger, lamenting the fact, is not running for re-election because of it.
Last May, I wrote that “very seldom I agree with Liz Cheney on policy ... But right now Liz Cheney is my No. 1 hero ... Because she may become most instrumental in saving our democracy.”
Eight months later she is still my No. 1 hero. Unfortunately, the increasing cowardice of most Republican legislators has further facilitated the trend toward Trumpian dictatorship, with people of color likely the primary scapegoats.
Today a courageous Republican congresswoman intent on saving our democracy, like Liz Cheney, is much more important than agreement on policy. Washington state Republican U.S. Representatives Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse were two of only 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Donald Trump following the Jan. 6, 2020, insurrection, but have been quiet about it since.
The only other Republican U.S. Representative from Washington, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, has never shown any courage to stand up to Trump.
Norm Luther
Spokane, Wash., formerly Underwood
YES!
A huge yes to virtually everything stated in “Finger Pointing” (Your Voice, Jan. 19). We clearly lack temperance in our current culture. However, voting history suggests our world would be considerably different (for better or worse) if one party ran the show. A quick look at energy consumption and climate change clearly demonstrates this.
Voting records clearly show that most Republicans support coal, oil, and gas mining regardless of the cost to the planet and its people. Meanwhile, most Democrats have worked hard for green energy solutions. Republicans have responded by fighting against anything which reduces coal or petroleum use while demonizing clean energy.
While the political and social battles over energy continue, coal burning power plants put lead and mercury into our water and air. Fracking underground for oil and gas destabilizes the earth under people’s homes causing regular earthquakes in places like Oklahoma. Shale oil mining often destroys the water supply in local communities because poisonous runoff contaminates drinking water.
So yes, things would be significantly different if one party held complete control over things like energy use and climate protection. The decisions would have major ramifications for the health of our planet and our families for generations.
I guess it depends if people care more about the issues, or the politics distracting us from them.
Steven Kaplan
Hood River
No holds barred
Like many of us, I’m growing tired of the winner take all model of politics. It leads to this no-holds-barred behavior as Congress and the president wrestle for power. And then repeat every two to four years. It’s not helpful. It makes us less resilient as a society.
Widening my thinking, there are other reforms that can be done to each branch of government to make them more responsive to us. As an example, what if the president could only nominate federal judges from the opposing party? Over time, this would make justices of the other party less extreme to us, as the president would aim to nominate people as close to their party’s ideologies as possible. In the end, voters might feel like their voices were being heard because they would see the government actually ruling in their favor occasionally and on consequential things.
Our system is partially functioning and can be improved. It’s really our best course of action.
Demonizing the opposition has never worked historically and it’s not going to be helpful or successful in this country over the long run.
Avery Hoyt
White Salmon
Cougars and COVID
Northwest News Network published a report (Jan. 18) concerning Klickitat County and our Sheriff Bob Songer, who advocates and supports hound hunting for cougars.
Sheriff Songer stated he never wanted to have to tell a family someone they loved had been killed by a cougar.
Sheriff Songer does not advocate or support public health measures to combat COVID.
At a meeting on Jan. 13, at the Dallesport Community Council meeting, our Undersheriff Tim Neher reported 27 cougars have been killed since June 2019. Since March of 2020, 37 people in Klickitat County have died of COVID. The number of people killed or injured by a cougar is zero.
Luckily for Sheriff Songer, he does not have the responsibility of letting a family know their loved one have died from a virus that could be managed by mask wearing and vaccinations. The painful duty of reporting that sad news is left to the healthcare workers who have given their all to save lives.
Lynne Kadlec
Dallesport
Housing is a community crisis
I refuse to be a victim as I value the task in life of being self sufficient, independent, responsible and motivated to make things work. My experience shows me with the right attitude and determination, to attain what I need is always possible.
I’ve always figured it out and succeeded when and where necessary and desired. That is how I was brought up and how I have remained.
Until today. I’m in a state of frustration, and I’m not alone. I’m in anticipation of the possibility I will soon be shut out of the community I live and work in. The community my son has attended school in since preschool, now about to enter his freshman year at Hood River Valley High School.
We have now found ourselves having to move from our current residence and find a new home to rent, with the reality there are bare minimum options for us. I have the means for reasonable housing but it’s worthless without any options.
I’m disappointed and frustrated; this is clearly inattentive city planning. There are pages and pages of short-term vacation rentals homes and units for rent and hardly a chance for a long-term housing rental lease in existence.
Those who don’t recognize how dire the housing dynamic is and it’s effects on locals in the community are not for community, they are for exploitation benefiting themselves. This needs serious evaluation.
The thing is it’s not a housing shortage. It’s a housing hogging. My family (myself and teenage son) cannot find a home to live in Hood River. A place we have friends, connections, comfort, roots, where we work, attend public schools. A community we know as our home.
Attention city council, planning, short term rental home policies, second home owners, investors, realtors — community dissolving shouldn’t be less important than securing it.
The consensus seems to be, “Oh well, tough luck.”
This condition has disturbed communities before us. We should learn and improve by it, not imitate it.
Mary Susan Burnham
Somewhere in Hood River
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