Your voice: July 30, 2025

Um … yeah … if something isn’t free to operate, then it’s not free, right? Because nothing is free, I think? When someone makes the declaration that something is free, that’s usually a strong indicator they’re not going to pay for it, but they’re totally super cool about exploiting you to foot the bill.

 I grew up around the bowling alley in White Salmon — shooting pool while my mom bowled. Met up with friends there and did some bowling of my own, heehee. Miss The 11th Frame and Bob Sutton’s Pigs in a Blanket. I haven’t been in the library since just after it opened. I’m what you might call a library denier. Books don’t burn at a precise 451°; it’s more like a range between 426°-475°. I voted no on this Vancouver library business so that I can stave off the ridiculously high taxes I already pay for crap I don’t use. But hey … I do know who John Galt is.

 Kevin M. Herman

White Salmon

NOTE: The above letter was submitted after press deadline for the July 30 print edition and is appearing online only.

Yes for libraries

I was blessed with visits from grandkids recently. Our 6-year-old’s favorite play was pretending to be the librarian, reading books to us at her imaginary story time. That reminded me of how my sisters and I played library as kids, making those date due cards to tuck into our collection of chapter books; research for book reports; and inspiring local artwork — beautiful quilts! Over the years, I have realized that libraries are a gift, a wealth of resources passed through generations, wealth that is accessible to everyone in the wider community.

In her book “The Serviceberry,” Robin Wall Kimmerer writes this: “We don’t each have to own everything. The books at the library belong to everyone … literary abundance for all. And all you need is a library card, which is a kind of agreement to respect and take care of the common good.”

The FVRL District libraries provide all of us with stable and equal access to education, technology, innovation and opportunity. They afford the residents of the Gorge a gateway to the resources of a big city library: free internet, digital services, audio books, streaming services, workshops, tech help and games. Not to mention books and periodicals, even a seed library.

Over the last 15 years, the FVRL District’s budget has increased 2-3% per year. Expenses have increased 4-5% per year, given higher demand for services and an increase in population of 100,000 people. It makes common sense to restore the levy to the $.50 per $1000 of assessed value that was set 15 years ago. Without that reset in the levy, we face shrinking library hours, fewer library staff, fewer materials … cuts will be made.

The ballots for the election on Aug. 5 are arriving in mailboxes now. Let’s keep investing in what works. Please Vote YES on Proposition 1 and help keep our libraries strong.

Melinda Heindel

White Salmon

Sparrows

Thank you for the darling story by Flora Martin Gibson (“How to hate a house sparrow,” July 9, Columbia Gorge News). Yes, I too enjoy sparrows! I fondly remember visits to Good News Gardening’s cafe where the sparrows were waiting for their share of your lunch. Bold little darlings! I don’t see very many this year along with robins and swallows. Thank goodness Pine Siskins and Lesser Goldfinches and Hummingbirds still enjoy our neighbor’s feeding stations. Great entertainment while gardening!

Maria Kollas

Hood River

What we want?

Imagine you’ve nurtured a gorgeous flower, and just as it’s about halfway blossomed, someone comes along and snips it off. You’d be pretty ticked off, wouldn’t you? “What a waste,” you might say. Well, someone wants to snip not just one, but a bunch of blossoming flowers here in our area. I’m lucky enough to know a young Latino fellow here in Hood River. He’s only 20, but he’s already shown that he has lots of admirable traits.

In high school, he worked hard and got several scholarships to college. In college, he’s majoring in economics — not the easiest subject — and he’s keeping his GPA more than 3.0. Between college terms, he works every shift he can for a local employer that’s thrilled to have him. This summer he’s working the very early morning shift, so he can take some online class in the afternoon. Frankly, that’s not something I myself would set a 4:30 alarm for!

In other words, this is a terrific young man — serious, organized, smart, committed, hard-working — exactly the kind of young person our country will need in the future. Except there’s a catch: We may not get to keep him. Donald Trump wants to snip him out of Hood River and send him to some country where he’s never been. He was born here, so he’s a full-fledged U.S. citizen as spelled out in our Constitution, but his honest, hard-working parents aren’t citizens, and apparently that’s enough to make him “undesirable.”

Losing an exceptional person like this young man — and maybe many other local youngsters like him — would make me cringe. For him, especially, but also for the rest of us. “What a waste,” indeed.

Mike Hendricks

Hood River

Cheerful service

If you, like me, have visited Walmart in recent weeks, you know there is a major remodel happening. Nothing is where it was, and everything pretty much requires a seek and find mission. This includes the parking lot. The one thing I was impressed with is the complete cheerfulness, friendliness, and helpfulness each of the employees.

On my last trip I was looking for a vitamin supplement. There were three young women who were sorting through shopping carts full of bottles! They searched, but couldn’t locate the one I wanted. I said I’d come back, and when I did, they had my bottle sitting on a shelf by itself waiting for me, delivered with a smile! See? Cheerful and happy! As I tried to carry things to my car, I dropped a few items and a very nice man hurried over to pick them up for me. He said, “We are supposed to help each other!”

So refreshing. No worries about red or blue. Just nice, caring helpful people. I’m so glad I live in Hood River. I appreciate each of you!

Georgia Donnelly

Hood River

Sheriff Magill,

I was deeply concerned to read the recent article in Columbia Gorge News regarding the Oregon Health Authority’s (OHA) decision to block the proposed Crisis Center. It is incredibly disheartening to see that, despite the significant need in our community, the state appears unwilling to prioritize mental health and substance abuse treatment services.

I want to express my full support for the work you’ve done in developing a viable, thoughtful solution to address these critical issues. Your plan has the potential to create real, lasting change and would ultimately reduce long-term costs to the community by providing much-needed treatment and support services for those suffering from mental illness and substance abuse. It is clear that the OHA is failing to recognize the urgency of these needs.

In my own experience, it has become glaringly apparent that the state does not take these challenges seriously. Instead of embracing innovative solutions, the OHA’s actions demonstrate a lack of commitment to supporting services that directly address mental health and substance abuse. The rejection of your proposal by the state is not only short-sighted but also an example of the naive and, frankly, arrogant approach they have taken toward solving these issues.

I believe your plan could have been a major step forward, and it is troubling that the state seems unwilling to even engage with it. The refusal to support meaningful solutions to these problems only delays progress and leaves our community without options. I urge you to continue advocating for this cause, as the long-term benefits of supporting mental health and substance abuse services cannot be overstated.

Thank you for your continued efforts to improve the well-being of our community, and please know that there are many of us who stand with you in this fight.

Glen R. Patrizio

Hood River

 Editor’s note: The campus model crisis resolution and treatment facility has been blocked by OHA. Now, Mid-Columbia Center for Living (MCCFL) will lead the construction of a smaller, OHA-compliant facility that includes residential substance use treatment and the small 23-hour crisis resolution facility.

Resolution Center

Thank you for the wonderfully well-written article by Flora Martin Gibson (“Crisis Resolution Center plans changed,” July 16) on denial for permit to build Crisis Resolution Center by Oregon Health Authority.

I am writing this letter to beg you to contact Rep. Jeff Helfrich, 503-986- 1452, and Sen. Daniel Bonham, 503-986-1950, and, of course, Governor Kotek to override OHA’s decision.

Full disclosure of why I am so passionate about this issue: I was the medical director of NORCOR for five years. I have personally witnessed the lack of resources of our local jail/hospital/behavioral healthcare  devastate lives ... repeatedly! We now have a funded solution and it has been destroyed by some pretty petty bureaucrats.

Sheriff McGill has worked on this project for more than 10 years. His work on the Crisis Resolution Center  project exemplifies the best law enforcement has to offer, a place to not just incarcerate but also treat the  drug addict and mentally ill inmate.

The OHA works for our elected. Please consider asking them to override the really bad decision of denial of building permit.

Vern Harpole, M.D.

Lyle

 Editor’s Note: See previous note.

His own words

“I’ve known Jeff (Epstein) for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. He likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” (Donald Trump, 2002)

“I wasn’t a big fan of Jeffrey Epstein, that I can tell you.” (Donald Trump, 2019)

“Yeah, I would.” (Donald Trump, 2024, when asked by FOX News if he would declassify the Epstein files.)

“These files were made up by Comey, they were made up by Obama, they were made up by Biden.” (Donald Trump, July 2025, defending his decision to not release the files.)

“Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work … because I don’t want their support anymore!” (Donald Trump, July 2025, referring to his “PAST” supporters who are not satisfied with his handling of the Epstein files.)

Doesn’t this whole sordid affair remind you of big brother blaming little brother for the broken cookie jar — even though little brother wasn’t even home when it happened? Except in this case, the tragedy isn’t the loss of a cookie jar; it’s the sexual exploitation of vulnerable, underaged girls.

“I was Donald Trump’s best friend for 10 years.” (Jeffrey Epstein, 2017)

Rick George

White Salmon

The weasel and the White House

Opinions differ as to how it got in. Eschewing limelight, we can be reasonably certain that it did not emerge, like its keeper, via a golden escalator.

Just to be clear, I’m fond of “WILD WEASEL,” which is a name beloved by Vietnam War-era veterans (Black, white, Hispanic, Asian) who, upon mention of the carnivore’s name, instinctively looked skyward.

The “wild weasel” first appeared over the skies of North Vietnam in response to the Soviet surface to air missile threat, which was downing American aircraft at an alarming rate. Reading from Wikipedia: “Wild weasel is a code name given by the United States Air Force to any aircraft equipped with anti-radiation missiles and used to suppress enemy air defenses by destroying their radar and surface to air missile installations.”

Okay. That works. But it doesn’t really say it all. I prefer the follow-on explanation, again quoting from Wikipedia: “A wild weasel pilot baits an enemy into targeting their aircraft with their radars, then traces the radar emissions back to their source, allowing the Weasel or its teammates to precisely target it for destruction.” Now we’re getting down to it.

“Iron Hand” missions reportedly applied only to the suppression attack. But that is not what the “Wild Weasel” project was named for. The project was named for the electronic, radar-countermeasures that hunted in the very backyard of the North Vietnamese SAM system. It was named to denote the “predatory animal that goes into its prey’s den to kill it.” The prey’s den.

History will savage those presently hunting in the fields, orchards, construction sites, school yards, Little League diamonds, and court houses of America. Savage.

Robert White

Mt. Hood-Parkdale

Encouraging

It is a time of real fear for many who call this country home. People who are our neighbors, who work hard in jobs that are essential to all of us and who contribute to our communities in so many positive ways. They are living, right now, in fear that they will suddenly be taken from their families and communities. People right here in the Gorge are living with this fear.

But here in the Gorge many of us are responding to this fear by posting bright yellow signs in our windows and on our lawns. The signs boldly proclaim, “We are Immigrants – Somos Inmigrantes.” We recognize that, unless we are indigenous to this land, our ancestors immigrated here. Whether willingly, to make a better life for themselves, or in chains (as in my case, as an African American), we are here because they came here. We know that it is, in fact, immigrants who have made, and continue to make, America great!

I am particularly happy to see that these signs are being proudly displayed in more and more businesses around the Gorge! Some of my favorite businesses were first to jump on board, including Solstice Pizza and Pine Street Bakery. When I see the sign in a business window, I make a special note to be sure to buy from them and I encourage all of my friends to do the same! Thank you so much, to all of the businesses who have posted the signs!

I hope this encourages many more business owners and residents to join this important campaign of community care and solidarity. To get your sign, contact the Riverside Community Church via office@riversideucc.com .

Ann Harris

Hood River

Diagnosis

Donald Trump was recently diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency (Scientific American, July 17). However, some additional diagnoses might be needed to explain the full scope of Trump’s degenerate condition.

One possible diagnosis, for which I think strong evidence exists, is chronic intelligence insufficiency. Trump’s ill-conceived tariff and energy policies provide two examples of such evidence. The policies seem designed to cripple the American economy and hand world leadership to China.

Another possibility, for which I think even stronger evidence exists, is chronic compassion insufficiency. Trump despises all humans he identifies as the “other.” Most conspicuously, he despises brown-skinned immigrants, but he also despises poor people worldwide as well as Americans he sneeringly describes as evil Democrats.

Chronic decency insufficiency also ranks high as a possible Trump diagnosis. Trump has a long history of sexually molesting women (and sometimes bragging about it), and it seems increasingly likely that he was among Jeffrey Epstein’s clients who preyed on under-aged girls.

Symptoms of chronic ethics insufficiency (CEI) can be hard to distinguish from those of chronic decency insufficiency, but in Trump’s case the clearest symptom of CEI is his repeated attempts to subvert the U.S. legal system to impose his agenda. Indeed, Trump despises the rule of law almost as much as he despises roughly half of Americans.

Chronic honesty insufficiency is an obvious diagnosis for Trump. He’s perhaps the most prolific and steadfast liar in American history, and he continues to repeat his Big Lie that he won the 2020 presidential election.

Finally, there’s chronic tolerance insufficiency. Trump’s enormous but exceptionally fragile ego renders him intolerant of criticism in any form. That’s why he’s surrounded himself with lackeys who never openly question anything he does or says. If any criticism emerges, retribution from Trump quickly follows.

Clearly Donald Trump needs medical help. He’s lucky he’s a billionaire, because otherwise such help might be unavailable as he guts the healthcare system that millions of Americans rely on.

Richard Iverson

Hood River